Back porch 'saloon' offers escape to the old West

Plains residents Dan and Pat Johnson were looking for a good way for friends and family to “come over, relax” and forget about everything going on these days.

They found a way to do just that and express their love for the ways of the old West with the creation of the Wagon Wheel Saloon. 

The "saloon," which is not a bar and does not sell alcohol, was borne of that love and admiration of life in the 19th Century. Armed with a collection of old West memorabilia they set about turning the covered porch in their backyard into a realistic-looking wild West saloon, complete with swinging bar doors and a faux “desperado” displayed Old-West style in a coffin near the porch. 

“We wanted to have a place where friends and family could come and get away from the stress of life today and have a good time,” Johnson said. “I was sitting here having a cold beer one day and we came up with the thought of turning the porch into a piece of the old West”. 

Pat explained the two are big fans of all things old West, including watching western movies. 

“We hoped to create a bit of 'Gunsmoke' in our backyard,” she said, referring to the long-running TV series. 

As she talked, their Boston Terrier they named “Festus” in honor of the character from Gunsmoke, made his presence known. 

For the past 12 months they have been working to create a realistic replication of an old West saloon, including an old-style poker table, a century-old wood stove and red long johns hanging on a clothesline with some dance hall garments. There is also an old foot-pedal powered grindstone that a pioneer carried with him on a journey to new land in the West years ago. 

“I’ve had that stove for more than 50 years,” Pat said. “We can be out here in colder weather, and it keeps us warm.  This has become our little piece of the wild West.”

Still to come are a pair of old-style, functional wood outhouses, and a custom-made wood bar top. An old wood keg with a beer tap will dispense cold brew once the bar top is installed. 

Outside the bar, a “desperado” dressed in Wyatt Earp style garb is displayed in a coffin, much as was often the final pose for outlaws in the wild West. 

“We’ve obviously been fascinated by the old West way of life,” Pat said. “I’ve been around western stuff my whole life, including a time I spent as a member of a sheriff’s horseback posse when I lived in Washington”. 

Dan is a retired aviation mechanic who built the octagonal poker table, complete with green felt on top. The couple has plans to continue adding to the decor over the coming months. 

“We see this as a place where our friends and family can come and have a good time,” Dan said. “People need a place where they can come and kick back”. 

The Johnsons said several cars that have passed by their place and noticed the Wagon Wheel Saloon can’t help but pull over, smile and even laugh as they check out the display. 

“We are glad to have something that makes people happy,” Dan said. “This world could use it.”

The attention to detail is total. Dangling from a holster under the poker table is a toy, old West replica cap gun. 

“There will be no cheating here,” Dan said with a laugh. 

It is, as the couple hoped, an escape to the past that puts smiles on faces.

    A desperado in his final pose in a coffin outside the backyard saloon built by Dan and Pat Johnson. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    The Wagon Wheel Saloon, formerly the back porch of the Johnson family in Plains. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Pat Johnson with a 19th Century grinding wheel on display at the Wagon Wheel Saloon. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    What saloon would be complete without an old saddle? (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    What saloon would be complete without an old saddle? (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)