Annie Wilkins
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Annie Wilkins (born 1891) was a resilient individual who undertook a remarkable journey in 1954 at the age of sixty-three. Despite enduring various hardships, including failed marriages, recent familial losses, financial struggles, and the loss of her farm, Annie was determined to fulfill her dream of visiting the Pacific Ocean. This aspiration was driven by her desire to honor her late mother's wish to see the Pacific Ocean.
Instead of heeding her doctor's advice to seek assistance from a state charity, Annie took matters into her own hands. She financed her cross-country journey by selling homemade pickles and mortgaging her house. She acquired a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan and a dog named "Depeche Toi," meaning "hurry up" in French. Dressed in men's dungarees, she set off in mid-November, resolute to beat the impending snow.
Annie embarked on this brave journey without a map, venturing into the unknown rural crossroads with her trusty horse and faithful pot. Her unwavering belief in the kindness of strangers sustained her. Along her journey, she encountered ordinary people and notable figures, including Andrew White, the artist behind Tarzan's sketch, Art Linkletter, and Groucho Marx. Annie received numerous gifts and even a generous offer of a permanent home at a riding studio in New Jersey.
During her journey, she found employment at a rural Kentucky gas station and received a marriage proposal from a Wyoming farmer. Annie became a symbol of hope and adventure during a time of significant societal change in the 1950s, marked by increased car ownership, the growth of television, and a burgeoning culture of travel.
Throughout her travels, Annie often received police protection and media attention. She sold self-portraits and postcards to finance her expenses and even appeared on radio and television channels in Missouri in May 1955. She reached Cheyenne, Wyoming, in August 1955, witnessing the renowned Frontier Days rodeo event.
Annie's incredible journey concluded in December 1956, nearly two years after its commencement, when she arrived in Reading, California. She experienced the California winter and, finally, saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
However, tragedy struck shortly before her planned appearance on the "Art Linkletter Show" in Hollywood. Her packhorse, Rex, succumbed to tetanus from a rusty nail on March 1, 1956. Annie remained in California for an additional year before eventually returning to her hometown in Maine in 1957.
Following her memorable journey, Annie Wilkins returned to Maine, settling in the Lincoln County town of Whitefield, where she lived with her close friend, Mina Titus Sawyer. In the mid-1960s, Annie collaborated with journalist Mina Titus Sawyer to document her adventures in a book. Their book, "The Last of the Saddle Tramps," was published in 1967.
Surpassing her initial prognosis of only two years to live, Annie lived for an additional 24 years. She passed away at the age of 88 on February 19, 1980, in Whitefield, Maine. Annie Wilkins was laid to rest in the Libby family plot at Maple Grove Cemetery in Minot, Maine, with her gravestone bearing the inscription "the last of the saddle tramps."
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