Wednesday, September 2, 2009, the 75th Anniversary Rededication Ceremony at Great Smoky Mountains National Park was held at the Rockefeller Memorial in Newfound Gap, on the very stage from which Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in 1940, several years after the park’s establishment in 1934. The Memorial was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.Among the invited guests were 10 Civilian Conservation Corps alumni who helped build the park, many of those families who were born in the park area but had to move to make way for its creation, and people who attended the original 1940 dedication.
Lots of dignitaries were present, but country music star and 75th anniversary ambassador Dolly Parton awed the crowd with her performance of two songs she had written in reverence of the park’s anniversary! (additional picture link at bottom! :)
Dolly, Bill Plant Tree, Talk To Press Dolly on Friday paid a visit to Dollywood to recognize her Uncle Bill Owens for his efforts to restore the American chestnut tree, which included planting a tree next to the Backporch Theatre. At the event, she took questions, including about
her legendary banjo instructor Applejack, who she said was a combination of Bill's Uncle Phillip Owens and another pickin' neighbor they called "Sawdust," and the park's upcoming 25th anniversary, about which she said they have several surprises planned, some of which they'll be announcing soon. She corrected a report that had appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a few days earlier and repeated here that she had attended two games of the St. Louis Cardinals. "You know I wasn't at that game," she corrected your webmaster. "I wish I did have time to go to a ball game." She said it was a look-a-like and laughed when a fan who dresses in drag claimed from the audience that it was he. When this reporter asked Bill about being singled out two days before at the Smokies re-dedication ceremony for his work on the chestnut, he said 
simply: "Best day of my life . . . I was speechless." Dolly interjected: "Bill is kind of shy. He can talk a lot if he's performing, when he's singing. But he gets all flustered when somebody wants to acknowledge him and pay him any kind of accolades. But anyhow I'm proud of you and think it's wonderful work that you've done." When your webmaster inquired whether she plans to tour in 2010, she replied: "I'd like to say yes but I'm not really certain yet. But eventually I'll get back out and do some things, but I'm taking off a little bit of time to write some stuff. I'm gonna write a musical of my own life. Course I had the great fortune to get to have '9 To 5' on Broadway. It's closing this weekend, actually, as far as the Broadway run, but it's gonna be going on tour next year, and I'm looking forward to that. And so I'm gonna take off some time and write some stuff and eventually do another tour." Dolly ended the day with a park tour. Check out a story on the chestnut ceremony from Knoxville's Volunteer TV here.
**ADDITIONAL PHOTOS - http://www.dollymania.net/smoke09-a.html
her legendary banjo instructor Applejack, who she said was a combination of Bill's Uncle Phillip Owens and another pickin' neighbor they called "Sawdust," and the park's upcoming 25th anniversary, about which she said they have several surprises planned, some of which they'll be announcing soon. She corrected a report that had appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a few days earlier and repeated here that she had attended two games of the St. Louis Cardinals. "You know I wasn't at that game," she corrected your webmaster. "I wish I did have time to go to a ball game." She said it was a look-a-like and laughed when a fan who dresses in drag claimed from the audience that it was he. When this reporter asked Bill about being singled out two days before at the Smokies re-dedication ceremony for his work on the chestnut, he said 
simply: "Best day of my life . . . I was speechless." Dolly interjected: "Bill is kind of shy. He can talk a lot if he's performing, when he's singing. But he gets all flustered when somebody wants to acknowledge him and pay him any kind of accolades. But anyhow I'm proud of you and think it's wonderful work that you've done." When your webmaster inquired whether she plans to tour in 2010, she replied: "I'd like to say yes but I'm not really certain yet. But eventually I'll get back out and do some things, but I'm taking off a little bit of time to write some stuff. I'm gonna write a musical of my own life. Course I had the great fortune to get to have '9 To 5' on Broadway. It's closing this weekend, actually, as far as the Broadway run, but it's gonna be going on tour next year, and I'm looking forward to that. And so I'm gonna take off some time and write some stuff and eventually do another tour." Dolly ended the day with a park tour. Check out a story on the chestnut ceremony from Knoxville's Volunteer TV here.**ADDITIONAL PHOTOS - http://www.dollymania.net/smoke09-a.html
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