Ode of Many Colors
ETSU Remembers Dolly Parton
By Rebecca Adkins Fletcher with ETSU colleagues
In my Tennessee mountain home, Greeneville’s WSMG FM radio played while I ate my cereal before school. I crunched while mama packed lunches, and I knew the truth of daddy's promise to see me this evening as he left for the Magnavox TV plant. Many days I wore a piece of clothing carefully sewn by Mama; she and Mamaw had once worked in a shirt factory that made clothing for Sears.
The sudden flood of memories of my early home nearly overwhelmed me in late August of this year when the news came. I was unprepared for the same gnawing, hollow-gut feeling that had accompanied the deaths of my parents and the loss of loved ones. This loss was another piece of home.
For many raised in the Appalachian Mountains, stories bubble and trickle through us like water through limestone bedrock. Collective reminiscing is one way to curate and share what is important about people and places. The passing of Dolly Parton in August 2026 was deeply felt in Tennessee. We were not alone, as flags flew at half-staff across the U.S., signaling our national collective mourning. For a few days, the online sharing and texting of “all things Dolly” felt like a virtual “keeping watch,” as we honored an Appalachian woman who felt like family to so many.
America’s 250th anniversary offers opportunity to reminisce about the people and places that make us feel at home. While this may spark nostalgic memories of simple moments, reflection also requires us to sit with realities of change. Few biographies showcase the diverse aspects of Appalachian life and culture like that of Dolly Parton. Her legendary influence on music, business, fashion, art, gender roles, and cultural importance is an American story.
I invited colleagues across ETSU to join me in celebrating Dolly Parton’s life and legacy by recognizing many facets of her life and work. Together, we remember an American who set the world ablaze with a voice soft as a butterfly that soared like an eagle as she took us to church, to the mountain top, and through all the emotions of life, love, and heartbreak. Dolly, we’ll always love you.
ETSU President Brian Noland
Promise of possibilities
“A Note on the Passing of Dolly Parton” (sent to ETSU campus community Aug. 25, 2026)
Today, we join millions around the world in mourning the passing of Dolly Parton. Few people have served as greater ambassadors for East Tennessee than Dolly. She shared the spirit of our region with the world through her music, her generosity, and her commitment to helping and uplifting others.
ETSU has been fortunate to experience Dolly’s kindness and generosity firsthand. In 2020, when the pandemic forced us to adjust the format of our Commencement ceremonies, we reached out to Dolly and asked if she would offer a message of encouragement to our graduates. Without hesitation, she graciously recorded heartfelt remarks for the Class of 2020. Her words to the graduates brought comfort, hope, and inspiration during an extraordinarily difficult time.
Her connection to ETSU has become part of our Commencement tradition. At every ceremony, the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band performs “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” — a song that speaks beautifully to perseverance, possibility, and the promise of what comes next. As graduates prepare to begin their next chapter, that beautiful melody carries them on their way, reminding them that brighter days lie ahead and that new possibilities await. For many ETSU graduates and their families, Dolly’s music has become part of one of life’s most meaningful milestones.
Dolly’s legacy extends far beyond her extraordinary career. She showed what it means to use your gifts to lift others, to remain grounded in where you came from, and to leave the world a little brighter than you found it.
We are grateful that she shared a little of that light with ETSU.
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a brand-new day
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
Oh and everything's gonna be all right
Everything's gonna be all right
Everything's gonna be all right
t's gonna be OK
Thomas Alan Holmes
Bluegrass Dolly
Of the many versions of Dolly Parton I’ve heard, from the “girl singer” on “The Porter Wagoner Show” (whose promotion of Breeze dishwashing powder included the enticement of a free dishtowel in every box) to the “rock star” Dolly of the 2020s, my favorite is the bluegrass Dolly, whose “The Grass Is Blue” (1999), “Little Sparrow” (2001), and, to a lesser degree, “Halos and Horns” (2002) reassure me how lyrics transcend musical genre. Who expects to find songs by Billy Joel, Collective Soul and Blackfoot on bluegrass albums?
Dolly has been Appalachia’s version of David Bowie, preserving a core creative intensity while transforming over her long career, and I see her occasional missteps (like the 2002 “Stairway to Heaven” cover) as attempts to grow. The “Trio” sessions with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt prove how powerful an instrument Dolly’s voice could be. Like Emmylou and Linda, Dolly has made canny choices in selecting songs that complement her own extensive songwriting portfolio. Besides, we cannot deny that “Train, Train” is a barnburner.
Thomas Alan Holmes is a professor of English at ETSU.
Sandy Laws
Recipes from home
Dolly Parton, known to be proud of her Appalachian heritage, also made no secret of her love of good home cooking. Author of two cookbooks, and contributor to a spiral-bound collaboration with Dollywood employees, Dolly loved sharing food with family and friends, and she even cooked for everyone on her tour bus! When asked about her recipes, she often joked that she “was never givin’ up her secrets,” stating, “Don’t ask, ’cause I’m not tellin’!”
Dolly built her business around entertainment and hospitality. Many of the restaurants at Dollywood serve her favorite dishes with recipes from “home.”
Dolly recently created a line of food products that showcase her favorites, both sweet and savory, even commenting on the back of the packages as to why she loved each dish.
It’s hard to imagine a world without Dolly, but thanks to her tireless energy and mountaineer spirit, she will never be truly gone. She will live on in all of the beautiful things she has left behind.
Sandy Laws is an assistant archivist at the Archives of Appalachia.
Jennifer Axsom Adler
The Gospel of Dolly
My eyes travel down the aisle as I step through the doors of the chapel at Dollywood, wooden floorboards beneath my feet, worn pews on either side, rough-hewn beams overhead. In this quiet space, set apart from the theme park’s clamor outside, the words of a beloved graduate school adviser return to me: “Pay attention to what stands at the center of sacred spaces.” In many Appalachian churches, the visual center is a communion table, a pulpit, a baptistry, a cross or a combination thereof — professions of faith expressed in wood and stone. Here, though, the chapel’s focal point departs from these familiar forms: at the front stands an expressive woodcarving of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, tenderly cradling a lamb. “This,” I think to myself, “is the gospel of Dolly made visible: We are loved. We are worthy of love. We are to love one another.”
Jennifer Axsom Adler is a professor of history at ETSU.
Daryl A. Carter
Capacity for empathy
America is in a bad place, one brought on by division, hate, and short-sightedness. Yet there was something that improved our daily existence: Dolly Parton. One of her most important contributions was not music, nor was it her dynamic roles on the silver screen. It was her capacity for empathy for others. In an interview with Billboard in 2020, as the righteous indignation of millions reached a crescendo, and millions of others met those calls with hate and venom, Dolly responded in her own unique way. She said, “Of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!” At a time when there were ample opportunities for someone of her stature to elevate hate, she recoiled and made clear she would have no part in such nonsense. It reflected her innate goodness and a sad commentary on the rest of us for not rising to the moment, a moment when moral strength was required. So long, Dolly!
Daryl A. Carter is a professor of history at ETSU.
Stacey Williams
Unconditional love
Dolly Parton was not a self-described feminist. It may even seem that she defied feminism with her ultra-feminine appearance. However, as with book covers, her appearance did not tell the real story. Feminist label aside, Dolly was a feminist through her actions. A fierce advocate for women and working-class folks, she cared deeply about improving the lives of her Appalachian people. With her words and her philanthropy, she spread a message of love and generosity, as well as nonjudgment, including toward the LGBTQ+ community. She spoke out against anti-trans legislation and wove her beliefs about queer inclusion into her music. In turn, she was seen as a “safe person” and was beloved by the LGBTQ+ community. Arguably, her greatest impact was the modeling of unconditional love across differences in social identity, political affiliation and belief system — an impact evidenced by the vast love of Dolly Parton across these same lines.
Stacey Williams is a professor of Psychology and director of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at ETSU.
Becky Buller
Imagination Library
“What will you say if we get to meet Ms. Dolly?” I asked my 6-year-old daughter as we joined the rest of The First Ladies of Bluegrass side stage at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival.
“Thank you for the books!” Romy replied.
Dolly’s Imagination Library has gifted over 300 million books globally since its launch in 1995, one book per month to children from birth to age five. Sixty of those books came to our house in Manchester, Tennessee.
The historic all-female headline set that night ended with all of us — Romy on my hip — joining Dolly —the embodiment of sunshine in her glittering yellow pants suit — for “9 to 5.” The stage and festival grounds were packed. It was such a joyful noise.
As the song ended, I set Romy down to rest my arm. I turned away for only a moment. When I looked at Romy again, she was sobbing. I rushed her off to a quiet corner.
“Her rhinestones scratched me, Mama!!!”
“What?”
“Dolly hugged me. She hugged all the kids on stage!!”
“What?!!?
“I tried to thank her for the books, Mama! I don’t think she heard me. She smelled good.”
Bless you for seeing, loving, and blessing our sweet babies, Ms. Dolly.
Becky Buller is a professional Bluegrass musician and an alumna of ETSU.
Rebecca Proffitt
Folk saint
Dolly Rebecca Parton (1947-2026) said in interviews that she was “no saint,” but that has not stopped the vox populi from venerating her as one. Even before her death, she had been given folk saint status, and since her passing she has been welcomed to our collective home altar as a new ancestor with an incredibly strong spiritual connection to Appalachia. Like many of us who have ancestral ties to Sevier County, my kinship roots are intertwined with Dolly’s, and I recognize her as both a familial and cultural ancestor. Dolly contains multitudes, and her folk sainthood comfortably coexists with her earthy and incredibly relatable humanity; she referenced Granny Magic (“These Old Bones”) right alongside her childhood in her grandfather’s Pentecostal Holiness church (“Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man”). We recognize Dolly Parton as a well and welcome ancestor, able to soothe our nervous systems and remind us all of the love and magic available to Them that Believe.
Rebecca Proffitt is director of the Reece Museum at ETSU.
Beth Haga
Dollywood rave
As a staunch rollercoaster enthusiast, I could talk about Dollywood for days. (No joke!) I could rave about Lightning Rod’s 20 seconds of airtime, Wild Eagle’s graceful zero-g roll, or Thunderhead’s 32 crossovers. However, a recent (involuntary) experience expanded my lens of what Dollywood truly represents. As my legs were dangling 200 feet in the air on Dollywood’s Drop Line, I opened my eyes to one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen: not only a panoramic view of Dollywood’s rides, but also the gorgeous Smoky Mountains. Even if I was only 200 feet above the ground, I felt like I was on top of the world. I truly believe that this feeling is what Dolly Parton intended for everyone to experience at Dollywood, and I feel incredibly honored to be handed such a gift by a true Smoky Mountain legend.
Beth Haga is a student at ETSU.
Karlota Contreras-Koterbay
A vision of cultural significance
In February 2020, before the world paused due to the pandemic, ETSU Slocumb Galleries presented a national juried art exhibition, as part of the annual Positive / Negative exhibition, centered on Dolly Parton. This exhibition was called at the behest of juror Logan Lockner. A Southern writer, scholar, advocate, and East Tennessee native, Lochner was then editor for Burnaway Magazine in Atlanta. To this call, 90 artists submitted works from 24 states, with two international entries from China and Costa Rica. Of the 35 artists selected, Lochner foregrounded the cultural significance of the late Dolly Parton in his juror’s statement:
“The artworks in Positive/Negative 25 are assembled around the figure of iconic Appalachian singer-songwriter, actress, and humanitarian Dolly Parton. (More than) 50 years after the release of her debut album in 1967, Parton maintains a unique position in the cultural landscape, remaining a celebrated icon to people and communities who would otherwise have little left to agree upon among the cultural and political divides that often characterize America today. Though some of these artworks depict Dolly directly, others gesture toward the numerous ideas or associations she represents: homespun charm and Appalachian heritage; camp and celebrity and sexuality; an embrace of Christian traditions alongside vocal and longstanding support of the LGBTQ community; the working woman; the self-made singer-songwriter in Nashville; gender and identity performance. Together, these works present a vision not only of Dolly as an individual but also of the countless people who have found her as an enduring source of identification and inspiration.”
South Carolina-based artist Kymberly Day received the Best of Show Award from that exhibition for her paintings ‘Jolene’ and ‘Dolly Looks into the Future’ (which illustrates this story). The paintings epitomize Dolly Parton as a cultural icon, social advocate and influential figure who stood up for everyone who has had to overcome adversity with resilience and courage.
Karlota Contreras-Koterbay is director of Slocumb Galleries at ETSU.
Scott Honeycutt
Dolly is a wildflower
In a pub called McCarthy’s near the city-center of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland, a local woman named Rita sat at a piano and led a troupe of musicians through a set of traditional Irish singalongs. Throughout the evening, the musicians played songs of longing and loss like “Red is the Rose” and “Skibbereen.” Around midnight, Rita stood up from the piano and reached to her side, grabbing the flat handle of an autoharp case. She opened the case, pulled out the instrument and looked at us sitting near the back of the pub.
Then, as if she were on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, she said, “This next song is dedicated to Dolly Parton and all my friends from Tennessee. Tennessee lost a great light last month, but she will never be forgotten. Dolly is the wildflower.” With these words, Rita began to stum her autoharp. Her fingers were light against the strings, and as she began to sing, the pub grew completely silent beside her voice, but when she arrived at the chorus, we all roused up in that Irish night to sing Dolly’s words in unison…. “Wildflowers don’t care where they grow.”
Dolly has left us, but her songs endure, carried across oceans and generations. That night, in a little Irish pub with a big heart, I understood something about the reach of her music. A great light had gone out in Tennessee, but the wildflowers were still blooming in the green fields of County Mayo.
Scott Honeycutt is a professor of English and director of English Teacher Education Concentration at ETSU.
Rebecca Tolley
Dolly Studies
Dolly Parton has never been very good at staying in her place. For an Appalachian woman, that phrase carries some freight. Don’t get above your raising. Remember where you came from. Be successful, perhaps, but be humble as hell about it. Dolly left home, got rich, built an empire and made “where I come from” central to the story she tells about herself.
She also refuses to stay put intellectually. She is mountain girl and global brand, songwriter and character, working woman and boss, sincerity and spectacle, rhinestones and very serious money. In Dolly Studies (WGSS 4957/5957, Spring 2027), we’ll use songs, costumes, performances, business decisions, philanthropy, fan devotion and grief to ask what happens when we refuse to keep Dolly in her assigned places.
And perhaps the more interesting question: Who gets to decide where a woman belongs in the first place?
Rebecca Tolley is a professor in the Women's, Gener, and Sexuality program at ETSU.
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