Before she passed away on Aug. 25 at age 80, actress/singer Dolly Parton touched so many lives around the world, including Montgomery County.

Parton’s Imagination Library program made a huge impact on the county. Thousands of books came to the county because of the program and many children signed up for the Local Reading Council of Montgomery County, which sponsors the Imagination Library.

“I think she was a smart businesswoman with some of the choices that she made with her music career and lyrics,” Wellsville resident Nancy Blaue said. “She was so, so generous. If I ever had money, that’s what I would want to do with it. She did so much good with what God blessed her with.”

Blaue met Parton in person twice. The last time she met the famous entertainer was on Aug. 27, 2024 at the Statewide Imagination Library Celebration event at the Folly Theater in Kansas City. There, Parton talked about the success of her reading program, which has grown since its inception in 1995 in Sevier County, Tenn.

“I remembered there was a long line of people and it was very quick,” Blaue said. “I really wanted to look her in the eye and tell her thank you. What she started in Sevier County that spread all over the world really impacted our little corner of the world for sure. I said thank you so much. Then, she wanted to know how long we’ve been doing it and she said that was great. They took a picture. It was very quick.”

Montgomery City resident and County Assessor Jeff Porter was also at that event. Porter was an advocate for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Missouri while working as a State Representative in 2022. He filed a bill that focused on early childhood literacy and created the Imagination Library of Missouri program.

Like Blaue, Porter’s interaction with Parton was brief. He and his wife Julie got a picture with her.

“We got to talk to her for about 60 seconds and she went on to the next person,” Porter said. “She talked to the whole group as a group and the achievements that we did during that timeframe.”

Parton had a successful entertainment career that included an Emmy, 11 Grammy awards, two Academy Award nominations and an honorary Oscar. She had two No. 1 hits, “9 To 5” and “Islands In The Stream.” She also owned an amusement park named Dollywood, which has been in operation for 40 years.

Her Imagination Library program helped children from newborn to age five develop a love of reading. It sent millions of books to children around the world.

“It’s a good program and it got it identified for a lot of people,” Porter said.
Porter was a big fan of Parton long before they met on that August morning in Kansas City two years ago.

“I grew up with her,” Porter said. “I’m 64 years old and basically I got to watch her the whole time I was growing up. I appreciated her music.”

Blaue said she first met Parton during a homecoming event for the Imagination Library affiliates around the country in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. She couldn’t remember exactly what year that was.

“There were workshops about how we were funding the program around the country to get ideas and how we were advertising, just trying to learn from each other,” Blaue said. “All of us were able to meet her. It was the same kind of deal (like it was in 2024 in Kansas City). It was a long line. We walked up and shook her hand. They took a picture.”

Blaue was a member of the Local Reading Council. The organization was created after county resident Barb Welschmeyer saw an article about Parton’s reading program. It included contact information of Pam Hunsaker, who worked as the Dollywood Foundation’s regional representative for the state of Missouri before retiring two years ago.

“She came up to Montgomery, met us at the health department and we talked it through,” Blaue said. “She was a big part of us getting it going because she was a big champion for us. She gave us a lot of information on how to raise some money. She kept telling us, ‘You can do this. You can do this. This isn’t as hard as you think. I can help you.’ She was super helpful.”

Welschmeyer, Anna Powell, Joan Andrews, Laurie Gilbert, Ruth Miller, Joan Andrews and Rhonda Barr were also members of that council.

Blaue said she found out that over 100,000 books came into the county because of the Imagination Library program. There are over 400 kids who are signed up for the program and receiving books.

“I don’t anticipate our program going away in Montgomery County,” Blaue said. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to continue.”