r/OldSchoolCool • u/LyricalWillow • 2d ago
1990s Dolly awarding me $500 for graduating high school (1993)
In 1993, Dolly Parton gave every graduating senior $500. It was an attempt to raise graduation rates and it worked.
She hosted a ceremonial dinner for us at Dollywood, then awarded us. She took a picture with us as well.
I wear glasses. During the photo shoot the photographer asked me to tilt my chin. I knew it was to reduce lens flare, but Dolly must have thought it hurt my feelings. She told me several times I had a “beautiful” chin.
So there I was, absolutely starstruck, not having a clue what to say. It was a rather surreal moment.
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u/1hourphoto_ 2d ago
I miss living in Sevier County sometimes. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until this past week. What an incredible memory of an incredible woman.
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u/frankenboobehs 2d ago
Lol, I had a kindergarten graduation in 1994 and I was wearing the same dress print style as dress on the right, with frilly laced socks
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u/LyricalWillow 2d ago
Hey now, I loved that dress! :)
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u/LuceLeakey 2d ago
It's beautiful! And it's such a '90s dress! My early '90s wedding gown had a very similar shape only longer.
Congrats on the award, and how cool to get to meet Dolly! 😍
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u/HuckleberryHuman5926 2d ago
I was genuinely just thinking how thrilled I would have been to find that dress to wear for graduation in 1993!
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u/rcknmrty4evr 2d ago
You’re on the right?? I love that dress, I was born in the early 90s and it reminds me of my mama and what she would dress me in. :,)
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u/Maleficent-Wafer5834 2d ago
Such a wonderful story!
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u/LyricalWillow 2d ago
It’s my favorite memory with her. I grew up in her hometown and was in the band, so I met her several times (the band played with Dolly to open Dollywood, we marched directly in front of her during parades, and we played when her statue was dedicated. My second favorite memory was a little scary. We were marching with her in Pigeon Forge when a huge storm broke out. Lightning everywhere. Everyone, including Dolly, ran for shelter. As we ran I heard her say “This is going to ruin my wig.”
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u/Charming-Standard-84 2d ago edited 1d ago
This is why I gave my younger sisters anything they needed to finish high school when I left home at age 18. A laptop, software, helping them with their homework/exams, going to to their PTA meetings, looking for internships, going with them to our GP for anything medical related, etc.
I didn't want them to fall in the same trap all of my older siblings fell into by not finishing their education but, more importantly, I didn't want them to feel the same loneliness and help-deprived state I was in when I was their age. And they're the best sisters an older brother could have ever wished for: intelligent, caring and just awesome people. Sorry for the tangent but Dolly reminds me of them. 😅
EDIT: Y'all need to stop giving me awards.I was just doing what felt right. Donate that money to a charity like Dolly's Imagination Library or some su/cide prevention fund. One of my sisters was su/cidal when she called me one day out of the blue and, believe it or not, I was actually at our local library. I calmed and tracked her down and had to commit her to a psych ward where she eventually healed after several months. Whomever is donating, please donate to any fund that prevents su/cide.
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u/becauseihavehugetits 2d ago
You were their Dolly 💜
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u/SideInitial3961 1d ago
We should all be someone's Dolly. My grandma burned this into my brain when I was tiny.
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u/QuestionableFoodstuf 1d ago
That's such a sweet and thoughtful thing to do. You've helped build them a strong foundation for the future and God forbid, you ever find yourself in a situation where you need a hand, you know damn well they'll swoop in.
You shouldn't do nice things expecting something in return, but it sure is handy that building good relationships include it as a bonus.
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u/GotZeroFucks2Give 1d ago
I had to take a friend to a psych ward in college when they kept hinting at killing themselves. Never regretted it and he thanked me afterwards. Glad you got your sister help.
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u/vixenpeon 2d ago
I'm really glad you got to meet her so many times and even got a funny wig quote to boot!
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u/DreamCrusher914 1d ago
“This is going to ruin my wig” is priceless. I’m going to say that every time I have to run through the rain. And if anyone asks why, I’ll tell them a little story about Reddit and the weird and wonderful gems you can find here.
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u/RTJ1992 2d ago
Do you recall any other stories about her? Any stories from friends?
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u/LyricalWillow 1d ago
Dolly loved the carousel at Dollywood. Whenever she officially opened the Dollywood park in spring, my band would perform with her. Usually it happened in front of the carousel. One year one of the reporters shouted out that she should ride the zebra because she wore a size z bra. It was in poor taste and a lot of people gasped. Dolly took it in stride, planted herself on the zebra and kept on talking. She laughed about it later. She knew how to deal with absurdities.
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u/busytransitgworl 1d ago
Dolly took it in stride, planted herself on the zebra and kept on talking. She laughed about it later. She knew how to deal with absurdities.
I admire her confidence, even in absurd situations like these!
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u/SideInitial3961 1d ago
Ha ha, she always had the perfect thing to say to make everyone laugh and feel better no matter what's going on. ♥
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u/HarmfulCoaster58 2d ago
$500 from Dolly Parton right out of high school, that's wild. The way she kept reassuring you about your chin is so perfectly her though, like she could sense the photographer made things awkward
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u/Complete_Fix_7073 2d ago
If my math is right that’s like getting 1.1k today! Wow must of felt amazing!!
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u/LyricalWillow 2d ago
It did!
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u/mandalore_fore_2 2d ago
Thought this was one of the cardboard stands that you can stick your face in to look like you met Dolly…but now I see you were just protecting your identity
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u/TheGrandExquisitor 2d ago
Yeah, well Kid Rock gave me a suitcase of Pabst and a carton of cigarettes for dropping out of high school!
/Jk
She was one of a kind and actually made the world better. She will be missed.
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u/got_ur_goat 2d ago
I knew she was a sweetheart, but I was blown away when I learned how she help out Porter Wagoner with his debt by buying his music catalog then gifting it back to him,
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u/hellolovely1 2d ago
Especially because he supposedly was quite jealous of her fame when she became very popular on his show.
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u/420madisonave 1d ago edited 12h ago
He sued her for breach of contract as well when she left the show. She settled for a million dollars and said it was hard financially to pay him back. Even after that she still after that did right by him.
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u/Happidy_60 2d ago edited 1d ago
I vote for September 25th to officially be Dolly Day Worldwide. That's a reference to "9 to 5" for anyone who didn't get it. 🦋
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u/Europe72Alive1 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/dxocWugDZRyG4
This guy followed Doll’s lead. Scott’s Tots helped so many.
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u/mynameisnotsparta 2d ago
I regret never seeing Dolly in concert or meeting her. But I feel the same way as you did at an up close meet and greet with Marie Osmond. We get starstruck and we don’t know what to say.
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u/Slobadob 2d ago
She really was the real deal. I'm Irish and she was very much loved over here. She definitely had Irish blood!!
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u/hvanderw 1d ago
Saw a video of her impromptu performing in a pub when she was visiting ireland at one point. It's great.
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u/FallOutShelterBoy 2d ago
A little more than $1100 in todays money. Could really help a recent graduate!
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u/SquarePegRoundWorld2 1d ago
According to Google, the University of Tennessee's tuition for 1993 was $2,100 to $2,500. I wonder if $1,100 is 20% of today's tuition. lol
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u/1pt20oneggigawatts 1d ago
This definitely sounds like her.
She's up there with Fred Rogers, Bob Ross, and Steve Irwin.
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u/Intelligent-Glass262 1d ago
she gave my late wife 500 bucks even though her graduation buddy got pregnant.
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u/Quiet_Green_Garden 2d ago
I just absolutely love your story. How sweet she was to be thinking about your feelings, and to make sure you felt good about yourself. I bet you do have a beautiful chin!!
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u/Any-Monk-9395 2d ago
Goddamn the more I learn about this lady the more I realize what a saint she was
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u/BlackMagicWorman 2d ago
This truly means so much. Idk about you, OP, but being a girl from a rural area, it felt like no one gave a shit about me graduating school. As long as I had sights on marriage and kids — that’s all the mattered! Well, I know have multiple degrees and am happily unmarried and childfree. Free and happy!
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u/GloomyIndividual3965 2d ago
Both of those dresses are peak early 90s rural fashion. Jokes aside, that's a great memory!
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u/hellolovely1 2d ago
I wouldn't say it was "rural fashion." Those dresses were in at my urban private school at the time.
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u/sionnach 2d ago
I was once told that by the age of 50 you get the face you deserve. If you spend your life frowning, you’ll look angry. If you spend your life smiling, those wrinkles will be the other way up.
I am sure Dolly Parton had her ups and downs through life, but she seemed like a very positive person who deserved to look radiant.
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u/WorkingAway7654 1d ago
That’s amazing, when I graduated high school all I got was a job! I would have loved a nice big hug from her and $500!
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u/Singledram 1d ago
The world’s reaction to Dolly’s passing is a sign we miss and need real nice people, genuine and sincere. We can best honor her by passing it(genuine niceness )forward, and that is what our world needs now.
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u/Virtua1Anarchy 2d ago
Damn I graduated SCHS and didn’t get shit! lol nah that’s awesome! Always loved claiming Dolly as one of us.
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u/ForeignEchoRevival 1d ago
What did you use that cash for? Something cool?
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u/HeartyBeast 1d ago
My brain initially interpreted this as one of those things where you stick your head through the holes.
Glad you got to meet her in person!
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u/Ok-Jackfruit-9393 1d ago
That's so cool, she was and is such a gem. Everyone should be more like Dolly.
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u/Icy_Intention_8503 1d ago
1,157.83 in today's dollars. Makes a big difference for young hs graduates!
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u/mister-ferguson 2d ago
There are so many people posting pictures of her with them doing amazing things!
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u/aomt 2d ago
Not my style, but I liked her music. Didn’t knew she was such and incredible person!
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u/LyricalWillow 2d ago
She really was. When the fire burned down part of Gatlinburg and the surrounding area, she donated a lot of money to help people recover. Just one example of all the good she’s done.
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u/firedmyass 1d ago
I have no doubt that for everything we hear about her doing, there’s 100x that behind the curtain
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u/Resident_Boss6990 1d ago
Dolly was a baddie, and had a great heart, is there anything she wasn't good at? Lol taking people's bullshit appearently. Bc of the song rights thing.
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u/hellno560 2d ago
I'm sorry, I got such a laugh out of the "beautiful chin" story. She was so damn sweet. This is such a nice picture, and story, thank you for sharing.
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u/FitzKablammo 1d ago
Dolly Parton 1993: "Education, A key to a better life"
America 2026: "Education? Get in line, and that'll be $120,000 and quite yer bitchin"
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u/succulentphysique 2d ago
She was such a beautiful person inside and out. May her legacy live on in the many people she helped.
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u/momoney003 1d ago
That's pretty heart warming and grateful to meet her and be awarded. She's always a kind person to give others a favor.
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u/One-Inspection8773 1d ago
Getting $500 from Dolly for graduating in 1993 is such a wholesome piece of history 😭 Imagine getting that award and then having a photo with Dolly to remember it forever
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u/Particular_Pickle465 1d ago
Like just for the people at your high school or everyone in the country?
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u/froction 2d ago
Is that your mom? Y'all look alike.
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u/LyricalWillow 2d ago
In the picture? No, that was my graduation partner. The program worked like this. We had a “buddy” and we only got the money if we both graduated. We were to encourage each other and they were testing to see if it would raise the graduation rate. It worked.
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u/Wyldjay2 1d ago
That’s an awesome memory to have. She looks rather tiny for being fairly voluptuous in other ways.
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u/BlackBoxFox 1d ago
As happy as this is, it just goes to show how many more handouts older gen’s got. I’m really just banking on killing myself before I’m 40.. just gonna go blind and die in a hole.
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u/sometimesifeellikemu 2d ago
I find it interesting that someone would feel compelled to protect an image of their face from over 30 years ago.
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u/bwaredapenguin 2d ago
It seems kind of crazy that you felt the need to censor out your face in a 33 year old picture.
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u/manditoryusername 1d ago
I wish I had enough money to find out if im as good a person as Dolly. Probably not but itd be nice to have the money either way.
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u/NeutralKuchiKopi 22h ago
Damn. All I got was kicked out of the house. Except that actually happened the day I turned 18, months before graduating.
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u/DoubleBet2400 2d ago
She helped so many people a genuinely good person