ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The history of Opryland USA is as long and as twisty as the Screamin’ Delta Demon. It would be almost impossible to present every Opryland ride, attraction, show, shop, or restaurant that ever existed in the park. Instead, the purpose of this book is to offer a brief glance at Opryland’s history through images in an attempt to show the highlights that made this park such a memorable place for so many.

I would like to thank a number of people who assisted in the creation of this book. Without their help, this would never have been possible.

To those who helped directly with this project, I would like to thank Ty Herndon; Josh Williams; Michael Parham; Shane Connor; Chip Thomas; Amy Atkinson; Vicki Phillips; Phillip Robison; Chad Ravert; Kina S. Mallard, PhD; Denny Adcock; Matthew R. West; Brett Johnson; the Historic Amusement Foundation; Patrick Wentzel; Vernon Martin; Brenda Colladay; Karen Williams Leath; Emily Harris Brown; Alan Nelson; Kirk and Ronnee Ellithorpe; Craig Havinghurst; Caleb Pitle III; Gerald Crawford; Nick Archer; Ezra Van Damme; Josh Davis; Steve Spencer; Shawn Cook; Daryl Brown; Donna Roberson Nolan; Phillip Hostettler; Clay Stephens; Deborah Dorsey; Ken Kleespies; Rick Sweeney; Mike Rigsbee; Jackie Esposito; Alexandra Bainbridge; Rich Davis; and Sarah Padelford Carr, plus Lydia Rollins, Sarah Gottlieb, and everyone at Arcadia.

I am forever grateful for the inspiration and support from all of my former fellow employees at Gaylord Entertainment, as well as those currently employed with Ryman Hospitality and Marriott International. These extraordinary, creative individuals include, but are not limited to, Ed Stone, Dan Slayden, Beverly Dyer, Bob Whittaker, Rich Maradik, Suzanne Stephan, Michael McCamish, Bryce Callaway, Brenda Klausmann, Stephanie Audain, Adam Anghilante, Aaron Gumpenberger, Pam Chacko Huff, Andi Bordick, Katrina Maddox, Garth McDermott, David Beronja, Andy Gilchrist, Jenny Barker, Melissa McBride Gregory, Jared Jones, Chad Hunter, Jeff Zimmer, Dan Rogers, David Kloeppel, Tim Flors, Tammy Henry, Kristin Chenoweth, John Barrowman, and especially Tom Shukas.

This book would not have been possible without the support of family and friends that have endured my Opryland obsession for decades. Among those, but not limited to, are Rebecca Haithcoat; Phyllis Crawford; Jeff Crawford; Steven Murff; Bob T. Souder, MD; Polly Robison; Ken Barker; Heath Williams; Gavin Crawford; Kylee Crawford; Reese Robison; Garrett Robison; Cole Williams; Amber Williams; Julie Ann Williams; Jaxon Young; Curt Harrison; Judy Rogers Taylor; Fran Davis; Brenda Keller; Suzy Thompson; Christy Vermillion; Mary Valcarcel; Stephanie Lynn Mosley; Jim Schmidt; Joe Wooley; Austin Moylan; Kimberly Kaye; Jerald Skinner; Joy Bolton; Matt Totten; Eric Phillips; Susan Wheeler; Nancy Phillips Stephens; Charles Williams; Linda Mitchell; Preston Holland; Joshua Wagner; Matt N. Thomson; Jolie Seaborn Cripps; Annie Laurie Walters; and many, many others.

Unless otherwise noted, all images in this book are legacy copyright material from Opry Entertainment, the legal successor to National Life and Accident Insurance Company; NLT Corporation; WSM, Inc.; Opryland USA, Inc.; Gaylord Entertainment; and Ryman Hospitality and/or are licensed from the archives of Grand Ole Opry, LLC.