[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE LIFE OF ``MISS PEACHES,'' ANNABEL GRINER ALDERMAN

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                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 2011

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the passing of Mrs. 
Annabel Griner Alderman, also known as ``Miss Peaches.'' Mrs. Alderman 
was a beloved novelist, poet, talk radio show host, newspaper columnist 
and native of Nashville, Georgia.
  Mrs. Alderman spent the majority of her life in Nashville where she 
became a political activist through writing and performing. She 
appeared as a political comic under the name ``Miss Peaches,'' a self 
proclaimed nickname that would serve as the moniker for her alter ego 
as she performed concerts and monologues with her piano playing 
brother, Geunie Griner.
  Known for her creativity, Miss Annabel lived a colorful life and 
ingratiated herself in her community. Even as a child, she was very 
creative and talented, and wrote the song ``Willacoochee Callin' Moody 
Field'' after a chance meeting at a phone booth. Miss Annabel and her 
mother stopped to make a phone call in Ray City when she was just a 
girl and while they were waiting on the person inside the phone booth, 
she overheard the lady speaking to someone at Moody Air Force Base. She 
went home and wrote the song that she would later perform with her 
brother. This would be only the beginning of the pair's singing career; 
they also recorded comedy and gospel material through RCA with Mrs. 
Alderman acting as lyricist and lead singer.
  As much as she enjoyed performing, Miss Annabel also enjoyed writing 
and would go on to give herself another nickname, that of 
``wordsmith.'' During the 1930s and 1940s, Ward Law Starling was one of 
the biggest newspaper publishers in the state of Georgia, with the 
Nashville Herald being part of his empire. However, after his untimely 
death, Miss Annabel swooped in to keep the paper running and once again 
paired up with her brother Geunie to successfully run the paper for a 
number of years.
  Mrs. Alderman graduated from the Georgia Regional Police Academy in 
1983 and became an investigator with her family's law firm in 
Nashville. However, she continued to write, publishing a book of 
poetry, ``Lost Loves Don't Count'' in 1996. Then in 1999 she wrote her 
first novel, ``Family Man,'' which was nominated for several literary 
awards. During this time Ms. Alderman also penned a political column, 
``About Right Now'' for the Valdosta Daily Times and was named Berrien 
County Republican Woman of the Year. Numerous poems, essays and short 
stories also followed and were published in Georgia magazines such as 
Valdosta Magazine, Flint River Review, Kennesaw State University's 
Golden Age of Poetry and Mercer University's Crossroads magazine.
  The south has many colorful characters in its history but in Berrien 
County, there will only ever be one ``Miss Peaches.'' I rise today to 
commemorate Mrs. Annabel Alderman as an enduring part of the history of 
South Georgia. May the Lord bless her family and her memory.

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