By Maddy Vitale
Hold on there, partner. We didn’t think drinking, gambling and maybe even some gunplay were legal in a dry town like Ocean City.
But get ready for some Wild Wild West-style rowdiness when you step into Miss Kitty’s saloon.
Miss Kitty herself will be there to greet you. And if things really get out of hand, Marshal Dillon will be present to restore order.
This throwback to Dodge City from the TV western classic “Gunsmoke,” has been elaborately recreated by Donna and Bill Dorney. They spent months transforming their bayfront home at 118 W. 17th Street, into the whimsical theme for Saturday’s 64th Night in Venice boat parade, which starts at 7 p.m.
Big crowds are expected for the extravaganza.
You may see some cowboys and cowgirls, doing a little two step, while listening to country western music, having a grand old time. Some of the Dorney’s friends who belong to the same dance group as they do, will also act as saloon patrons, Donna said.
The event has become a tradition for the couple who have been married for 44 years.
“I think we have been doing this since 1983,” Donna said Friday, as she and Bill did some last minute touches to the façade.
“When you are old and retired that’s what you do,” Bill joked. “It is just a lot of fun for us.”
And it starts with just a sketch that Bill proudly displayed. “I know a little construction,” he humbly said while looking out at the façade he and his wife created that looks like it belongs on a stage set.
The Dorneys made sure everything is historically accurate at Miss Kitty’s Longbranch Saloon, right down to the swinging doors, lace curtains, wagon wheel chandelier and velvet coverings, they said.
There is even a diamondback rattler that greets guests from a piling. And we can’t forget the hitching post. A western wouldn’t be complete without one, only there isn’t a horse. But there were obvious reasons for that. They did acquire an old western saddle to complete the look.
“Most Wanted” posters of the most notorious criminals of the old west including of course Jesse James, lined Donna’s table and would soon adorn the walls of the saloon.
But the decorations aren’t just for boaters gliding by or people watching from the bayfront properties. The couple invite about 80 guests to enjoy a night in the old west. Guests will get an awesome view from the Dorney’s deck.
Jack Brooks, a friend of the Dorney’s, stopped by to check out the pre-party decorating and planned on watching the parade from their home.
“I think they are very creative. They do so much,” Brooks, said of the preparation by his longtime friends. “That is what makes it interesting. This is what Night is Venice is all about.”
Over the years Donna, 71, a retired trauma nurse and Bill, 70, retired from the Miami Beach Patrol and Ocean City Beach Patrol, have had a lot of fun with the contest.
They decorated their home in a Godzilla theme one year, which Donna admitted was her favorite so far. Bill really liked the theme “Lifestyles of the Not so Rich and Famous,” a spoof on the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” show in the 1980s and 1990s.
While the Dorney’s home may be enough of a thrill to satisfy spectators, there will be plenty more homes to check out along the bayfront. Other homeowners will also artfully and cleverly decorate for the enjoyment of the community and tourists.
Colleen Seitzinger and her family live next door to the Dorneys. They also decorate their home every year.
“We do this every year since 1986. I think my favorite theme is Disney. We did it before and we are doing it again for the 90th anniversary,” Seitzinger said.
Seitzinger said the plan is to begin decorating Saturday morning.
