PIGEON FORGE, Aug 27 — “Years and years ago, my sister and I made a pact that when Dolly died we’d come to Dollywood immediately,” Rebekah Donchatz said. “We just needed to be here.”

Dollywood, the theme park founded by country music legend Dolly Parton, opened in Tennessee in 1986 and boasts roller coasters, seasonal festivals and old-time displays of rural and small-town American life.

It now attracts four million visitors a year and employs more than 4,000 people, bringing much-needed economic support for the struggling communities of the Appalachian Mountains.

The region’s hardscrabble existence is perhaps best illustrated in Dollywood’s full-size replica of the humble two-room log cabin where Parton grew up with her 11 brothers and sisters in Locust Ridge, outside Sevierville.

Donchatz and her sister peeked into the cabin, pausing at the many original family treasures on display.

“I think growing up in Appalachia, she’s always been my hero,” Donchatz, a 35-year-old mortgage processor from Asheville, North Carolina, told AFP.

Star visited regularly 

Parton, who died on Tuesday aged 80, co-owned and developed the nostalgia-fuelled theme park, building a massive economic asset that has long been valued by locals.

She visited regularly as the park grew to include over 50 rides, a museum, water parks, hotels and daily live shows and workshops.

“It’s been a huge impact, for not just our business but the whole community” in Sevier County and beyond, Laurie Blanton Faulkner, co-owner of the family-run Pottery House Cafe in Pigeon Forge, near Dollywood, told AFP in the bustling dining room.

“Having them at the back door has been such a blessing for us.”

Dollywood has proved to be a blessing for many, directly generating about US$2 billion (RM8.05 billion) of economic impact a year for the state of Tennessee, according to Dollywood Parks & Resorts president Eugene Naughton, who worked closely with Parton for years.

“Family, faith and doing good in the community where we live and work” have been key commitments that Parton and her partners have strived for over the past four decades, he told AFP.

Retirees Ray White and his wife Patti, rolling slowly through Dollywood on their mobility scooters, have been coming to Pigeon Forge from their home in South Carolina since 1989 and are in awe at Dollywood’s influence and the changes in the region.

“It’s grown immensely because of Dollywood,” said White, 77, noting the positive economic impact.

One of Dollywood’s allures is its reflection and promotion of a mountain culture that has steadily faded from modern life.

Guests stroll into blacksmith shops and corn mills, dine on cinnamon bread and other local delicacies, and seek quiet time in an authentic Appalachian chapel.

“She made me proud to be Appalachian. She put us on the map a little bit — a lot,” Donchatz said. — AFP