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((Now, THIS is where I'd vote for cloning!! Ron)) Cincinnati Enquirer Waynesburg, Kentucky Venus Ramey has earned lots of fame in her 82 years. She was Miss America 1944 and later a candidate for Cincinnati City Council and worked to save Over-the-Rhine's historic buildings. She performed on Broadway and in movies. Now, though, she's in the news for another reason. After confronting a man she said was stealing from her Kentucky farm, Ramey pulled out a gun and shot out a tire on his truck so he couldn't leave, allowing police to arrest him and two others. "He was probably wetting his pants," Ramey said Thursday from her home in Waynesburg, about 140 miles south of Cincinnati. Ramey was on her Lincoln County farm last week - "Friday the 13th, apropos date, isn't it?" she noted Thursday - feeding a horse when she saw her dog run to a nearby building where she stores old steel-shaping machines, lathes and other equipment. "This stuff is over 100 years old," she said. For some time, thieves had been breaking into the building to steal the machines to sell for scrap. She hadn't been able to catch anyone in the act until last week. She drove over to the building and blocked the truck sitting there. When she asked a man what he was doing, he replied "scrapping," and said he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said. She had to balance on her walking stick as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun. "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it. If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now." Ramey then tried to flag down people driving by. When one stopped, she asked them to call 911. Eventually, three people were arrested - one at the scene and two others walking on a nearby road. "They've been stealing from me for years. Those good-for-nothing slobs," she said. Ramey, who lived in Cincinnati on and off for about 30 years, admitted that she is known for taking chances for what she believes in. After moving to Cincinnati from Kentucky when she was 14, she went to Withrow High before returning to Kentucky. She wanted to be in show business, so she moved back to Cincinnati and took different jobs before working as a showgirl at the Beverly Hills Supper Club. That led to other work that got her discovered. Eventually, she found her way to Washington, D.C., where she won a beauty contest and, in 1944, was crowned Miss America, representing the District of Columbia. Don't ask her if she was Miss America. 
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| Venus Ramey
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• She was the first redhaired Miss America, winning in 1944 as the representative from the District of Columbia.
• Her father was a Kentucky state representative in the 1930s, and she served as a page in the legislature.
• She performed in vaudeville and sold War Bonds.
• She appeared on Broadway in "School for Brides" and in the movie "My Girl Tisa."
• Her picture was on a B-17 that flew 68 missions over Nazi Germany in World War II.
• She was married and raised two sons.
Source: www.missamerica.org WorldNetDaily.com Waynesburg, Kentucky 
Venus Ramey (Photo: MissAmerica.org)
Tough isn't a word necessarily associated with Miss America, but three thieves arrested after their truck tires were shot out by 82-year-old Venus Ramey might beg to differ. Ramey, who won the elite beauty crown in 1944, confronted one of the three robbers on her farm in Waynesburg, Ky., about 140 miles south of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. "He was probably wetting his pants," said Ramey, who balanced on her walking stick as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun. Ramey said thieves for some time have been breaking into a building on her property where she stores century-old steel-shaping machines and other equipment to sell for scrap, according to the Enquirer. On April 13, while feeding horses, she followed her dog when it ran over to the building, where a truck was parked in front. She confronted a man who told her he was "scrapping" and would not leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey told the Cincinnati paper. She didn't think twice about shooting. "I just went and did it. If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now," she said. Ramey flagged down a driver who called 911, and three people eventually were arrested, including one at the scene. "They've been stealing from me for years. Those good-for-nothing slobs," she told the Enquirer. Ramey began as a showgirl at the Beverly Hills Supper Club then ended up in Washington, D.C., working for the war effort, where she won a beauty contest. In 1944 she became Miss America, representing the District of Columbia. She was the first redheaded Miss America and the first to be photographed in color, according to her bio on the beauty contest's website. Ramey performed in vaudeville, and her picture adorned a B-17 bomber that flew 68 missions over Germany in World War II. According to the Miss America website, Ramey was sought out for a major Hollywood film by legendary producer Milton Sperling of Warner Brothers Studio. But she was disgusted with show business and returned home to her Kentucky tobacco farm, married and began raising her two sons. In Cincinnati in the 1970s, she helped lead a civic renewal project and made an unsuccessful bid for City Council. Ramey returned to farm life in 1990 but hasn't found it entirely tranquil. "I'm trying to live a quiet, peaceful life and stay out of trouble, and all it is, is one thing after another," she said.
AOL Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder. Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment. Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said.
She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.
"I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now."
Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911.
Curtis Parrish of Ohio was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, Deputy Dan Gilliam said. The man's hometown wasn't immediately available. Three other people were questioned but were not arrested.
After winning the pageant with her singing, dancing and comedic talents, Ramey sold war bonds and her picture was adorned on a B-17 that made missions over Germany in World War II, according to the Miss America Web site.
Ramey lived in Cincinnati for several years and was instrumental in helping rejuvenate Over-the-Rhine historic buildings. She returned to Kentucky in 1990 to live on her farm.
"I'm trying to live a quiet, peaceful life and stay out of trouble, and all it is, is one thing after another," she said. George Lewis, The Interior Journal / AP Former Miss America Venus Ramey, 82, confronted an intruder on her farm in south-central Kentucky, and shot the tires out of his vehicle so he couldn't flee. George Lewis, The Interior Journal / AP "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," Ramey said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now." Peter Stackpole, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images Rameny, here in a file photo, was crowned in 1944. After winning, she sold war bonds and her picture was adorned on a B-17 that flew over Germany in World War II.
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