Annie Oakley Center Foundation Inc

October 5—Garst Museum to Host Annie Oakley Historian

Photo of Annie Oakley by Shirl Kaaper with an inset photo of the author

Shirl Kasper, MA, Ph.D., is a journalist and historian. In the early 1980s, she began researching Annie Oakley, which led to the 1992 publication of the biography, Annie Oakley. A former feature writer for The Kansas City Star, Shirl joined the National Park Service and worked as a historian on numerous projects.

After retiring, Shirl re-visited Annie Oakley. The original biography focused on a detailed reading of Oakley’s eight scrapbooks. With today’s Internet resources, Shirl was able to unearth primary materials all but impossible to find in the 1980s. Using these sources, she has written a new Afterward to the original book, which was reprinted and published in 2023. This Afterward sheds additional light on the lives of Oakley and her husband Frank Butler. On October 5, she will share some of her new discoveries fearturing their early lives, which place Annie on the stage earlier than previously thought and document Frank’s first marriage and the beginnings of Frank’s career in Camden, New Jersey.

Annie Oakley once wrote about her career, "When I started, there was a prejudice to live down." Ladies just did not do the things she did and still remain "ladies"--except for Annie.

Annie blazed many trails for women and girls. She showed that a woman could compete in a man's world and still remain feminine. She showed that women could be show business stars without compromising their integrity. She proved that marriage could be a loving partnership of equals. She urged women to participate in sports, particularly outdoor sports that usually were reserved to men. Thus, she pioneered the way for women in athletics.

Annie Oakley started from nothing and achieved stardom by hard work, by strength of personality, and by making best use of her talents. And, she did it without hurting others. In fact to the end of her life, she was quietly generous to those who were less fortunate.

She was aware of her fame and what it meant. If she seemed extremely protective of her public image, it is because she was conscious of being a trailblazer for women and girls. She knew she was a role model. "Aim at a high mark, work for the future," she said. In the 21st century, we can still look up to the example she set for us.

This site has two purposes.

The first is to help support The National Annie Oakley Center at Garst Museum. This is where Annie Oakley's legacy really lives on through her stories and the historical items she left behind. The second is to help set straight some of the inaccuracies and tall tales that have grown up around this remarkable woman. Look under the FAQs tab to find learn more about Annie Oakley--the performer and the woman.

Images courtesy of the Darke County Historial Society
info@annieoakleycenterfoundation.com