Fannie Flagg - Standing in the Rainbow

The better-known groups had their radio shows and recording and publishing companies and traveled to personal appearances in big black limousines. But not the Oatmans. They traveled in the same old beat-up car and still mostly sang in country churches and at all-night sings. Ever since he had been saved again, Ferris believed that this new popularity was causing gospel music to drift further away from the church and dangerously close to show business. He felt the devil was slipping hip wiggling and bebop rhythms into gospel, tempting groups and luring good Christians away from the Lord with the idea of making a fast buck. He preached to anyone who would listen that singing gospel not church related was sinful. After losing his own brother Le Roy to the lure of honky-tonk and hillbilly music, he was frightened that his boys Bervin and Vernon might be tempted to run off as well, so he would allow the family to sing on radio shows that featured only gospel.

One was a fifteen-minute broadcast the Blackwood Brothers did twice a day over station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa. Their pianist, Cat Freeman, was an old friend of Ferris's. Cat and his sister Vestal Goodman (now singing with the Happy Goodmans) had all grown up together in northern Alabama and had picked cotton together as kids, so it was a happy reunion. As it turned out, it was also a reunion between Dorothy Smith and the Oatman family. Dorothy was up in Iowa that weekend to visit with her friend and fellow radio homemaker Evelyn Birkby and to participate in the big home-demonstration show at the Mayfair Auditorium in Shenandoah.

Dorothy had just given her "Decorating Cakes for All Occasions" talk and was backstage watching Adella Shoemaker speak and demonstrate how to choose wallpaper when someone handed her a note.

Dear Mrs. Smith,

I seen a poster at KMA that you are here and so are we. I would love to talk with you after the show if you got the time.

Minnie Oatman

Dorothy quickly wrote on the bottom: "Wonderful! Meet me at the stage door when it is over. Dorothy," and gave it back to the lady to deliver.

Dorothy would be more than happy to see Minnie Oatman and hoped that Betty Raye would be with her. She had thought about Betty Raye so many times and wondered how she was. But after the show, it was Minnie alone who met her at the stage door.

The two women walked across the street to a little cafe and sat in a booth that Minnie had trouble squeezing into. After catching up on all the places the Oatmans had been, Dorothy asked what she had wanted to ask from the beginning. "And how is Betty Raye?"

A look of concern suddenly crossed Minnie's face. She hesitated a moment and then confessed, "Not so good… To be honest with you, Mrs. Smith, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. She don't know I'm here but you and your family was so sweet to her and with you having your own daughter and all, I thought maybe you could give me some advice, because I don't mind telling you I am just worried to tears over her."

"Oh dear. Is there anything wrong with her?"

"Not as of yet but I am having a terrible time right now. Both the boys is on the verge of a rebellious streak, and Floyd is gone more woman crazy than ever, and Ferris ain't in his right mind."

Dorothy was alarmed. "What's the matter with him?"

"Oh, every once in a while he gets saved again and goes off the deep end with the spirit but this last time was the worst he's been. I tell you, Mrs. Smith, right now he's about one step up from snake handling and I have to keep my eye on him every minute to keep him from falling back. You know all his people from Sand Mountain is like that. Three of them is dead from snake bites right now." She heaved a sigh. "And I don't have no one to blame but myself. My momma warned me about marrying a Sand Mountain man but nothing would do till I got Ferris Oatman, so I have made my bed and I've got to lump it. But I can't look after him and the whole family too. And Betty Raye is now getting of an age to where all the boys is wanting to date her. I'm afraid when I'm not looking one of them little hip-wiggling hot-lipped gospel boys that's always hanging around at them all-night sings is liable to go behind my back and run off with her."

"I see. How does she feel about it?"

"As of yet she don't pay them no never mind. She ain't interested in anything but sitting in a corner and reading. She's ruined her eyes so bad we had to get her glasses but she hates traveling from place to place so bad I'm afraid she'll marry one of them just to get herself off the road."

"Do you really think so?"

"If she's anything like me at that age she will and we don't have the money to hire another singer to take her place, so I'm just at the bottom of my rope with worry."

"Yes, I can understand your concern." Dorothy's face showed her own concern. Minnie then leaned over and confided to her: "Mrs. Smith, I know I'm not a very smart person. I've had little or none education. And don't get me wrong, I love 'em to death, but Ferris and the boys and, God knows, Floyd is not the brightest of men. This life is all right for folks like us but Betty Raye's different. She's smarter than the rest of us. She thinks I don't notice but I see her reading her books, wanting to learn things. I tried my best to keep her in school over at my sister's but they was too many kids in that house and it made her nervous. But, Mrs. Smith, if I don't do something soon she's gonna wind up just like me and stay dumb all her life."

An idea suddenly occurred to Dorothy about a possible replacement for Betty Raye, but she decided not to say anything specific yet. Dorothy sat back. "Minnie, I don't know if this will work out or not but will you call me at home next week?"

Minnie said she would, and squeezed her way back out of the booth. They parted with Minnie promising to call as soon as they landed somewhere that had a phone.

The next day Dorothy was on her way back to Elmwood Springs, and the Oatman family left Iowa early in the morning, headed straight down to Nashville, Tennessee, known as the Belt Buckle of the Bible Belt, to appear on Wally Fowler's all-night sing at the Ryman Auditorium.

Minnie prayed all the way there that Ferris would not roam around backstage and preach at all the other gospel groups about going commercial and that Floyd would not start chasing after the Carter sisters again.

The last time they had sung with the Carter family Chester, the dummy, had made a suggestion to June she did not like and she'd ripped his wig off. It had cost them twenty-eight dollars to replace it. All the way back home Dorothy was torn. She wanted to help Betty Raye but she would also hate to lose another girl she cared about. But she also knew that same someone longed to travel. Oh well, she rationalized, it couldn't do any harm to ask. The first day she was at home she and Beatrice were sitting in the kitchen when she broached the subject.

"Guess who I ran into up in Iowa?"

"I don't know."

"Do you remember the Oatmans?"

Beatrice smiled and petted her Seeing Eye dog, Honey. "Oh yes."

"And Betty Raye?"

She nodded "Yes… the girl who stayed here. How is she?"

Dorothy cleared her throat. "Not well, it seems. She's not doing well at all."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Yes. Her mother tells me that she is not really that happy traveling. She would like to stop for a while and maybe go back to school."

"Really?"

"Yes, her mother said she would like for Betty Raye to have a chance to at least finish high school." Beatrice nodded but said nothing. "But," Dorothy continued, "it doesn't look like that is going to happen." She paused.

"Why not?" asked Beatrice.

Dorothy had hoped she would ask. "Well, in order for her to stop singing they would have to find someone to replace her in the group."