POWERGRAMS

28 anniversary in 2018. "It is one of the most important facilities for Alabama and the entire region." The $100 million Alabama Farm Center being built near Peach Tower is expected to create up to 400 jobs and have an annual economic impact of $55 million. The 12-building complex on 500 acres is slated to include a 5,000-seat arena, 150,000-square-foot exhibition building and 400-stall barn. Beyond the extensive medical and educational facilities, Clanton's 8,600 residents have access to recreational fields, parks and pools unsurpassed for towns of a similar size. Alabama Power's Lay and Mitchell dams are nearby, supplying emission-free electricity in the region and forming the major reservoirs opened by the company a century ago. And while Heaton Pecan Farm's barn-shaped home off Exit 208 is headquarters for gi boxes and tins ordered by customers nationwide, the community's passion always seems to point back to Prunus persica. "I've been here from the start, seen it grow up from nothing to all of this," says Mae West Zeigler as she rearranges a rocking chair on the porch of Peach Park, which opened in 1984 and has a giant peach replica out front that is popular for summer selfies. "I meet so many people, and enjoy every minute of it." Zeigler says her favorite time of year is when the crowds heading to and from the Gulf Coast stop in for homemade peach ice cream churned each Wednesday by Peach Park founder Frances Gray. Her frozen dessert was named the best in the state by Alabama Living magazine in 2017. Some Peach Park customers prefer the air- conditioned restaurant seating but most with children head to the patio, where squirrels boldly roam the railing seeking handouts. Parents follow kids downhill to picnic tables and porch swings. A hill overlooking the farmers market has a playground, barn and 15-foot-high lighthouse centering a pool that beckons old and young alike. Even the restrooms are peach-colored. Farms in Clanton and Chilton County account for 80 percent of Alabama's peaches. The annual festival begun in 1947 affords growers a chance for bragging rights, with the basket judged best each year auctioned off for charity. World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker flew the first prize-winning basket to Washington, D.C., where U.S. Sens. Lister Hill and John Sparkman presented it to President Harry Truman at the White House. This year's festival begins June 22, culminating with the Peach Jam Jubilee June 29. DURBIN FARMS POPULAR STOPOVER Roadside vegetable stands could learn a thing or two from Durbin Farms Market. Rising from the same humble roots as the open wooden shelters found on roadsides across the nation, the business started nearly nine decades ago is now a Southern showcase. "Marvin and Mary started peddling peaches here in '33," says Colby Jones, manager of the modern market his father, Danny, bought from the Durbins. "They grew apples, tomatoes and other vegetables but peaches were their staple crop. They were open during peach season and closed the rest of the year." The Durbins' destiny was set when they learned Interstate 65 would be built through local pastures and they purchased land on the east side of the proposed major highway. Durbin Farms Fruit Basket opened in 1961 but was destroyed by a tornado on Nov. 17, 1968, so they rebuilt and opened the following year on the west side of the big road. Local farmer Steve Wilson partnered with the Durbins, growing peaches to help supply their store, beginning to sell peach ice cream in the late 1980s, and continuing to expand their business, which Wilson managed until 2005 when Jones bought the store. Jones added a boutique inside where they continue offering 24 flavors of homemade ice cream, a deli with sandwiches, pies and baked goods while expanding and diversifying other elements of the operation. "We shuffle people in CLANTON Bags of roasted pecans are among fresh goods at Heaton Pecan Farm. Tenley Boozer, 6, enjoys chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone at Durbin Farms. Peach cobbler ice cream bowl is customer favorite at Durbin Farms.

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