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Northern Oklahoma College Social Science Instructor Dr. Alyce Webb recently appeared on the OETA-TV documentary “Back in Time,” OETA’s award-winning documentary series showcasing significant people, events and stories that shaped the history of Oklahoma.
Webb contributed as an expert on May Lillie, the sharpshooter wife of Gordon William “Pawnee Bill” Lillie.
Together, the couple owned and operated Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West, an enterprise that traveled all over the country and to Europe to teach urban audiences what life was supposedly really like in the American West.
How did Dr. Webb become an expert on May Lillie?
“I did my doctoral dissertation on Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West, and since 2019 I have portrayed May at the reenactment of Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show every June,” Webb said.
“It is truly humbling to portray May,” she said. “May was indeed a trailblazer and paved the way for women to participate in what were considered “masculine” occupations. She pushed the envelope in so many ways for women at the turn of the century.”
May Lillie engaged in what many people of the era considered “masculine” activities, such as working for pay, traveling, owning a business and shooting guns. To keep her actions respectable, she carefully crafted a public persona that emphasized femininity – she kept her hair long, always rode a sidesaddle and pointed out that her work and travel was only done to support her husband. Her plan was successful. She once won a shooting competition by hitting 24 out of 25 targets at a distance of 200 yards. In 1908 she became the first woman in the world to run a bison ranch, and she and Pawnee Bill celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1936.
Lillie’s skill in the Pawnee Bill Show paved the way for women to participate in rodeo and the early western film industry during the 1920s.
Webb was interviewed for four hours for the 10-minute clip for the OETA program.
Webb also volunteers at the Pawnee Bill Ranch.
Lucille Mulhall, May Lillie and Lillian Smith were remarkable “Wild West Women” who broke gender barriers and impressed audiences in the late 1880s. Mulhall was known as the “First Lady of Rodeo,” while Lillie was an expert sharpshooter and trick rider. Smith set unbeaten shooting records and was Annie Oakley’s rival.
The program originally aired in July 2023.
It is available for viewing at https://www.oeta.tv/shows/back-in-time/ .
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