The Best Peaches in Alabama

Picking and Grinning
Charles Culp first tended a few peach trees as a ninth grader in 1951. More than a half-century later, he not only farms his 100 acres of orchards, but he also opens them to the public for the best pick-your-own farm in the county. A Tennessee reader first told us about Culp Fruits because her family stops here every year during their vacation. "We do have a lot of regulars," says Charles. "A guy from Florida came by the other day and said he got some sure-enough good peaches last summer and was back for more." Take Exit 219 and go east 1/2 mile, and Charles will set you up with an empty basket for $6. With the June heat, it's best to pick early in the morning (the farm opens at 7) or late in the afternoon.

All Hail Miss Peach
The sound of woodwinds from one of the local high school bands almost drowns out a mother's instructions to her pom-pom-shaking princess. "Please don't throw all your candy at once. You want to save it for the whole ride." At 9 this Saturday morning, the best spot to see the parade, the highlight of the Chilton County Peach Festival, is the corner of Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue North, in downtown Clanton. It's early in the route, so you're assured the best spoils, and the participants--tiny dancers, gospel singers, a fleet of miniature motorcycles--have yet to tire of their routines.

Enjoy the floats along with souped-up hot rods and restored classics, but keep your eye out for her majesty riding high. "Being Miss Peach is a major thing in Chilton County," says Miss Peach 2002, Lindsey Samples. "You're like an icon. Every girl wants to be Miss Peach." During her yearlong reign, the honoree appears at ribbon cuttings and other major events throughout the county. Her time to really shine, though, is during the parade that weaves through town and the peach auction immediately following at Jack Hayes Field.

Peach farmers from all over the county bring voluptuous half-bushel baskets early the morning of the auction, and judges grade on size and continuity of color by sight only. "Once the farmers set their baskets down, we'll kill the person who lays a finger on them," says festival coordinator Richard Davis. "This is serious business, and bruising means losing." The blue-ribbon basket earns $700, but most of the farmers donate their winnings back to the Clanton Lions Club, sponsor of the festival. "It's really more about the recognition than anything," says Richard. All the baskets are then auctioned off to the highest bidder. By Richard's memory, the most given for a winning basket was $8,000, but usually it averages between $2,000 and $2,500. Last year, People's Southern Bank of Clanton bid highest for the prize-winning basket and donated it to Miss Peach, 18-year-old Lindsey. "In all my years, those were the best peaches I've ever had," she says.