Written by Drew White
Ringgold, Georgia is a town known for love. Ringgold has been a popular spot for marrying since the 1800s because of its unique one-stop-shop quality. Blood work to test for sexually transmitted diseases was a required step of the marriage process until 2003. In Ringgold, couples were able to get their blood work completed and approved the day of the ceremony. The proximity to Fort Oglethorpe paired with simple blood work completion created a boom in the marriage market in Ringgold throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
For these reasons, Dolly Parton was married to her forever husband, Carl Dean, in Ringgold in 1966, She was also reportedly delighted by the similarity between the name of the town “Ringgold,” and the rings of gold exchanged in the ceremony. The town honors her today with a mural, a celebration for her titled Dolly Week, and assorted commemorations throughout the town.
Drew White’s passion lies in video production and editing. Because of White’s engaging narratives created in her video edits, White has amassed 26,000 followers on a TikTok page showcasing her edits with over 3 million likes and 10 million accumulated views. White hopes to continue to touch the hearts of people through her edits in mediums such as television, film, or music videos. White has also done editing work for the Delta Phi Lambda Sorority at UTC and hopes to continue to secure editing jobs, both on and off campus. If you are looking for footage to be edited, don’t hesitate to reach out at spd392@mocs.utc.edu.