One day last fall, an empty Mason jar sat on Dan Rogers’ otherwise clean and orderly desk in his office at the Grand Ole Opry House. Turns out it wasn’t just any Mason jar. This one had recently been filled with pickled okra from Carrie Underwood. The megastar had grown the okra, canned it and given the jar to Rogers, who promptly ate it all. There were also blueberry and blackberry jams, also made by Underwood, sealed and awaiting a biscuit.

“This is the Opry for you,” Rogers says, attempting to explain the family feel of the internationally known live country music broadcast, which turns 100 years old this season.

Rogers would know. He’s been on the Opry staff for more than a quarter of its history, and for his entire professional career. In 1998, he started as an intern in the PR

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