Rader followed his dreams from Marshall to becoming a millionaire

Wayne and Patsy Rader perform at their Ocean Opry Theater, which opened in Palm Beach City in1978. The theater has hosted over 300 of the biggest names in country music in its 27 years of existence. [Click to enlarge]

When Wayne Rader left Marshall as a fresh-faced teen-ager to start a new life in Wichita, Kan., with his parents, he never dreamed that leaving his beloved hometown would eventually begin a lifelong journey that would benefit three generations of Raders following the family patriarch.

Rader, who was born in Marshall in 1936 and is called "Bud" or "Buddy" by his close friends, eventually left Kansas and moved the entire Rader clan to Panama City Beach, Fla., where he opened his own country music theater almost 30 years ago. That began a career in country music that has helped him gain national fame along with fortune. Rader, however, said his love affair with country music began in Saline county.

"The very first country music star I saw was at the old Saline County Fairgrounds, when Ernest Tubb brought his Texas Troubadors under a big tent and my sister and her husband took me to see them," he reminisced. "I never got over it and I began a love affair with country music that has never ended."

After moving to Wichita at the age of 14, Rader eventually grew into adulthood and married Patsy. The couple opened up a successful furniture store. But once their children got older, Rader decided to take a chance on his love of country music as a way of making a living.

"All those years, in Kansas, I owned a fairly successful furniture store. In 1977 we decided to close that up and move out," Rader recalled. "When we did, I asked my sons, 'If I were to invest my money in a theater and property, would they be willing to do that for a career?' And they both said, 'You just point the direction, Dad, and that's what we want to do.'"

"We took that theater concept to the very deep South and we bought 10 acres in 1977. On August 5, 1978, we opened a 1,000-seat theater called the Ocean Opry Theater and we did what we called the Rader family show," he said. "God led us through all of this. I believe it was his idea for us to go to Panama City. I wanted to go to more of a tourist area. But, for some reason, the doors opened for us right where we are. Sure enough, He was so right and I was so wrong."

Rader stood by his convictions and the theater took off. Over the years, Ocean Opry has been the home of some of country music's most famous artists including Mel Tillis, Loretta Lynn, Roy Clark, Conway Twitty and Johnny Cash, but Marshall was never far from his thoughts.

"My love is very deep for my hometown. I've always come home over these last 50 years," he said, smiling.

Rader said the changes he's seen in his hometown have been quite dramatic, to say the least.

"The shoe factory is gone ... that's a big thing," he said. "My father worked there for 27 years. Our home sold for $4,500 and my folks had paid $1,500 for it and they thought they made a fortune. The FM Stamper company is now ConAgra. Marshall was a thriving community when I lived here in the '40s. If you went uptown on a Saturday, you could not find a parking place. Some of the farm people would bring a team [of horses] and wagon and park just like you would park a car today."

The Raders, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this June, have recently sold their Panama City Beach property to an Atlanta-based developer who plans to build a commercial and residential complex on over 40 total acres. The last show at the Ocean Opry will be in August of this year.

"Needless to say there are lots of relatives and friends from Marshall and all over the world that are coming to be at our last show," Rader said.

Patsy said the country music theater venture has turned out to be quite lucrative, but none of it would have been possible without the Lord.

"With the inflation over the years, it ended up [being] pretty lucrative," he said, laughing. "It's been hard work, but we made it. The 10 acres we bought, we sold for several million dollars. God has led us through all of these years. We have always upheld him in every show we've ever done and we never close a show without gospel music. Without the Lord, it could not be done."

Rader also had a message to share with Marshall readers.

"I hope this story can be an inspiration to other young people in this vicinity," he said. "To know that if you love something and want it, you can get it. You can achieve it, because this is America. I say to myself, 'Not bad for a little Missouri country boy.' I'm proud of our heritage"

Contact Eric Coley at

marshallfaith@socket.net