MATTHEW BURNETTE

Staff Writer

On an otherwise average day in the third grade, our teacher, Mrs. Karen, directed our attention towards the front of the classroom with a book that she held in her hands.

I don’t remember everything she said to introduce the book, but I do remember that she explained that she would be singing the words that were inside instead of just reading them like normal.

She then proceeded to sing, in a voice much better than most third-grade singers I might add, a story about a little girl and her coat of many colors that her mama had made from some old scraps of fabric.

The book, if you haven’t figured it out yet, was titled “Coat of Many Colors,” and it was one of my earliest experiences with the work of Dolly Parton.

We had taken a family trip to Gatlinburg a couple of years before that and spent a day at Dollywood where we walked through the museum dedicated to the country music superstar and co-founder and namesake of the theme park.

I’m sure I heard some of her songs on the radio throughout my youth and remember her cameo in the Beverly Hillbillies movie that was released in the early 90s, but I didn’t really dive too deeply into who Dolly Parton was until I was a little older.

She made a cameo appearance in an episode of The Simpsons where she was set to be the halftime performer at that year’s Super Bowl in the show’s version of things. She was only on the screen for a brief moment, but as always, her self-deprecating humor shined.

Strangely enough, that episode just happened to be the next one in my queue on the day she passed.

That was only one of around 400 television appearances she made throughout her career.

As I got older, I started learning about all of her philanthropic efforts.

The Imagination Library has sent out over 330 million books since its inception in 1995. For a little perspective, the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world, has around 38 million books, nearly a tenth of what the Imagination Library has given out to kids for free.

When the area surrounding her hometown was devastated by wildfire in 2016, Dolly established the My People Fund through her Dollywood Foundation that dispersed around $9 million total to over 900 families that were affected by the fire.

After Hurricane Helene hit in 2024, Dolly donated $1 million dollars from her own personal bank account that was matched by the Dollywood Foundation to help those who were affected.

I don’t think I need to continue because I think we all knew how incredible she was on the large scale, leaving an impact on the world that will carry over for years to come. We all read the thousands of stories that were shared about a universally loved lady.

Several years ago, I returned to my old elementary school for the kindergarten graduation of one of my cousins. As everyone settled into the gym waiting for the program to start, my old third grade teacher, at that time now serving as the principal of the school, came out to greet all of the attendees.

She gave a few informational notes and prayed over the ceremony and for the kids graduating. Then, she said that she would be singing a song that she had sung to all of her classes previously.

It was “Coat of Many Colors.”

A few of the adults and older kids in the audience had been previous students of Mrs. Karen’s and remembered her singing it to them, as I had, but this time around the performance seemed to strike me a little deeper than it had years before.

Looking around at the crowd and then the students and seeing how each one came from different backgrounds and different means put the story in a whole different light and made me realize why it was such an important message for someone who works with kids to give.

“…That one is only poor, only if they choose to be”

The measure of rich and poor isn’t gauged by income or a number of possessions but by how you appreciate the blessings that you have.

A message that every child should hear and that every adult should be reminded of.

Thinking about all of the messages I have seen about Dolly Parton’s passing, the funny thing is that I don’t remember one that spoke about how great her music was and is. Not because it wasn’t. I mean, gosh, she won 11 Grammys in her career and a number of other awards and wrote some of the most enduring songs of not only her generation but in music history.

Everybody spoke about her kindness and the love she showed. How she never judged anyone.

Maybe the best way to honor such a singular person that many of us never met yet all of us felt like we knew is to find ways to show that same love and kindness when we can, whether that be a grand act of charity that you don’t look for credit for or a donation to your local branch of the Imagination Library.

Or, maybe it can be something as seemingly simple as singing a short but sweet song to a group of third graders.

There will never be another Dolly Parton, but maybe if we try our best to act like her when we can, then the world won’t seem as dark without her in it.

A note from me: Several weeks ago, I wrote a column about how hard it is to find a photo album these days, and last week, a very kind lady brought me two of them, though she didn’t give me her name. I just wanted to thank her publicly for her kindness and tell everyone to check out my column next week where I’ll discuss how hard it is to find a good Lamborghini these days.