SEVIERVILLE, Tennessee — My name is Ashe Hajek and I moved from Colorado to Knoxville almost a year ago to become a news producer at WBIR.
Before moving to Tennessee, I knew it was known for its music scene and one of the major artists to come from the volunteer state was Dolly Parton. I grew up listening to her and watching her films. My mother actually made sure to tell me the history of her iconic song “I Will Always Love You” after we watched “The Bodyguard” for the first time. I also knew of her imagination library, although I don’t remember seeing it at my local branches growing up.
What I wasn’t expecting was the lasting legacy of Dolly in East Tennessee. One of the first things I was told when I moved here was to visit Dollywood and to try the cinnamon bread. But I wanted to learn more about Dolly’s history first and how she earned the name East Tennessee Song Bird…