In this issue:

• A tribute to Dolly Parton

• Dolly’s recipes

• My Tennessee Mountain Home

• Visiting Sevierville

Thank you for sharing yourself with the world

This past week, the world lost one of its brightest lights. She was a beacon for spreading hope, compassion, and generosity. She was a beautiful soul whose warmth was felt and will continue to radiate for generations to come. Dolly Parton devoted her life to showing us how to face hard times with grace. Success with gratitude. Challenges with grit and glitter. 

What made Dolly extraordinary wasn't just the music. It was more than the spunky characters she played in movies like Steel Magnolias and 9 to 5. It went beyond her quick wit and memorable quotes. 

It was her gift for connecting.

I felt that connection on a beautiful June evening in 2016. A dear friend called to ask if my daughter and I would join him and his wife to see Dolly at Wolf Trap in Northern Virginia. Of course, we said yes. I had never seen her perform live before, and my daughter and I were swept up by her energy and instant bond with the audience. Dolly’s music and narrative filled the night air as her presence filled every corner of the venue. It felt as if she were having a personal conversation with each of us. You just couldn’t help but to be drawn to her.

This was how she moved through the world. 

Dolly Parton famously transformed her modest mountain beginnings into a lifelong mission of giving back. Deeply moved by her father's inability to read or write and how it may have held him back from his dreams, she established the Imagination Library. This program provides millions of children from every walk of life with a new book each month, sparking a passion for literacy and building a beautiful bridge to the world.

She didn’t stop there.

Dolly never let her success distance her from where she came from. She kept her sense of humor even when talking about hardship. She showed up for people quietly, meaningfully, without needing any acknowledgment or praise. And she never apologized for being exactly who she was, rhinestones and all. More than her voice, more than the sparkle, Dolly's greatest gift may have been the simplest one: she showed us how to be good people.

For those of us in the second half of life, there's also something particularly worth noting. It was how Dolly aged; not chasing relevance or apologizing for growing older, but creating, showing up, and being generous with her time, her talent, and her resources. She was true to who she was, proving that reinvention is a lifetime pursuit. 

Thank you, Dolly, for the brilliance you brought to the world. Your light will forever shine.

Pam Miller

Editor-in-Chief

Food is love: Dolly’s recipes

"I'm not a gourmet cook. My food is not pretty, but it's good. I cook like my mom, my grandmas and my aunts. I'm still one of those people that really can cook, like the old days. That soul food cooking."  — Dolly Parton

As autumn approaches, we wanted to share a few heartwarming recipes from the rural and mountain kitchens of East Tennessee — the same hills and hollers Dolly Parton called home. These are her recipes, built on simple ingredients and the know-how passed down through the generations.

Dolly’s Legendary “Stampede Soup” This creamy vegetable soup is served at Dolly’s Stampede, a family-friendly arena show of trick riding, aerialists, and comedy that offers a traditional, utensil-free, four-course Southern feast. 

Dolly’s Famous Chicken ‘N Dumplings Chicken and dumplings is about as homey as it gets; true comfort food that Dolly often prepared in her kitchen.

Dolly’s Apple Stack Pie A dessert as old as the hills, apple stack pie is made with as many pancake-thin cake layers as a family had the ingredients for, layered with an apple filling and left to sit overnight until it softened into a spice cake. 

Hungry for more? Dolly Parton’s lifelong passion for global youth literacy is funded in part by cookbook sales. Her share of profits from her classic vintage collection, Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food, and her latest release, Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals, goes directly to the Dollywood Foundation. 

Proceeds from her cookbook sales support Imagination Library, a program that mails a free, high-quality, age-appropriate book to millions of young children worldwide every month. To enroll a child from birth up to age five, parents can visit the official Imagination Library Availability Checker to enter their location, find a local participating community partner, and submit an application.

My Tennessee Mountain Home

To appreciate Dolly, you have to understand the mountains she came from.

She was born on January 19, 1946, and raised in Sevierville, Tennessee. As the fourth of twelve children born to Robert and Avie Lee Parton, she grew up in a remote cabin on Locust Ridge, a rural community in the hills between Sevierville and the national park. Dolly often recalled that they had no running water or electricity; cold baths, bare floors, and insulation crafted from newspaper were the stark reality of the home she'd later immortalize in “My Tennessee Mountain Home.” 

Yet the Parton home was one full of faith, family, and music. Her mother often sang old ballads from the British Isles to her children. Her grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher whose church became the site of Dolly's earliest performances. With little in the way of toys, she made her own entertainment — chasing butterflies, catching June bugs and tying them to strings, the kind of upbringing that only a mountain childhood could give you. Watch the Parton family sing In the Pines — a song that will tug at your heartstrings.

Sevierville matters to her story and her climb to stardom. Tucked away in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the town saw something in Dolly long before the rest of the world caught on, covering her in the local paper as a young child. By the time she was a teenager, her talent had already attracted regional attention. And the morning after graduating from high school in 1964, Dolly packed up her belongings and moved to Nashville knowing exactly what she wanted.

Yet, she never really left Sevierville, though. Not in the way that mattered. A replica of her childhood home stands today at Dollywood, built by her brother and designed by her mother, filled with the details of that childhood: firefly jars used as lamps, newspaper-insulated walls, floral wallpaper. And in downtown Sevierville, outside the 1896 Sevier County Courthouse, there's a bronze statue of a barefoot Dolly sitting on a rock with her guitar … a fitting tribute from the town that raised her.

Visiting Sevierville

If Dolly's story has you pining for a trip to the Smokies, Sevierville is an idyllic place to begin your journey. It's quieter than neighboring Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, but just as close to everything. It’s a special opportunity to experience the region that inspired Dolly’s music.

Downtown: Start at the 1896 Sevier County Courthouse, the first courthouse in Tennessee listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dolly's bronze statue sits on the lawn, guitar in hand. Stop by the recently renovated Sevier County Heritage Museum to learn about the region's history.

Scenic drives and outdoors: Sevierville sits right at the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the country’s most visited national parks. If you can, autumn is its best season, with brilliant colors painting the mountainsides and smaller crowds than in summer. 

A drive along the park's edge or a stop at Douglas Lake offers mountain views without a strenuous hike. For an easy walk, try the Sevierville Historic Walking Trail downtown.

Wine, cider, and spirits: This part of Tennessee is a popular destination for wine and moonshine tastings. Start with a visit to nearby Cades Cove Cellars and Tennessee Homemade Wines. If you have time, stop by the Tennessee Shine Company and Junction 35 Spirits for a taste of the local moonshine tradition. The Apple Barn Hard Cider Company is a nice nod to the region's renown for apple-growing.

Underground and underrated: Despite its name, Forbidden Caverns welcomes visitors with an hour-long guided tour through underground rock formations. Located about 30 minutes outside town, the caverns stay a cool 58 degrees year-round, so bring a light jacket no matter the season.

For more information, visit Sevierville Country Tourism. And to listen to 50 of her most memorable songs, go to Spotify, kick back, and enjoy.

_{NOTE: Claude AI was used to organize this tour; information verified and edited by Tapestry staff}