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LEESBURG SESQUICENTENNIAL / THE DAILY COMMERCIAL / DECEMBER 24, 2006 13
CENTRAL FLORIDAYOUTH ORCHESTRA
Established Fall 2001Affiliated with Lake Sumter
Community College since Fall 2002 as a String and Youth Orchestra Program ages 5-22 years of age.
Call 352-787-4838 for more information
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JOSHUA DAVIDOVICHStaff Writer
LEESBURG — In its 150 year history, Lees-burg has rarely been the center of nationalattention, but it has had its fair share of brush-es with fame.
Perhaps the town’s most famous visitor isAnnie Oakley. Oakley, who made a name forherself internationally by being the finestsharpshooter in the land, was part of BuffaloBill Cody’s wild west show in the late 19th cen-tury.
During her retirement, in the early 20th cen-tury, Oakley began to winter in Leesburg toshoot and hunt. She stayed in the LakeviewHotel, then the shining gem of downtown Lees-burg.
Oakley’s beloved dog, Dave, performed along-side Oakley and her husband, Frank Butler.According to Leesburg legend, Dave was struckand killed by a car in the 1920s.
A bronze statue of Oakley and her dog isplanned for the new downtown Leesburglibrary.
Sixty years later, the death of another per-former would thrust Leesburg into nationalheadlines — this time Ozzy Osbourne’s gui-tarist, Randy Rhoads.
While making a pit stop in Leesburg onMarch 19, 1982, Rhoads took an airplane ride
with friend RachelYoungblood and tourbus driver AndrewAycock, who was also apilot. While attemptingto buzz over the tourbus, the airplaneclipped the bus andflipped, killing allthree.
Boxer and actor Ed“Gunboat” Smith didn’tjust die in Leesburg; hemade a home here.
Smith was one of themore accomplished
heavyweight fighters in the early 1900s, win-ning the White Heavyweight Championship in1914. He fought Jack Dempsey twice in Oct. of1917, losing in four rounds both times.
After retiring from boxing, he became anactor, appearing in 13 movies between 1924and 1928, according to the Internet MovieDatabase.
Not everybody who came through Leesburghad good intentions, though. Ma Barker, thefamous Depression-era bank robber spentsome time in 1930 casing the Leesburg StateBank. According to the city’s Web site, shedecided not to rob it because security was tootight.
Sharpshooter and bank robber lived here; guitarist died here
Rhoads
Courtesy of the Leesburg Historical Museum
Legend has it that famous bank robber Ma Barker cased the Leesburgstate bank in 1930, but decided security was too tight to conduct aheist.
