More Than Peaches

The streets were filled with shouts and surrounded with the echo of the marching band carrying the tail-end of the parade. U.S. Highway 31 was lined with community members shouting and dancing on the curb as the peach queen and her princesses gracefully greeted each parade goer. The Peach Festival had officially begun.

The Peach Festival is approaching its 75th anniversary. Dedicated to celebrating the peach farmers and giving back to the community, Chilton County is preparing to host yet another celebration. A strong tradition filled with legacy, this event is the pride of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club.

The lights brightened an empty stage. Eager for the next Peach Festival pageant, the stage sat in patience. Waiting to be graced again by the click-clack of the pointy heels and the soft swoosh of dress trains, the stage was prepped and ready. A tradition since 1947, each Peach Festival kicked off with a parade featuring the guest of honor, the peach queen.

“The parade just is not complete without the peach queens, they make it and the entire week,” said Becky Tucker.

Becky Tucker is the historian for Peach Festival and has worked with the peach queen programs for more than 10 years. Becky has photographed and written stories for past peach queens and helped the programs provide introductions to Chilton County and the annual Peach Festival.

“The peach queens are a special kind in our community,” said Tucker. “My dream for the longest time was to meet the first one.”

When Tucker met the first peach queen, she described it as an unreal, once in a lifetime opportunity. Gaining the title of peach queen is the highest honor a Chilton County women can receive. The women who serve as peach queens are figureheads and liaisons for their community.

“It is just another way the peach festival gives back and is centered around bettering our community,” said Tucker

Above the car stood a white pipe towering into the base of what presented to be a peach the size of a meteorite. Standing as the landmark and claim to fame, Clanton, Alabama is on the map with its widely known and highly notable peach watertower.

“This is a farm county where everyone supports everyone,” said Glenn McGriff. “The durn watertower is our symbol for community care.”

Glenn McGriff is an involved community member who spends majority of his days giving back to the Chilton County community through various service projects and organizations. McGriff has seen his fair share of Peach Festival and notes each year how the event can’t get any better than the one before.

The car passed field after field covered in trees splattered with pink flowers topping the greenery. The smell of fresh cut grass fed to an overwhelmingly spring scented aroma. The first spot of pink marked the beginning of the peach season.

As the car glided into the Clanton city limits. The car stopped at and in front of it sat a brick building topped by a slanted roof that was labeled, “PEACH PARK.”

“In the summer, during the week, this is where you will see the largest peaches you’ve ever seen be auctioned off,” said Judge Chris Speaks. “These things are the size of softballs and start at ungodly amounts for peaches.”

Speaks serves as the president of the Lions Club, a longtime partner of the Peach Festival.

The peaches are auctioned off in buckets on the front of Peach Park following the parade. The Peach Festival got its start from this specific event. In the 40s, businessmen wanted to assist in the promotion of the peaches and farmers, so they began an auction.

“The big businesspeople came into town and bid,” said Speaks. “That was how the farmers made the large sums of theirmoney back then and how our wonderful traditions started.”

A picture showed the ripe fruit colored the perfect blend of orange, white and yellow piled on top of each other in baskets with ribbons proudly marking first, second and third. The picture sat in a corner delicately portraying the tradition at Peach Park.

“This auction is our greatest fundraiser, we raise between 20 to 25 thousand dollars every year for the local Lions Club charities,” said Speaks. “I am proud to be a part of this community because of that number, and over peaches, it’s just wonderful. It goes to show that this is more than just about the peaches.”