Fans are continuing to pay tribute to Dolly Parton at places connected to the country music icon, as visitors gather to remember her life and legacy.
Several people have stopped by to take pictures and leave flowers at Parton's former part-time home in Solvang, including Monica Herrera, who was visiting from Chula Vista.
“We realized Dolly had left us, and we found out that her house was here, so we came to visit her house and mourn her,” Herrera said.
At the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, the inn has also set up a memorial honoring Parton and her legacy.
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For Helen Morales, a University of California, Santa Barbara professor and Dolly Parton scholar, that legacy extends far beyond music.
“She has incredible songs, the community she’s created across political lines,” Morales said.
Morales said Parton’s contributions as an artist have sometimes been underestimated, in part because of her highly recognizable image.
“There are loads of books about the great male country singers, but because Dolly’s image is a backwoods Barbie — glitter and sequins — she’s taken less seriously as an artist,” Morales said. “So that is, I suppose, my way of honoring her after her death.”
For Herrera, Parton’s legacy can be summed up in a simple message:
“Give to the world. If you have it, give to the world.”
