Parton’s ties to South Carolina run deep

MORNING HEADLINES | Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country, died Tuesday in Nashville, according to a family statement. She was 80.

While known for her Tennessee ties, Parton’s family history and charity work ran deep in the Palmetto State, too.

Through her Imagination Library, Parton donated millions of books to South Carolina children until they were 6 years old. Some 60,000 children here got several books per year in the mail, one official estimated.

“We would estimate in an average year that there were easily 500,000 books that came through the mail through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library,” South Carolina First Steps Executive Director Ann Vandervliet told one Columbia television station.

Also in 2025, Parton donated $100,000 for a healing garden at the Union Medical Center, a South Carolina hospital that opened last year in the county where her mother was born. Near its main entrance, the space features benches, plants, flowers and a fountain designed to offer comfort to patients and their families.

“Union has a special place in my heart,” Parton said at the time. “As many of you might know, my mother was born right here in Lockhart. My family’s roots in this area run deep.”

Parton’s influence was also instrumental in establishing Myrtle Beach as an entertainment destination.

Calvin Gilmore of the Carolina Opry launched a joint partnership with Parton to build dual theaters that opened in 1993 — his Carolina Opry and her Dixie Stampede (now Pirates Voyage).

“Live theater here was an experiment,” Gilmore said. “Today, it’s part of what people think of when they think of Myrtle Beach. You see tribute shows, themed productions and big houses up and down the Grand Strand.”

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CALENDAR: How to find cool things to do around town

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