George D. Hay was born in Attica, Indiana, he became a cub reporter for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, and in 1919, was sent on assignment to Mammoth Spring, Arkansas to report on a WWI hero who had gotten killed in the war, he came across a man and visited with him and the man was a fiddle player and invited Mr. Hay to a hoedown in a neighbor's cabin, there was a banjo and guitar with the fiddle to furnish the earthy rythm and about 20 people danced to the "crack 'o dawn"  Mr. Hay was so impressed with the local talent and the fun the mountaineers were having that some seven or eight years later he became the director of WSM in Nashville and with that inspiration at Mammoth Spring, he created the Grand Ole Opry  http://www.opry.com ; 

In keeping with tradition, it is imparative to preserve our heritage of which the true story of the Grand Ole Opry is part of.  This Society is not affiliated with the Grand Ole Opry but is a website created by a personnal admirer of the man who gave us this great institute 

 Your membership in the George D. Hay Society helps to preserve the dream that Mr. Hay had of the Grand Ole Opry.  It also helps to tell the Story of the origination of the Grand Ole Opry.  Many folks enjoy the music and talent of the individuals who perform on the Opry but do not know how it all started.  To become a member, go to the membership page and submit the information with your check or money order.

Mr. Hay loved the music, it started with simple down to earth format, Mr. Hay wanted to keep it this way, but with the changes that came in the future, it all changed the format.  Please help us to bring it back to it's originallity.