Wedding Bells Ring at High Noon
By Alessio Cei
As the noonday sun beat down in front of the Silver Dollar Saloon, the black-clad preacher looked out over the assembled crowd in their ten-gallon hats and fancy duds, and asked whether anyone objected to the marriage of Gretchen Simpkins and Paul Fry.
Saloon proprietor Shaughnessy McGehee racked his shotgun ominously, ready to defend his friends’ marriage, but no one objected – which is just as well, since his gun was loaded only with confetti.
Though the well-to-do wedding could have come straight out of the Wild West, Fry and Simpkins said their vows on October 25th, 2008. “We met about thirty-two years ago at Santa Clara University,” said Fry, a long-time resident of Santa Clara. “We had an art show together; he was the photographer, I did studio painting,” said Simpkins. The two reunited after the death of Simpkins’ previous husband.
The theme of the wedding emerged from Fry’s deep passion for American history. He is the president of the Gunslingers of the Old West, a historical re-enactment group that pays so much attention to accuracy that it has been called on to perform for historians.
Fry even created a pile of bank notes as party favors, identical to the ones once issued by real banks. His enthusiasm has infected Simpkins, who now plays a part in train robberies enacted at Roaring Camp. “I get to shoot the shotgun,” said Simpkins gleefully.
The wedding took place in McGehee’s yard, which he has faithfully transformed into a replica of the old Frontier Village in San Jose. Although Frontier Village closed down in 1980 because of rising land prices and competition from the brand-new Great America amusement park, McGehee is one of many old fans who preserve its memory. In fact, the doors to his rebuilt Silver Dollar Saloon are the originals used at Frontier Village. “You think about the best time of your childhood, for me it was going to Frontier Village; I’m just trying to share it with others,” says McGehee, who has also hosted graduations and birthday parties in his yard. A carpenter by trade, McGehee put together every building himself – the saloon, the bank, the schoolhouse, and a number of others.
“Shaughnessey absolutely blew me away,” said Dave Deacon, a wedding attendee who was once a member of the Fall Guys, Frontier Village’s stunt group. The Fall Guys reunite every year in June at the Edenvale Glen Park, along with other fans and former employees, for a picnic celebrating the memory of Frontier Village.
The job of feeding these gunslingers fell to Lyle Koch of Antonella’s Ristorante. “I’ve had him do a couple of things, he’s just awesome,” said Simpkins.
