Local resident who formerly worked at Dollywood revisits today after loss of music icon

Mt. Sterling's own Jordan Campbell, who serves as executive director of the Gateway Regional Arts Center, took an impulse three-hour trip last night to the Dolly Parton statue at the courthouse square in Sevierville, Tenn.

"The three hour drive felt like three minutes because Dolly sang to me all the way down. Fifty of us stood in quiet reverence as we shared a collective exhale after a really hard day," Campbell shared on social media.

Parton, known around the globe for her music, movie roles and charity work, died Tuesday at age 80.

Campbell helped get Montgomery County set up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The arts center first announced the Imagination Library would be available in Montgomery County in 2023.

Through a partnership between the arts center, the Montgomery County Early Childhood Council, the Montgomery County Public Library and the Dollywood Foundation, youths in the county would be eligible to receive one book per month, mailed to their home, completely free of charge, the Advocate reported in June of 2023. The partnership became active in April of 2023 and launched with a video announcement featuring Dolly.

Dolly's Imagination Library has since continued locally. All children in Montgomery between ages birth to age 5 are eligible.

In fact, according to an arts center post, since June of 2023, 60,559 books have been placed into the hands of Montgomery County children.

Campbell shared on social media his trip to the statue yesterday was "Especially important to us diehard Dolly fans because it was important to Dolly. She often said that the bronze statue of her on the lawn of the Sevier County Courthouse is one of her proudest achievements in life. "

Campbell further wrote, "When she excitedly told her father, Lee Parton, that she was getting a statue—an honor usually reserved for presidents and historical greats—he famously tried to keep her humble with a classic piece of Appalachian wit: 'To your fans out there you might be some sort of an idol. But to them pigeons down at the courthouse, you ain’t nothing but another outhouse.'" 

Despite the teasing, Campbell shared Dolly's "Father was deeply proud of her. Dolly later learned from her family that her dad would regularly drive down to the courthouse late at night with a bucket of soapy water and a broom to secretly scrub the pigeon droppings off the statue so it always looked nice for visitors."

Campbell shared photos of flowers and other items surrounding the statue, writing, "I hope the photos bring someone—especially those who wanted to be here but couldn’t—just an ounce of Dolly healing tonight."

He wrote he couldn't "Fully express what it meant to grow up  with someone from Appalachia who loved me when nobody else was there—who understood me when I felt alone—who wanted me to be exactly who I was, no exceptions."

It seemed fitting that Campbell return to Dollywood today. In another social media post he shared shortly after learning of Dolly's passing Campbell said that Dolly was his first employer when he was cast in shows as a performer at Dollywood in children's musicals based on Imagination Library books.

"She appeared on a screen and would look down at us performers, and I felt so special to get to get to 'perform' with Dolly six times a day. When I met her for the first time I felt the magic, the sparkle, the heaven-sent energy flowing from her being," Campbell shared. "Then, years later while living in D.C., the Library of Congress inducted 'Coat of Many Colors' and Dolly attended. Just a mile from my apartment on North Capitol, she was receiving yet another well-deserved accolade. Dolly was truly something special in this dark world."

As the coordinator of the Imagination Library now in Mt. Sterling, Campbell said he now gets to see the faces of children who are impacted by Dolly's generosity every day.

The mood at Dollywood today, Campbell shared on social media, was ominous, "but everyone is smiling and teary and extra gentle. I was in the middle of the Dolly Shop when an announcement came over the loudspeaker at 12 p.m. that all of Tennessee was taking a moment of silence. Everything stopped moving—the rides were paused, the shops stopped sales, the music went quiet. It was healing to be in the right place at the right time."