On a rather chilly Sunday, October 21st, 1928, the local folks prepared for the Johansson and Folsom wedding. For several weeks prior, the mood in the town had been frantic. Maura McAllister and several church ladies worked tirelessly to ensure the church would be ready for the wedding. When word reached outlying villages, the number of guest attending rapidly climbed. Many people wanted to meet the man who killed the Dixon gang, but some knew Roy and Sara and wanted to be part of their special day.
There were a few old-timers who did not know the happy couple and did not care, but they had heard about the church conversion from a bordello. They remembered the old place from their youth and out of pure curiosity wanted to see the transformation in person. Some of guests showed up just for the free food afterward.
Roy did not own a suit and had no intention of wearing one either. The day of the wedding he fumed and paced upstairs of his new home wearing a groove in the wooden floor. Finally, he put on a new pair of jeans, his boots which he cleaned the night before, and a new white western shirt that he purchased from the Sears and Roebuck catalog. It took Tom, Bobby, and Abe an hour to coax Roy downstairs and drive him to the church. Roy fidgeted constantly during the ride to town.
Sara had gone to town right after breakfast and spent the day with Maura, getting ready. When she emerged from her bath and a three-hour stint in the McAllister bathroom, she was wearing her rolled up jeans and a blue gingham blouse. Maura was horrified when Sara came downstairs claiming she was ready.
A quick search within the town produced no dress in Sara's size. It was almost hopeless, but then Martha Dillard showed up with a white petticoat dress that had belonged to her youngest daughter. Sara complained of suffocating in the layers required for the outfit. She refused the bustle and the other undergarments required. With the use of several safety pins, Maura and Martha were able to make Sara look presentable. The dress hung almost straight down without the supporting hoops, but at least Sara accepted the embarrassment of wearing a dress.
The church was packed, with some individuals standing due to a lack of chairs or bench pews. An elderly woman worked the pump organ, which belched hymnal tunes in funeral parlor tempo. Reverend Daniel and Roy waited in a side room with the minister trying to coach Roy. Unfortunately, Roy was continually peering at the crowd through a crack in the door.