Well, I'm not quite sure where to start so I guess it's best that I start from the beginning. Hi, my name is Beth Carson. I live in New Castle, Delaware and I've lived here all of my life. I have been married for 23 years to the same wonderful man, and we have two daughters who are the light of my life. And I suffer from OCCD! For those of you who don't know what that is already, it's "obsessive compulsive costuming disorder". Why is that, you ask? Well, I'll tell you.
Several years ago as my husband was lolly-gagging about after an event at his sportsman club, he noticed a bunch of guys setting up steel targets along with some Western themed props. He asked what they were doing and what it was all about, and they invited him to come and watch a Cowboy match the following day. Well, needless to say he was hooked. It took him a couple more years to convince me to come out and play too, but now that he has I think he regrets his actions! Soon we joined SASS, the Single Action Shooting Society, and we haven't looked back.
This Cowboy Action Shooting, or CAS, has something for everyone which is what makes this sport so unique. It's like Civil War re-enactment meets IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation). We dress up in clothing and shoot the firearms that were available at the time just like the Re-enactors do, but instead of doing big battles we shoot stages using steel targets like IPSC. My husband loves the shooting aspect of the sport, and I came to fall in love with the costuming aspect partly out of necessity.
Victorian costumes, nice ones, can be expensive. I know because now I make my own and my bank account reflects this! I had a hard time finding costumes that would fit me (because I'm not your average girl in more ways than one), and the ones that I did find didn't reflect the character that I wanted to portray-----the saloon madame. The family took a trip down to Florida one year, and a local club just happened to be having a cowboy match at the same time. The Fates were smiling upon me, because this is where I met Malinda Butson (aka: Fannie Kickinshoot) and my life has never been the same.
She pointed me in the direction of the Carolina Belles website, that she moderates along with Allison Black (aka: Tornado Alli) and Kathy Laughlin (aka: Catawba Kate). There I found ladies that had the same issues as I did. We share websites, sewing tips, and even photos of our current sewing projects. I have been blessed with making so many friends there, several of them I know that I'll have til the day I die. The Belle Alley, as it has become affectionately known, has a mission: To Encourage, Educate, and Empower Women in All Aspects of Cowboy Action Shooting Sports and All Things Victorian.
One these friends just happens to be Josie Smith (aka: Greeneyed Gypsy). She made the dreaded mistake of responding to a message that I sent her, and she called me on the phone. Some of our phone conversations have been known to go on for HOURS!!!! We would bounce ideas off of one another for dresses, but neither of us could find one resource that encompassed the Victorian Era for fashion where you could find images of the dresses and gowns that women wore. Thus, the LaSalle Library was born.
I am busier today than I have ever been. Between sewing for my family, working full time, going to matches and events, and just life in general there is always something going on. But I'm never too busy to take a moment and call my friends, bake some cookies, or shop on eBay. And I thank God every day for the numerous blessings he has given me in the form of my family and my friends.
