PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WLOS) — Dolly Parton and her Smoky Mountain businesses are joining the effort to help people in Middle Tennessee who have taken the brunt of devastation after severe flooding from 15 inches of rain that fell on Aug. 21.
Parton said she was moved to help the area after seeing the damage caused in Humphreys County, where her good friend, Loretta Lynn, 89, calls home. Lynn's ranch in Hurricane Mills was severely damaged, and the foreman of her ranch for several decades was killed in the flooding.
Parton and her Pigeon Forge dinner show properties -- Dolly Parton's Stampede Dinner Attraction, Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show and Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud -- will each donate a portion of ticket sales from Oct. 2-3 to benefit the United Way of Humphreys County -- the charity handpicked by Lynn.
After Lynn was quick to offer her support to the Smokies in December 2016 when the area suffered significant destruction from wildfires, Parton said she remembers that and wants to reciprocate the gesture.
“After the Sevier County wildfires in 2016, Loretta was one of the first who reached out to offer anything she could,” Parton said. “It meant so much to me that Loretta—and so many folks—were ready to give in any way they could. This was just one small way I could help Loretta’s people for all they did to help my people.”
Although several counties were impacted by the flooding, Humphreys County was the most heavily damaged. More than 20 died in the catastrophic flooding.
Several counties were affected, but Humphreys County received the most damage. More than 20 people lost their lives due to the catastrophic flooding caused by more than 15 inches of rain that fell in a relatively short period of time in late August. Lynn’s ranch in Hurricane Mills was severely damaged by the flooding that occurred. The foreman of Lynn’s ranch was swept away in the floodwaters.
To donate directly to the United Way of Humphreys County, click HERE.