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eneca Su
Suzanne Amos lives out
Wild West fantasy as
‘pistol-packin’
wild, Wild West
meets Rotary t
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor ’
Suzanne Amos, owner of Amos In-
surance Agency, came to Thursday’s
Rotary meeting at the Patrick Center
with her boots on. Topping her wavy
blonde hair was a black cowboy hat.
“How do you do? I’m Seneca Sue,”
she greeted her fellow Rotarians in a
melodic rhythm."
She was clad in leather in an outfit
cut to the fashion of the old Wild West.
On each hip was an empty holster — the
guns safely tucked away on the arsenal
table at the front of the room. In the
back of her belt were two holstered
knives. One hilt was the head of a rat-
tlesnake, the other a rattler’s tail.
It wasn’t dress up day, though dress-
ing up is part of it. Seneca Sue, who
says she loves that part, came to Rotary
to share information-about a program
that has swept the world. The Single
Action Shooting Society, which brings
the old West, its guns, its style and its
charm back to life, is 75,000 members
strong.
About 20 percent of those modern--
day, historically- or fictionally-based
“cunslingérs” are women like Seneca
Sue, who was first introduced to SASS
by another Rotarian in her former home
in Seneca, SC.
“I was introduced to this six years
ago,” she said, adding that she was fas-
cinated at first by the clothing.
Amos, who had never fired a gun,
much less a Winchester or a Remington,
took aim at joining the club. She
learned to shoot, sent off for a tailor-
made outfit and developed her new
alias.
Each member must create an alias
based on a character straight out of his-
tory or from the old silver screen like
the Lone Ranger, the Cisco Kid, Hopa-
long Cassidy, the Rifleman and other
classic Westerns.
Amos created her alias based on the
character of “Victoria Barkley” played
by Barbara Stanwyck in “The Big Val-
ley.” Barkley was a widow. Amos was
Sng
"background of her alias should also
fields where different scenarios are
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Kings Mountain Herald
matriarch
widowed after the death of her first
husband. Barkley owned and oper-
ated her own ranch. Amos owns and
operates her own insurance ‘agency.
Both have blonde-haired daughters,
though Amos laughed that her.
daughter is not ditzy like the off- :
spring of Victoria Barkley. Both
women are classy and strong.
And, as Amos developed her
character, she decided that the
include a love interest with a Nativ
American.
She looks back on that last char-
acter decision with wonderment now. by
After she decided that her character : ob
would have an Indian love interest § ha
she ended up actually falling in love
with and marrying a man who is part
Cherokee, she said. “It all worked out.”
The SASS has turned “gun-slinging™
and “shoot-outs” (minus any type of
live target) into a competitive sport.
Shooting ranges are transformed into
Left to right, “Smooth Leather” (Don Messenger), “Seneca Sue”
(Suzanne Amos) and “Ugly Bill” Bill Poteat are members of a local SASS
club. : i
played out. i
The different scenarios call for dif-
ferent firearms and/or techniques. Ever
heard of a “reverse Nevada sweep”?
Seneca Sue says that’s just one of the
techniques she has learned.
Cowboys or cowgirls must be fast on
their feet, accurate with their aim and
extremely safe with their weapons.
Penalties and fouls can take players out
of the game. :
You have to be very careful when
you are out there, said Bill Poteat, who
is a modern day gunsmith and member
of a nearby SASS club with Amos. He
was also at the Rotary meeting under
the character alias of “Ugly Bill.” He
talked about the organization and
shared some of the safety laws they ;
must abide by in this competitive sport.
Don Messenger, a SASS member
from Blacksburg, SC, was.also at Ro- -
tary as “Smooth Leather.”
Amos’ husband, Ronnie Anderson,
has joined the club under the alias
“Buggy Master.”
No animals or any other type of live
creatures are used as targets in any of
the SASS scenarios.
For more information about SASS,
visit sassnet.com
EMILY WEAVER PHOTO/KMH
“Seneca Sue” (Suzanne Amos) shows off the
i i .
Ohey fill our [ives with unconditional knives she uses in her SASS role
~ love and wonder and whimsy and
i
J
1
tt
devotion. All they ask in return is...
(Nothing.
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