Where Annie Lived, of course

In the course of my blog adventures, I have traveled through many small towns. Obviously, many of these towns have limited offerings in the way of non-alcoholic excitement. However, I have noticed that most of these towns share a common trait. That is, they all wish to be known for something. Think about it. Zanesville, Ohio…the Y-Bridge City or Florence, Oregon…site of the exploding whale or Sac City, Iowa…home of the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball. The list is endless. All small towns just want to be known for something. But, do you know what is the gold standard for small town pride? It is the hometown celebrity. When a small town happens to have a celebrity born in their area, the town has to milk it for all its worth. With that intro, I give you the very small town of Greenville, Ohio. Where Annie lived, of course.

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Of course, I am referring to Annie Oakley, world renowned sharp shooter. She traveled the world as part of the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She performed in 14 countries to kings, royals and uncounted fans. Arguably, Annie was the most famous woman of her time. But, I get ahead of myself.

Phoebe Ann Mosey (i.e. Annie Oakley) was born in the Greenville, Ohio, area in 1860. The short version of her life goes something like… Annie was born into abject poverty. After a troubled early childhood, Annie spent her early teenage years hunting and trapping to provide for her family. Her skill with guns became the thing of local legend. At the age of 15, she defeated Frank Butler (an traveling sharp shooter entertainer) in a shooting challenge. Frank signed Annie up for his traveling show, and married her about a year later. Soon thereafter, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show picked up Annie and Frank. Then, Annie and Frank got rich and famous traveling the world and dazzling audiences. After a long and successful life, Annie was laid to rest very close to the place of her birth. And, the city of Greenville recognizes it all…

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Yes, I went to the birth site and the grave site. I traverse the country farm fields in the dead of winter, so you don’t have to.

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Furthermore, they even did a barn for Annie. And of course, there is a statue in the town square. But, the real wealth of Annie Oakley knowledge is the Garst Museum, which contains all the noteworthy, historical highlights for the county. Within the Garst museum, you will find a whole wing dedicated to the life of Annie Oakley. The memorabilia includes show posters, pictures, clothes and lots of guns.

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Rather than bore you with too much with Annie Oakley knowledge, please just allow me to offer up 3 fun facts that I liked…

1. In 1903, a Chicago reporter ran a story that Annie was arrested in Chicago. The report claimed that Annie stole the pants from a homeless guy in order to sell them to buy cocaine. As it turns out, the report was false. The arrested person had a similar name, but she was not Annie Oakley. Annie sued several publications for libel. She won one of the first and largest libel cases by a celebrity against the media. The courts awarded her $250,000…nice chuck of change in 1903.
2. The famous native American chief, Sitting Bull, traveled some time with Buffalo Bills Wild West show. He adored Annie. Sitting Bull gave her the nickname of “Little Sure Shot.” Additionally, he adopted her as his daughter and member of the Hunkpapa Lakota tribe.
3. In 1894, Thomas Edison used his new invention, called the kinetograph, to make a 21 second film of Annie’s shooting act. This footage is one of the earliest films ever made. And, you can see it on youtube.com

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That’s Dave above, a black and white English setter that Annie and Frank adopted. As Frank and Annie had no children, Dave was their child. Well, if you are traveling with the Buffalo Bill Wild West show, even the children are part of the act. You can see Dave’s part of the act in the picture. But, fear not, Annie never missed and hit Dave. An automobile ran over and killed Dave in 1923 in Leesburg, FL. On that final note, after all this Annie Oakley pilgrimage, you might need a place to eat. No better place than the local iconic favorite, the Maid-Rite Drive-In…

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The Maid-Rite is not just a hole-in-the-wall drive in. Its a local cultural experience. While you wait in line within your car, you can entertain yourself by experiencing their gum wall. One persons’ bio-hazardous waste is another person’s local art culture. So, be sure to order one of their loose meat sandwiches (i.e. “Big Jim”) , enjoy the art, and leave your own gum legacy. Because, that’s the way its done in Greenville, Ohio…where Annie lived, of course. PT

I hope you have enjoyed reading “Where Annie Lived, of course” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

If you liked that post, you may enjoy reading https://travelingwithpt.com/forget-biden-trump-its-about-wilbur/

If you are anxious to learn even more on Annie and Greenville, start here https://www.garstmuseum.org/