It honestly didn’t matter whether or not Dolly Parton was going to show up for the opening of her new truck stop in rural Tennessee. Debbe Lamey Welch would not have missed it.
She pulled together an appropriate outfit — glittering silver-fringed cape and boots, rhinestone-studded cowboy hat, blonde hair extensions — and left her job at a senior living center just before the bingo game started to make the nearly two-hour drive. Just in case, she packed some records and memorabilia in hopes of snagging an autograph.
“I thought that this would be the appropriate dress, just in case she might decide to stop by,” Ms. Welch, 52, said, comparing fans’ feelings for Ms. Parton with concern for a parent or other close family member who is sick. “Everyone loves Dolly Parton.”
Ms. Parton did in fact show up, in a fringed blue outfit and sparkling heels, though only for a few minutes. It was a rare public appearance for the 80-year-old country music superstar, even in her home state. Health concerns, which began last year as she postponed and later canceled a Las Vegas residency, grew to the point that Ms. Parton took to social media last fall to confirm that “I ain’t dead yet.”
She has not fully detailed what she has described as “health challenges.” In a recent update, she said she had responded well to treatment after, as she put it, her immune and digestive systems “got all out of whack” in recent years.
So even if fans were not expecting to glimpse her at the grand opening of Dolly’s Tennesseean Travel Stop in Cornersville, about 60 miles south of Nashville, they were eager to know that she was OK.
“We’ve been worried about her,” said Tobie Adair, 45, her butterfly earrings swinging as she stood in the parking lot. (She was among many who showed up at the truck stop wearing Ms. Parton’s favored pink color and signature butterfly motif.)
“I don’t know if we’re going to recover if we were to lose her,” added Amy Key, 51, who works with Ms. Adair. “There’s no one that can replace her.”
Blake Farr, 26, who came with friends from Hohenwald, Tenn., said that Ms. Parton is “ the first person I pray for every day.” He had paid off a credit card in anticipation of the truck stop’s opening, hoping to add to his collection of Dolly Parton merchandise.
“Anything that’s got her picture, it’s probably coming home,” he said.
The fact that hundreds of people had gathered in sweltering heat for the grand opening of a truck stop — albeit one featuring glitter, butterflies and many images of Ms. Parton — was a testament to how much Ms. Parton remains a beacon for her fans in Tennessee.
It was also a sign of how her business empire continues to expand in response to a seemingly insatiable demand for more Dolly. Her SongTeller hotel, complete with her Life of Many Colors Museum of clothing, memorabilia and awards, is scheduled to open in the coming months in downtown Nashville.
The truck stop has its own line of merchandise. And it features “Cup of Ambition” coffee, plus a dog park, a performance venue and a tour bus where people could pose for photos. (There is also an array of gas station staples that are, surprisingly, not Dolly-themed.)
“We haven’t even been to a Buc-ee’s,” said Maralise Smith, 23, an Indiana resident who had come to the opening, referring to the Texas-based chain of gas stations and convenience stores that has spread across the South. “I feel like the mega gas stations are popping up everywhere, and if I’m going pick one, I’m going to pick Dolly’s.”
She added: “I feel like everybody that’s good and iconic for good reasons is getting old.”
Even when initial reports suggested that Ms. Parton would not attend the opening, Ms. Smith said, she and her boyfriend decided that “we’re going to come down here anyway because it’s Dolly.”
Just after 3 p.m., Gregory H. Sachs, the owner of the Tennessean Travel Stop brand, which partnered with Ms. Parton to open the truck stop, took the stage.
“I have a question,” Mr. Sachs said, pausing. “Who would like to see Dolly Parton?”
Then she appeared, beaming and thanking everyone for coming.
“I’m sure some of you wondered why I wanted a truck stop — well, I couldn’t leave it to beavers,” she said to laughter and cheers, in a winking nod to the Buc-ee’s mascot.
She cut the ribbon with a pair of oversized sparkling pink scissors and was whisked away. Pink streamers and butterfly-shaped confetti burst over the crowd. The opening ceremony had lasted about five minutes.
But that was enough for the Dolly faithful.
“Who ever thought she would be in our hometown?” said Nona Brock, 63, who had made trips to Dollywood and Ms. Parton’s resort in East Tennessee, in hopes of spotting her. She had dashed over with her daughter and granddaughter from down the road.
“It’s kind of exciting when you get to lay eyes on her,” she added. “It was wonderful.”
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