Good News From The Grand Ole Opry

Some things are just too valuable to lose.

Several seminal items from the Opry’s collection were untouched by the flood, as they were moved to safety in the hours before the complex began to take on water Sun., May 2. Among those items are a copy of the Nashville Banner announcing WSM radio’s first broadcast day, the steamboat whistle Opry founder George D. Hay for years blew to signal the beginning of Opry shows, the fiddle Opry patriarch Roy Acuff played during his first Opry performance, and a pair of shoes Minnie Pearl, the Queen of Country Comedy, wore during more than 50 years of performances.

The Grand Ole Opry House’s signature element, a six-foot circle of oak wood taken from the Ryman Auditorium when the show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974, is also safe. Though it and the rest of the stage were covered by 46 inches of water, the circle appeared to be in “remarkably good condition” according to Buchanan when it was removed from the Opry House to be refurbished and returned to center stage when the facility reopens later this year.

All artifacts that were in the path of flood waters have been painstakingly removed from the complex and placed in environments conducive to their safety. “As the caretakers of these items, we understand how valuable they are to our music, our country, and our culture,” Buchanan said. “We are working with the very best professionals possible to ensure items are preserved. This will not be a short process, but rather one requiring much patience and meticulousness.”