Celestine Sibley - 1914
|
By Shameka WilliamsI. Biography Celestine Sibley is the author of about twenty books. She has some of Georgia's
most powerful political figures paid homage to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Sibley covered politics and the legislature from 1958to 1978. She was a newspaper columnist for fifty-five years. In 1984, she learned
from a co-worker that she was on the delinquent " obit list". Sibley captured the rhythm and flavor and language of the region in more than 10,000 newspaper columns for the Atlanta Journals Constitution
countless news stories written on deadline, and more than twenty books. Before Sibley was known as a columnist, she was a masterful court, crime and political
reporter, covering some of the area's most lurid murder trails and the equally colorful events under the gold dome of the Georgia legislature. She will be best remembered for her
column on the front of the features section, rich with folk wit and universal truth. Sibley is the noted Atlanta journalist and author who enriched the lives of countless
Georgians who valued her genuine appreciation of people and the shared experience, hopes, and memories in life. The eight books that were noted in the newspaper were Peachtree Street, USA; A Place Called Sweet Apple
; An Affectionate Portrait of Riches; Mothers Are Always Special; The Sweet Apple Gardening Book; The Malignant Heart ; Christmas in Georgia;
Ah, Sweet Mystery; Straight As an Arrow; Dire Happenings at Scratch Ankle; A Plague of Kin Folks; and Spider in the Sink.
Celestine Sibley was born in Holley, Florida on May 23, 1914. She held her first newspaper job with the Mobile Press Register; she reported for the Pensacola News Journal; from
1936 to 1941, and she began her career with The Atlanta Constitution that spanned more than 50 years. In June 1998, Sibley suffered heart trouble and underwent an angioplasty. Four days after
she returned to work and reported the adventure in her typical low-key style. In July 1999, her doctor told her that it was unsafe for her to continue driving her car by herself, that she shouldn't be driving at all.
Sibley had many friends who wrote about her. Her neighbor and her great friend Larry Chadwick said that she was a great neighbor and great friend over thirty years. She had
friends that were always there for her when she needed them. After Sibley died, there were very many tears. Everyone will remember her as the great helper. II. Sources
Chadwick, Larry. "Celestine Sibley: A Biography." This essay was submitted by a student of Debbie Wooten, a teacher at Bacon County High School in Alma, Georgia.