As the nation mourns country music great Dolly Parton, some of the residents in Mount Vernon feel a little closer to this country music legend because some 51 years ago, Parton put on a show at Mount Vernon High School with a few other country musicians to put the school on the map.
Photos by Bill Ivey / Central Photo Company Photos courtesy of Rosemary Ivey Antoshak
On the official scheduling announcement, Dolly Parton was part of the cast of this "all star shindig," it says. The date was Sept. 28, 1975 and the other musicians included Freddy Fender, Lester Flatt, and Moe Bandy. Admission was $3.50-$5.50. Lester Flatt was more famous for his part in the “Flatt and Scruggs” duo that became famous for the Beverly Hillbillies theme song among others. That theme song was officially known as "The Ballad of Jed Clampett."
Allen Case-Sipes was at the Mount Vernon High School show. “I saw Dolly a few times around there, she played a few of the high schools,” he said. At Mount Vernon, “she played in like a cafeteria,” he recalled. Sipes attended Wakefield High School at the time but traveled around to see country music whenever he had the chance. “We knew each other, Dolly and I did,” he said.
This wasn’t Parton’s first gig at schools in this part of Fairfax County. In 1974, she played at Hayfield Secondary School and Edison High School.
Nashville resident Rosemary Ivey was 14 at the time of the concert and lived in Arlington but she did not like country music, so she declined an invitation to go. But her father Bill Ivey went up there with his camera. He owned a local photography business called Central Photo and took a few pictures of Dolly Parton at Mount Vernon High School that night. Those photos are part of Central’s collection and his niece Madeleine Ivey still runs the operation.
On the Central website, they noted past achievements. “Hailed as “an American icon” by The Washington Post and recognized by the Library of Congress, Central Photo has photographed Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy, Dolly Parton, generations of students and travelers from around the world,” the website reads.
The Commons Mount Vernon
The old Mount Vernon High School is now under redevelopment into an arts and entertainment venue renamed “The Commons.” When it opens in the spring of 2027, “entertainment and arts is going to be a big part of that venue,” said Dot Johnson, a Mount Vernon resident and a staff member in the Mount Vernon District supervisor’s office.
The Commons Mount Vernon is the new name for this “Human Development Center,” according to its website.
The 149,000 square foot facility will include:
* Welcome Center & Event Spaces
* Performing Arts Venue
* Classroom & Computer Labs
* Public Wi-Fi
* Workforce Development Program
* Business Incubation
* Early Childhood Program
* Recreation Center for Teens & Seniors
* Historic Library
* Re-Engagement Center and more.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/capital-projects/the-commons-mount-vernon