09/09/2026
There are some losses that feel especially close to home.
Here in East Tennessee, it’s hard to look out from our little cabin at the hills and mountains and not think of Dolly. From these extended foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, her music, kindness, and love for her home have always felt like part of the landscape.
And now, the country, Tennessee, and especially East Tennessee are feeling the loss of such a gracious, generous, loving soul.
This little island in the Norris Lake “stream” is one of the views we love most at The Haven. As we watched Dolly and Kenny Rogers sing Islands in the Stream, we couldn’t help but think of the beauty surrounding our cabin... and of the remarkable woman whose life touched so many.
Just under an hour from Dolly’s birthplace, Dollywood, and the Great Smoky Mountains, we feel especially grateful to call this part of Tennessee home.
In celebration of Dolly’s life and her extraordinary legacy of giving, The Haven Norris Lake will donate 10% of all Fall bookings to Dolly’s Imagination Library. A small way for our little family cabin to help carry forward something she cared so deeply about: giving children the gift of books and the joy of imagination.
Dolly, we will always love you.
Thank you for all you did for this country, for Tennessee, and especially for your home in East Tennessee. Your music will keep playing, your kindness will keep inspiring, and your light will keep shining through these mountains.
🤍🏽🦋