Working for Dolly

I got my first job when I was 14 years old. Laws were different back then. Oddly enough, each year at that time the state legislature would increase the minimum working age by one year, but of course I always just turned that next year older, so I was able to keep my job at Dollywood. We didn’t necessarily need the money for the family per say, but my brother and I both got jobs there. For me, the novelty of getting a job was its own reward, but when I get a paycheck and I had my very own spending money, money became its own reward as well. And this began the lifelong prison of understanding what money means in this world.

The interviews were held at Dixie Stampede, on the Pigeon Forge strip. Pigeon Forge was like a redneck Las Vegas, gaudy and bright, with buffets and touristy things everywhere. I remember being so excited when I told I was hired at $3.75 an hour! I got a job at a burger restaurant, called Mtn. Dans. I mostly cleared and cleaned off the tables, bringing trays in and washing them, and sweeping...endless sweeping of the area around the restaurant. In later summers, I ended up working in concessions, where I would be a sole operator of whichever concession stand I was assigned to that day or week. I loved this job much better than the burger place, there was a lot more variety and I got to see different sections of the park.

It was also at this first job where I made my first friends outside of school. I became friends with two girls, and we used to hang out after work; we even camped out on one of the girls’ yard on a lake in Dandridge or Strawberry Plains. It was also at Dollywood where I further explored my heterosexuality. I dated Johnny Appleseed’s daughter. He was a well-known character who wandered the park giving out apples. His daughter’s name was Jenny. I can’t remember why we broke up, though I do remember that I didn’t feel “right” dating her, like I was an actor playing a role.

Oddly enough, it was also at Dollywood that I first felt gay feelings, or more accurately, I became the object of someone else’s gay feelings. There was a tenor who sang for the gospel group Kingdom Heirs who took a very real and very aggressive interest in me. This was several summers into my work at Dollywood; I worked there for 5 summers. I cannot remember the tenor’s name, but I can visualize him even to this day. I was not unattracted to him; yet, I was not yet ready to accept what he seemed to be offering. He invited me to his apartment several times and I did fantasize about what would happen if I ever did take him up on his invitation. I never did go to his apartment though. In time, to protect my dying heterosexuality, I even told my best friend Adam about the gay guy who was always hitting on me. I began to distance myself from the tenor and eventually lost touch with him when I was moved to another portion of the park.

I have a great deal of happy memories from my years at Dollywood, though I am sure my mom would remember it much differently because she was the one who drove us to and from work those first couple of summers. I loved the park, the job, and the people around me. I even spent many, many off days at Dollywood, just so I could experience the joy of the park itself. Even though I worked there, the place never lost its fun and luster to my teenage eyes. I even got to meet Dolly Parton a couple of times. I once had my picture taken with her, though my head was cut off, because of course the photographer focused on her; being that I was much taller than she, the top half of my head was cut off!