By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

NORTH STAR — Prior to the official start of the Annie Oakley Festival and after the new Miss Annie Oakley has earned the title, several carloads of people leave the Darke County Fairgrounds and head north on U.S. Route 127 for a pilgrimage to a little cemetery on a side road. While there are many veterans who died while serving our country in that cemetery, as well as many local family members, there is only person buried there that has a historical marker. Annie Oakley grew up about six miles northeast of Brock Cemetery, but she wasn’t known by that legendary name then. Those that may have known her then probably knew her as Phoebe or maybe even Phoebe Ann Moses.

The annual pilgrimage to Annie Oakley’s grave is a way to remember the woman that went from humble beginnings in northern Darke County to traveling the world and meeting crowned heads of state. When she passed away on Nov. 3, 1926, Oakley knew she wanted to be buried in the place she called home. She is attributed with the following, “After traveling through fourteen foreign countries and appearing before all the royalty and nobility I have only one wish today. That is that when my eyes are closed in death that they will bury me back in that quiet little farmland where I was born.”

The annual pilgrimage is also the time to pass the torch from the previous Miss Annie Oakley to the new Miss Annie Oakley. 2023 Miss Annie Oakley Brooklyn Dillman and 2024 Miss Annie Oakley Lauren Wright worked together to lay a wreath at the base of the headstone at Oakley’s final resting place.

Dillman then gave her outgoing words of encouragement. She said, “This year has been a really great experience. I visited classrooms, nursing homes and have been in many parades.” Even though it’s has been nearly 100 years since Oakley’s death, Dillman is an example of the lessons people continue to learn from Little Miss Sure Shot and why those lessons remain relevant today. Dillman said that Oakley gave women the confidence and inspiration to do whatever they put their mind to.

One of the biggest lessons Dillman learned from Oakley is that you’ve got to be willing to put in the hard work if you want to succeed. The former Miss Annie Oakley also praised the contestants that competed this year and encouraged those that didn’t win to try again next year. Dillman pointed out she did not win the contest on her first attempt.

Dillman said she enjoyed being able to be an inspiration to others during her reign as Miss Annie Oakley. “My favorite part about the experience is being able to inspire young girls to be brave and not let anyone tell them what they can and cannot do,” she said.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected]