GNTC (Great Northern Theatre Company) presents the great Broadway show Annie Get Your Gun based primarily on the life of Phoebe Ann Mosey. She was born in a log cabin in 1860 in Ohio. She fired her first shot at the age of 8 and by age 12 was the chief supplier for her big family by selling wild game to a Cincinnati hotel owner.

The celebrity of this superb little shooter exploded throughout Ohio and the mid-west when she defeated Frank Butler, vaudeville\’s unparalleled marksman and trick shot. They married a year later and were brought to the attention of the genius executive of Buffalo Bill\’s Wild West Show. She modified her name to Oakley to honor a pal from Ohio.

Touring Europe with the Wild West Show in 1887, Annie twice gave private demonstrations for Queen Victoria, defeated Grand Duke Michael of Russia in a match arranged by the Prince of Wales, and in Berlin shot a cigarette from the lips of Kaiser Wilhelm. After a tragic train accident, Annie retired from the Wild West Show in 1901. She headlined in a Broadway play, THE WESTERN GIRL, in 1902 and \’03 and continued to perform at charity events?Annie Oakley never refused a Charity request if the beneficiaries were orphaned girls, meriting young women, or actors.

Annie Oakley\’s accomplishments as a sharpshooter are mythical. At thirty paces she shot a cent from between her partner\’s thumb and forefinger with a .22 rifle and with this weapon could hit two-inch flying balls by sighting them in the glossy surface of a bowie knife. In one case she hit 943 out of 1000 flying balls in a quick fire demonstration and, at the age of 56, using three double-barreled guns, punctured in midair 6 balls sprung from as many traps. Her gift was enshrined in the jargon of Broadway when, in the pre-computerized days of hard tickets that were collected at the door and sorted to count the number of audience members, complimentary tickets were identified by the holes punched in them. They were called \”Annie Oaklies\” since they duplicated the holes Annie shot in flying playing cards.

Annie Oakley died in Greenville, Ohio on Nov 3, 1926. Frank Butler died eighteen days later and are buried side by side in Brock Cemetery, just a few miles from her birthplace.