Grand Ole Opry
Sitting in my cozy den, safe from the howling winds of this cold spell, Pat and I enjoyed watching the Grand Ole Opry’s celebration of its 95 th celebration. It was good TV and to two octogenarians it made for many great memories.
For me it went all the way back to the 1940s. That living space in the back end of Bullard Grocery Store in Centrahoma. On Saturday nights, especially in the winter we were more than content to gather around dad’s big Zenith radio. The radio had a large speaker, and a large, illuminated dial. And the big radio did an excellent job picking up a powerful WSM-650 on the dial. The only radio station in the world to carry the Grand Ole Opry.
It was as good as it could get when on a Saturday night, we had company, such as LeRoy and Ethel Byrd and their two little boys, Roy and Troy. Popcorn would be popped, and cokes or coffee served where we seated ourselves facing the radio. Lights out. The wood burning heater giving off plenty of heat. WSM was a clear channel high powered AM which could be picked up all over!
My friends and my siblings usually faded out before the Opry show was over. Sometimes I would wake on Sunday morning with visitors Roy and Troy in my bed. Snoozing. I don’t know if we faded out during Roy Acuff but for sure we would hang on for Minnie Pearl. Or the Duke of Paducah. Red Foley was good on his song “Detour— There’s A Muddy Road Ahead.” I didn’t get all the subliminal religious meanings back then—just worried about that muddy road. I guess all of us heard it on our own levels. The detour song, for instance, made me remember the day our family was on a detour on old HWY-69 and the POWs from the German Prison Camp at Stringtown just about carried our old 35 Ford through the slurry— Putting us back up on the blacktop.
We don’t listen to WSM anymore, but the old AM station is still perking along celebrating its 95 th year of being on the air since 1922. But sometime back in the 70s our government eliminated most if not all of our “clear-channel” high powered stations. They were all powered down in favor of making radio more local. One faithful and grand ole opry lover in Oklahoma City was settling down on a Saturday night and discovered the station wasn’t coming in. This old Opry fanatic called WSM. The station manager explained the situation and said nothing could be done and finally just hung up on the disgruntled Okie.
The radio guy did not know this “Okie” owned a number of radio and TV stations around the USA. Yes. He was E. K. Gaylord the multibillionaire. The next day the personnel at WSM found out their new owner was their Saturday night complainer. Gaylord not only loved the “Opry” he owned it and many other entertainment venues such as the chain of “Six Flags” amusement parks. The Grand Ole Opry was just another entertainment venue that Gaylord bought. And yes, WKY radio in Oklahoma City (owned by Gaylord’s Daily Oklahoman) carried the Opry live after that. Just another small cog in the Gaylord Entertainment Inc. And yes, Gaylord could now sit in his plush home and listen like he wanted to.
Happily, the late Mr. Gaylord has carefully preserved the essence of the Grand Ole Opry. Its footprint has been greatly enlarged with new facilities all over Nashville. A new, bigger and better auditorium in Nashville hosts the Opry now. Oh, and Ryman Auditorium still exists and hosts a lot of the Opry’s shows. Those people in the darkened living room in Centrahoma? All gone on this the 95 th anniversary of our Grand Ole Opry. Congratulations to WSM this their 95 th birthday. May they have another 95!
Have a good week and be sure to go to church Sunday.
Wayne Bullard, DPh