Stacie Schmidt remembers watching her father, Larry Schmidt, play the part of Sheriff Chancey Whitney each year during the Ellsworth Cowtown Days celebration.

For many years, Larry reprised the role of the famous lawman, who was accidentally shot and killed after breaking up a fight in local saloon on Aug. 15, 1873.

The re-enactment has long attracted crowds, who come to watch a raucous production, giving onlookers a true taste of the Wild West with gunfights, horses and cowboys.

But there’s also the dancing girls, who sparkle as they twirl and whirl in flashy dresses and feathery boas. And for a lot of little girls, it’s a role they long to fill once they’re a little older.

That’s how it was for Stacie, who started dancing once she turned 12.

“... My older sisters both danced, so it was a bit of a family affair — a rite of passage to get involved in Cowtown Days,” she said.

“Being a part of community activities was just a given in our house, so I couldn’t wait until at the age of 12, (and) was finally given the go-ahead to be a Cowtown dancer.”

The same was true for Tami McGreevy, whose family ties led her to also taking an active role in the community event.

“It was just a natural progression for me,” McGreevy said. “My parents both owned businesses as I was growing up, and my mom, Gloria, was especially involved in so many different aspects of the community. Being involved and volunteering for things relating to the chamber, or activities promoting this town, was just a natural thing to do.”

McGreevy started dancing in high school, and has continued taking part in Cowtown Days and “The Shooting of Sheriff Whitney” ever since — except when she was away at college.

“Even then, I would typically come back and be involved in some way,” said McGreevy, who now serves as executive director of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce.

While the girls were still in high school, Stacie’s father and another local man, Kenny Castor, built and painted what they called the “Spirit Wagon.” And eventually the show was taken on the road. Years later, Stacie still has a photo from 1992 when she was a part of the Spirit of Ellsworth Traveling Fun Show.

“My dad was passionate about the town, and the fun show was a sort of modern recreation of the old ‘medicine show’,” Stacie said.

“I was a senior during this time, and from 1989-1992, the wagon, dancing girls and a few others traveled every weekend during the summer to promote Ellsworth and Cowtown Days. We had a blast.”

“We built the big yellow wagon that everyone still sees today, thanks to many donations and lots of hard work, and we took the Spirit of Ellsworth Fun Show to other towns to promote Ellsworth and our own Cowtown Festival and western heritage,” Tami said.“We had a theme song, performed dances, had a magician and emcee; it was something to see. We went all over the place — anywhere they’d have us.”

And just like Stacie and Tami, Nancy Karst longed to be a dancer, but she had to put that wish on hold until a little later in life. Eventually, she joined the group in the late 1990s. At the time, Karst had returned to Ellsworth after graduating from college.

“My mother had been a dancer in the 1970s, and I had always wanted to be a dancing girl,” Karst said.“I always enjoyed watching them dance during the ‘Shooting of Sheriff Whitney,’ and I decided to join them after moving back to Ellsworth.”

After dancing for a few years, she started organizing rehearsals and teaching dance routines. After a 15-year hiatus, she was invited to be a dancer once again. And the following year, she resumed her management role — a job still has today.

“I organize practices, recruit and teach dances to new members, arrange for the dancers to have dresses and accessories and notify the dancers of upcoming events,” Karst said.

“I dance as well. I am really into cosplay, so the part I enjoy most is dressing up as an Old West saloon girl.”

Dancers typically perform three routines during “The Shooting of Sheriff Whitney” performance, and often dance during the parade, she said.

“Sometimes we participate in other activities that we are asked to help out with, such as the opening ceremony,” Karst said.“This year, we are planning on being involved in the talent competition.”

And for the dresses, well, some are repurposed from prom gowns, while others are purchased.

“Back in the 1990s when I was dancing, most of the dresses were either made from scratch, or they were created by taking old prom dresses and adding things such as lace, fringe or other accessories to them,” Karst said. “In the past few years, some of them have been purchased online. I enjoy sewing, so I have started making the costumes out of prom dresses again. So now, we have a combination of dresses purchased online and ones I have created from old prom dresses. We reuse them as much as we can every year.”

McGreevy also still plays a role in entertaining the crowd. Today, she’s graduated from dancing girl to madam.

“Having always been a performer, I love the smiles on the faces of the audience,” she said. “Even now, as I play the piano during the re-enactment, it’s really about the audience and giving them an experience that is memorable. The joy that comes from others’ happiness is without measure.”

With this year’s Cowtown Days event scheduled from Aug. 22-25, Karst, McGreevy and this year’s group of dancing girls are polishing their routines to deliver another showstopping performance.

“The dancing girls have always been an integral part of the ‘Shooting of Sheriff Whitney’ re-enactment,” McGreevy said.“The shooting show has taken many turns over the years — while still portraying the same basic events in history, and still highlighting those saloon girls. They are what make the show so fun and a real ‘production,’ if you will.”

“We had a blast dancing and hooping and hollering and putting on a show,” said Schmidt. “I miss those days.”