Liberty Opry - February 11, 2017
by Daryl Moss




On a very nice Saturday afternoon, twenty-one TIHAA members and guests rode the bus over to Liberty, Texas to see a 4 p.m. opry matinee of "Classic Oldies", music from the 50's - 70's. Anticipation was high since nearly three years had passed since the last opry trip. Mary Brown, our trip organizer, passed out a Valentine's goodie bag and water bottles, and then most played four Bingo games on the way up to pass the time. Our winners were Hilda, Ralph, Sharon, Sylvia, and Della. There were multiple winners the last two games.


Upon early arrival, Mary picked up and passed out individual/couple admission tickets. Some of us went over to buy a pre-show snack/meal at the Generations Coffee & Sandwich Bar within the opry building. Available were sandwiches, combos, soups/salads and various snacks and drinks.

We each had received a playbill showing that Glenda Lynn, an opry regular, was the featured singer, along with the Liberty Opry Band & cast. Combined, we listened to 26 vocals (and a drum solo), such as "Mustang Sally", "Blue Velvet", "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", "Only the Lonely", and "Where the Boys Are". All of us remembered these platinum hits from much younger years.



Jay Cantu, the Opry co-owner, welcomed us warmly, and opened with a short prayer followed by recognition of all the veterans (by branch) in the audience. He then introduced each of the very talented band members.

During some of his audience 'warm-up' time, Jay permitted his 3-year-old, prancing, 'cute as a button' granddaughter, "Miss Allie", to share the stage. She was generally unpredictable, but when her time came she was spot on with her rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Audience applauded, of course. (See the Liberty Opry homepage and photos, and also their complementary Facebook pages for her picture, plus others.)

The comedy segments, performed by regular Larry "Booger Lee" Etheridge, were funny. His build up and one-liners kept the audience entertained and laughing. His costume is right out of Booger Holler, his stage-character hometown. [He's actually a native Liberty homeboy.] He did his routines with very little assistance. During the after-intermission portion, he introduced the various bus groups in the audience, including "Mary Brown and the Texas Instruments Houston Alumni Association", at which point we all did some hollering of our own.



Bingo winners were Hilda, Ralph, Sharon, Sylvia, and Della.

Glenda Lynn, the featured singer, was truly good. Dressed the part, she did fabulous vocals of eight, classic oldies. After intermission, between two of her songs, she stopped momentarily and removed her drop clip on earrings, telling the audience in an aside they were too painful. (Nobody could see them anyway due to her long hair.)

At the closing song, when all cast members were lined up across stage front singing "Keep On Prayin'", we got up slowly after the nearly 3-hour show and headed to the bus. Jay Cantu thanked us at the door as we left the theater, and later he and wife Nina again stepped onto the bus to thank us again for attending.

Join us soon for another memorable day trip!

Attendees: Della DuHart, Jean Houston, George Wolf, Tom and Cindy Croissant, Daryl and Brenda Moss along with their friends Marilyn and Bill, Israel and Nora Morales, Ralph and Estella Garcia, Gurrette Roep and her friend Pat, Mary Brown and her friends: Sylvia, Juana, Hilda, Denise and Sharon. We missed having Lola and David Schellhaas and their friends on the trip with us. We hope David is feeling better soon!


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