Sarah Clayborne facts for kids
Sarah Clayborne, born on May 1, 1949, is a famous pie chef, restaurant owner, and community helper in Memphis, Tennessee. Many people know her as The Pie Lady.
Early Life
Sarah Clayborne was born Beverly Jean Williams on May 1, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois. She started cooking at just five years old. Her grandmother taught her how to bake delicious pies. In 1982, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Helping the Community
While living in Memphis, Sarah Clayborne started a group called Unified Effort Development (UED). She got help from several organizations like the Institute of Cultural Affairs, the Center for Neighborhoods, The Boys and Girls Club, and Lemoyne College.
In a short time, UED became a top neighborhood program in the country. Margaret Craddock, who worked for a group called MIFA in Memphis, encouraged Sarah to apply for a national award. Sarah Clayborne was the first person to win this award from Neighborhood USA. She was chosen from eleven finalists.
At the award conference, people were so impressed that they started donating money. They raised $150 right there! After this, Sarah was invited to Tennessee State University (TSU) on August 21, 1984, to be a Keynote Speaker. This means she gave an important speech. She continued to help the community from UED's main office until 1985. In 1985, she changed her name to Sarah.
Her Amazing Pies
On September 29, 1987, something very difficult happened to Sarah's third daughter, Eugenia L. Binkins. She was hurt during a robbery in Memphis. Eugenia survived but needed a lot of care.
Sarah Clayborne had recently finished her studies at the Memphis Culinary Academy. To help pay for her daughter's care, she started selling pies from her home. Her pies became very popular! She gave them fun names like Amen Pie (with walnuts and chocolate), Hosanna, Hosanna (chocolate, almonds, and coconut), and Glory Hallelujah (pears and apples with a lemon glaze).
Famous people bought her pies, including actor Tom Cruise, director Sydney Pollack, state senator Steve Cohen, and opera singer Kallen Esperian. Her pies were also sold in many local restaurants.
In 1990, Sarah opened her own luncheonette, which is a small restaurant, specializing in pies. She moved to a bigger location in 1993 because her business was growing so much. Also in 1993, People Magazine wrote a story about Sarah Clayborne. After that story, the demand for her pies grew four times bigger! A publishing company, William Morrow, even wanted to create a cookbook with her recipes.
Sarah Clayborne has also baked her pies to help raise money for charities, such as Youth Villages' Soup Sunday and the Phineas Newborn Family Foundation.
