A WOMAN'S BRIDGE

Annie Oakley, a Sharp Shooter on Stage and in Life

8/31/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureAnnie Oakley; Baker's Art Gallery, Columbus, Ohio (Public Domain photo)
​Known for her marksmanship and her time spent performing with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, Annie Oakley made a name for herself in what, at her time, was considered a male dominated space.

Early Life

Born to the name Phoebe Ann Moses in August of 1860 in Darke County, Ohio, Oakley experienced family losses early on in life. Both her father and step father died when she was a just a kid.

Until 10, Oakley lived at the county poor farm as a child. At the age of 10, Oakley was sent to work for a family that did not treat her well, which consequently led to Oakley running away and eventually reuniting with her mother. As a teen, Oakley honed in on her shooting and used her talent and marksmanship to earn money for her family by shooting game in the woods and selling it to a local shopkeeper. In fact, Oakley earned enough money to pay off her mother’s mortgage.

Rising to be a Sharpshooter and Star

Shortly after this, in 1875, Oakley decided to enter a shooting competition against a top touring shooter, Frank Butler. At only age 15, Oakley won not only the Thanksgiving Day match, but also Butler’s heart. The following year, the couple married and Butler continued touring with his male partner, until 1882, when his partner died and Oakley stepped on stage to join her husband. Crowds were so impressed by Oakley’s shooting that she soon became the main star and Butler stepped back to manage his wife’s widely popular act. Oakley made her own costumes, often described as modest or conservative, which helped distinguish her as she toured along the vaudeville circuit.

In 1885, Oakley joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a show where for the next 17 years she would perform and entertain audiences by shooting corks off bottles, holes through playing cards and more tricks . Two years later, at the American Exposition in London, Oakley gained international fame when she performed with Buffalo Bill Cody’s show in front of influential audience members such as Queen Elizabeth who remarked that Oakley was a “clever little girl.”

In 1901, both Oakley and Butler suffered injuries in a train accident, which stopped Oakley from performing in the short term, but she was able to recover and return the stage. Not long after the accident, Oakley left the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, and began starring in a different role, one written for her, in the melodrama The Western Girl. Later in the decade, Oakley once again joined another western show before retiring with Butler in 1913.

World War I and Later Life

During the Great War, Oakley offered to both organize and train a regiment of women sharpshooters, but her petition to do so was ignored by the government. After this, Oakley transferred her efforts into raising money for the Red Cross through shooting demonstrations at Army camps.

Oakley died on Nov. 3, 1926, and 18 days later, Butler, her husband of 50 years also passed. Oakley’s contribution and mark in the west as a strong woman made a sharp, long lasting impact.


0 Comments

Nadia Comaneci -  Olympic Gymnast, Record-setter and More

8/1/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureNadia Comaneci. Photo courtesy of Dave Gilbert, Flicker.
Nadia Comaneci was the first woman to ever win a perfect 10 at the Olympics in the sport of gymnastics. She was only 14 at the time.

Early Years
​

The Romanian gymnast was born in Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Romania in 1961. At the age of 6, Nadia was discovered by coach Bela Karolyi, who later went on to coach both the Romanian and U.S. teams to gold. Nadia became one of the first gymnastic students under Bela and his wife Marta’s gymnastics school in Onesta. In 1969, she won 13th place in the Romanian National Championships, and she only continued to progress.

Just six years later she won the Romanian National Junior Championships and the following year, as a senior, she won the European Championships.

Nadia became known for her original skills, clean technique and cool under pressure demeanor during competitions. Her skill and ability to perform landed her a spot on the 1976 Olympic gymnastics team.

Competing in the Olympics

At a time when Cold War tensions were high, and speculations about communist countries cheating, the small but mighty Nadia impressed the world with her with her smile and her skills.

Nadia brought her best the the 1976 Montreal Olympics and not only warmed the heart of her audiences, but also the respect of her judges. In total, Nadia earned seven perfect 10 scores, three gold medals, including the highly esteemed individual all-around individual gold. The Romanian team also won bronze with Nadia’s help.

In 1980, Nadia picked up even more medals, two gold and two silvers during the Moscow Olympics.

Later Years

In 1984, Nadia retired from the sport and worked as a coach for the Romanian National Gymnastics team. After a trip to the U.S. in 1984, Nadia’s movements were more closely monitored by government authorities. With the help of her former coach, Bela Karolyi,Nadia defected to the United States in 1989.

In the States, Nadia reconnected with Bart Conner, a fellow gymnast she met during the Montreal Olympics. The two were later married in 1996. Today, Nadia and Bart live in Oklahoma and Nadia splits her time among a variety of activities including speaking engagements, commercial endorsements, gymnastics commentary and charity events. Nadia, Bart and their business manager Paul Ziert also work on a number of other gymnastics-related businesses, including a gymnastics academy, as well as a gymnastics’ magazine, production company and gymnastics supply company.

Nadia continues to give back, from visiting Romania to support local charities in her home country, to serving as the Vice--Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics International.

As a 14 year old, Nadia wowed the world through her art, but even though she’s no longer competing on the beam, uneven bars, floor or vault anymore, Nadia continues to inspire young gymnasts from outside the arena today.

0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010

    Categories

    All
    Amelia Earhart
    American South
    Amy Beach
    Anna Nzinga
    Anna Sewell
    Anna Wintour
    Anne Bronte
    Barbra Steisand
    Baroness Blixen
    Benazir Bhutto
    Billie Jean King
    Blackfeet Nation
    Brigitte Bardot
    Bronte Sisters
    Catherine The Great
    Charlotte Bronte
    Cheng I Sao
    Civil Rights Movement
    Clara Barton
    Cleopatra
    Cristina Fernandes De Kirchner
    Dagmar Wilson
    Dido Belle
    Dilma Rousseff
    Dorothy Kamenshek
    Edith Wharton
    Eleanor Of Aquitaine
    Elouise Cobell
    Emily Bronte
    Fannie Flagg
    Frances Glessner Lee
    Frida Kahlo
    Gabby Douglas
    Geun Hye Park
    Gone With The Wind
    Hannah Snell
    Harper Lee
    Harriet Tubman
    Hatshepsut
    Heian Period
    Helen Keller
    Hillary Rodham Clinton
    Ho Ching
    Hypatia Of Alexandria
    Intro
    Irena Sendler
    Isabelle Scott
    Jamestown
    Jane Eyre
    Jane Goodall
    Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis
    Jody Williams
    Josephine Baker
    Journalism
    Joy Ogwu
    Julia Ward Howe
    Laurie Marker
    Madeleine Korbel Albright
    Margaret Bourke-White
    Margaret Mitchell
    Margaret Thatcher
    Margot Wallstrom
    Maria Otero
    Marilyn Monroe
    Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
    Mary Poppins
    Maya Angelou
    Meip Gies
    Meryl Streep
    Mother Theresa
    Murasaki Shikibu
    Nellie Bly
    Patricia Cloherty
    Pl Travers
    Pocahontas
    Rachel Carson
    Rosalind Franklin
    Rosa Parks
    Rosemary Kennedy
    Ruth Harkness
    Sally Ride
    Sheila Johnson
    Song Qingling
    Sophie Scholl
    Sylvia Plath
    The Shriver Report
    To Kill A Mockingbird
    Trudy Harsh
    Vera Wang
    Victorian Era
    Women Journalists In Pakistan
    WWII
    Yearling

    RSS Feed