Close your eyes and pretend you're back in the year 1950.
Gas was 27 cents a gallon; a new car would cost you around $1,500; and the average family income was around $3,300. Everything went at a slower pace than it does now, and cell phones weren't attached to our hands.
Now, flash back to present day. You're on a Zoom call while Netflix streams on your television and your phone plays music. You see more cars than crops when you drive down the road, and you can scroll through everyone's lives in a matter of minutes.
For William Peinhardt, 1950 feels like yesterday, and it was a year he will never forget.
As we sat on a Zoom call, he and his daughter commented on how bizarre it was that we were discussing the year 1950 while on a virtual interview in two separate cities. He said his 23-year-old self could have never imagined sitting in 2021 talking about the Cullman County Strawberry Festival on a screen.
"Meeting over a computer didn't exist then, and everything was a lot slower-paced," Peinhardt said.
He is 94 years old now, and the year he reigned as Strawberry Festival King is a distant memory.
Peinhardt is the last living Strawberry Festival King and was the last one ever crowned at the 10th annual event. He grew up in Cullman and helped the family business of produce.
"The whole town came together to celebrate," said Peinhardt. "It was nice getting to meet all the people in the city of Cullman and see all the friendly faces at the big parade and the Strawberry Ball held at St. Bernard School. We all really just had a great time."
While being the king of the city that year and graduating from Auburn University with a degree in agricultural engineering were major highlights of his life, he said there was nothing more special than being married to his wife Dorothea for fifty-nine years before she passed away in 2010.
"My greatest accomplishment in life was helping Dorothea rear our six children all those years," he reminisced.
"It's interesting to know he grew up farming & shipping strawberries & then became a king. My dad was a king!"
As the world continues to grow, change, and move faster than ever, Peinhardt and his family hold on to the memories of a time when picking strawberries was a way of life and being part of a parade was much more thrilling than watching one on a screen.
Make plans to join us on Saturday, May 1, 2021 for this year's Cullman Strawberry Festival!
Visit our website for more information and a full schedule!
