Two Dollar Hat



Minnie Pearl's famous hat.  Smithsonian Museum,
Washington D.C.

"Year after year. Every week at the Ryman

She had 'em laughin' 'til she had 'em cryin',

Fate had a star; the world had a diamond

In a two dollar hat."

-"Two Dollar Hat"

Pam Tillis

My Mam's house was a treasure trove of all things old and amazing.  She never threw anything away, which I believe is the case for many in the older generation who grew up without much during the Great Depression.  From Avon perfume bottles, newspapers, and costume jewelry all the way to old Opry programs and ticket stubs, she had everything a kid could possibly want to rummage through.  One day, when I was about ten or so, I went digging through some of her books and came across a little thin one entitled "Minnie Pearl's Diary".  Upon opening it I immediately knew it was going to be one of those books I just had to read. Published in the early 1950's, the description of Miss Pearl says "She's in her early flirties--young enough to wink at the fellers; too old to have them wink back."  From the laughs escaping my lips during the first few pages, Mam could tell she wouldn't be getting her book back anytime soon. The dust that was collected between its two covers was decades older than me so she couldn't understand why I'd want to read it. But, as most things went with Mam when it came to me, she let me have the book, no questions asked.  However, she probably snuck in a story about the great Minnie Pearl in there somewhere. Yes, I'm sure of it.

Minnie and Roy Acuff 1980's at the Opry.
Photo by my dad.

Since then I've loved this little lady who brought so much joy and laughter into the homes of millions of radio listeners during her fifty year stint on the Opry.  Sarah Colley was born in the small town of Centerville, Tennessee in 1912.  In college she majored in theater, an interest that eventually led to a job with a production company that toured the United States where she aided in directing plays.  It was during a promotional appearance for this company that she created her character of Minnie Pearl.  She developed several aspects of her persona such as family, home life, and quirks like her accent and plain clothing to go along with it.  In 1940 executives from "The Air Castle of the South" 650 AM-WSM saw her perform and asked her to appear on the Grand Ole Opry.  Little did she know at the time of the long career that would flourish from their offer and the influence that she would have over all that knew or admired her.

Look what I found!

She served as comic relief and opener for the stars who played the stage of the Opry every week.  She'd come out and instantly get the crowd involved by shouting "Howdeee, I'm jes' so proud to be here" with the audiences usually yelling "howdy" back to her.  She told jokes and stories that were built around the town and people of Grinder's Switch, a little one horse place that actually existed right outside Sarah's own Centerville.  She's speak in thick country accent and recollect advice that kin folks would give to her.  "Uncle Nabob don't encourage folks to get married--he says marriage is like gettin' in a hot tub of water--after you get used to it, it ain't so hot."  But despite what "Uncle" said, Minnie was constantly on the chase of nabbing herself a feller and kept everyone in stitches along her journey to not become an old maid.  She became so popular, in fact, that the real Grinder's Switch began getting trampled by fans and tourists to the point that the highway department requested the road sign into the town be changed. 



It's a thousand wonders she didn't drive off
and leave me here.

 I went to Nashville this past summer to stay a few days with my parents god-daughter, LeAnne.  We went to the Loretta Lynn Ranch and on the way back we saw that traffic was back up for miles on the interstate.  We decided to get off at an exit and hit the detour button on her GPS.  That GPS took us down one country road after another and sometimes back again.  It had us going down pathways that weren't even paved and we even ran into a nice looking black snake that I'm positive had a better sense of direction than we did at that moment.  We ended up finally locating a good solid road that was named The Minnie Pearl Memorial Highway.  We joked of how it was in the middle of no where and about why in the world they would pick there of all places to dedicate to her.  By the time I saw a sign that read 'Centerville-5 Miles' I knew right where I was and that the ones who had named the road had known exactly what they were doing.  "We're getting close to Minnie's hometown!" I squealed so loud it probably made LeAnne want to hurl me from the car straight into the 100 degree heat.  Grinder's Switch isn't anything more than Minnie spoke of but I sure was thrilled to have gotten lost and ended up there.

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon suffered a stroke in 1991 which put an end to her career in Nashville.  She died in 1996 at the age of eighty-three but continues to live on in the hearts of everyone who hears her stories, sweet voice, and familiar "Howdy!"  Before being honored at the Opry for her fiftieth anniversary there she told an interviewer, "Somewhere along the line I got hooked on laughter.  The sound of people laughing, is to me now, the very nicest thing of all."  She certainly knew how to keep folks rolling in laughter with a pure, clean jokes, a quality that comedy writers should step up and take notice of today. :)

<3 Kellie