How happy I was to attend the 84th birthday and book launch party for Janie Shores, who served as the first woman elected to the Alabama’s Supreme Court. Beginning her life with humble roots in Baldwin County, Janie eventually worked for a lawyer in Mobile who encouraged her to attend law school. Janie’s eventual work throughout Alabama’s tumultuous civil rights era helped shape key debates that resonate even today in our state and throughout the South.
A house full of interesting and fun people gathered to celebrate Janie’s long overdue memoir. In a basic interview style, Janie tells her story which moves from picking potatoes to serving on the Alabama Supreme Court.
Key mentors taught Janie the value of rising above her environment and stretching beyond what was expected of little girls at that time. Her amazing tale intertwines many pivotal moments in history and even involves having regular morning coffee sessions with the “new” Alabama football coach, Bear Bryant.
I think Janie’s outer (and inner) beauty and charm could have carried her far, especially in the South, but her brains and quick mind elevated her even further, to places and positions of which she never dreamed.
Janie’s book will be available for purchase at her first signing at Page and Palette Bookstore on June 9th from 6-8pm. Or, if you are out of our area, you can find, “Just Call Me Janie” on Amazon. You’ll find a link to her web site HERE.