April 13, 2012 Coats Museum News
Sicknesses, deaths, and house fires had occurred in large numbers in Coats, Bethel, and Bailey’s Crossroads in 1927. However, it was the big snow that blanketed the area that will always be remembered by those who were old enough to recall it. It was with excitement and fond memories that Carsie Denning, Sr. shared his recollection of that big snow. Carsie wrote,” I was a five-year-old farm boy and I remember Mama holding an oil lamp at the kitchen door so we could see the large flakes as the storm started. It snowed all the next day and the second day snow banked up to above the bottom of the windows. My older brother Ezra dug a long tunnel beside the house so we smaller ones could crawl through. The snow was so deep that when he dug a path, I could not see beyond it. The snow in the yard was deeper than my height. Ezra got one of the mules and was on the mule’s back, but then the snow was so deep that the mule had trouble walking. I thought the path to the stable was really a big project. Ezra also dug a path to the wood pile. It was a good thing that there was plenty of wood cut, split, and ready for the fireplace. A side path was dug to the stove wood pile also. I was disappointed that the snow did not last long. It was March and the weather turned warm and the snow was gone in a few days.” (Carsie Denning interview 2003)
Ezra was likely Carsie’s hero during the snowstorm and, if not, there is no doubt that he had been an excellent role model for Carsie and his siblings. With all the hard work that Ezra was doing, he obviously had no time to shoot snowbirds. (These are not of the human species that migrate to warmer climates during the cold season.)The snowbirds were often killed and skinned. The breast of the little bird was the only part saved and it was roasted over the coals in a fireplace. Cruel? Come on! Doesn’t having to dig out all those tunnels and paths sounds cruel?
Bad news was heard in the Coats area in regards to the highway between Erwin and Angier. Engineer W.T. Smith of the Harnett County Highway Commission had been asked to leave that position. The construction of the highway was put on hold temporarily. The residents from Erwin to Angier section were loud in their demand for that road (Harnett County News March 17, 1927).
The Coats Town Board called a special session on March 24, 1927. Dance halls within the corporate limits had to pay a $25.00 privilege tax prior to the day of the dance. A $50.00 fine was charged if not paid up front. Any person selling fish in corporate Coats had to provide themselves with a stand or house as a protection against the weather and unsanitary conditions. A fine of $5.00 for each offense with each day being a separate offense was to be enforced. Do you wonder if anyone ever had to pay the fines? The minutes of the meetings fail to share that kind of information (Coats Town Board Meeting Minutes March 24, 1927).
A new Forest Fire Tower was to be built on Highway 21, ten miles from Fayetteville. It would be 60 feet tall and would command a range of view of Cumberland, Harnett, Sampson, and Hoke Counties. What do you think the cost of the tower was? According to the Harnett News April 7, 1927 edition, the cost was to be $1,000.
A few names from the Grove Township were drawn to serve on the May term of the Superior Court. G.M. Stewart, N.T. Whittington, Herbert Young, and J.S. Coats were picked. The N.C. Legislature made some new statutes for the motorists. Now, every vehicle had to carry a rear light. A horse drawn vehicle could be equipped with reflectors that were approved by the state highway commission. Speed limits were increased to 45 miles per hour on the highways, 20 miles mph in residential sections, and 15 mph in business areas. On curves and in school zones during recess or ingress and egress of pupils , the speed was 15mph. Driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs was punishable by imprisonment from 30 days to a year or a fine of $100 to $1,000 or both. Reckless drivers or hazardous driving carried a 5 to 90 days in jail or a fine of $25.00 to $500.00 or both. Railroad stop laws required motorists to stop at crossings designated by state highway commission. Lights of all vehicles had to be tested under supervision of the highway department and the test certificate had to carried at all times. The light could not show a glare above 42” at 75 feet. Drivers were prohibited from coasting downgrade by throwing gears in neutral. Cars on the right had the right of way and vehicles on the left had to yield when approaching intersections at the same time. Drivers involved in accidents had to stop. Signs, posters, and stickers were prohibited on windshields, side wings, rear, or side mirrors. Red and green lights were prohibited on the front of cars unless they were police cars or fire vehicles. License plates had to follow the car. Fees for plates were raised to $2.00 to replace a plate instead of a dollar. Registration for a car with 25 horsepower or less was $12.50 instead of $20.00. The car registration card was to be kept in a container on the crowl or instrument board. The container cost 50 cents. Who remembers when hand signals were used? According to the April 7, 1927 article of the Harnett County News, the hand signals are the same as one might use in 2012.
What did you think of those road statutes? Read next week to learn what Coats students won in the end of year county commencement and other happenings in the Grove area. I do know that this weekend will be exciting for the Coats Museum folks as they meet with Dr. Moses Jones from Alabama to help him gather more family history for a documentary. We hope to carry him and his group to Summerville, Averasboro, local Ryals cemeteries, and the Erwin and Coats area.
A special thank you to Tom Stewart from Erwin who dropped by the museum to give a collection of pictures of the Turlington family. One of them was Martin Turlington who was a well known builder in early Coats. Ironically, Becky Adams and Joyce Turner were working as volunteers and Becky noted that she thought he had built her Grandfather Rodolphus Ennis’s house.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS WAS PUBLISHED ON APRIL 13, 2012 IN THE DAILY RECORD
Sicknesses, deaths, and house fires had occurred in large numbers in Coats, Bethel, and Bailey’s Crossroads in 1927. However, it was the big snow that blanketed the area that will always be remembered by those who were old enough to recall it. It was with excitement and fond memories that Carsie Denning, Sr. shared his recollection of that big snow. Carsie wrote,” I was a five-year-old farm boy and I remember Mama holding an oil lamp at the kitchen door so we could see the large flakes as the storm started. It snowed all the next day and the second day snow banked up to above the bottom of the windows. My older brother Ezra dug a long tunnel beside the house so we smaller ones could crawl through. The snow was so deep that when he dug a path, I could not see beyond it. The snow in the yard was deeper than my height. Ezra got one of the mules and was on the mule’s back, but then the snow was so deep that the mule had trouble walking. I thought the path to the stable was really a big project. Ezra also dug a path to the wood pile. It was a good thing that there was plenty of wood cut, split, and ready for the fireplace. A side path was dug to the stove wood pile also. I was disappointed that the snow did not last long. It was March and the weather turned warm and the snow was gone in a few days.” (Carsie Denning interview 2003)
Ezra was likely Carsie’s hero during the snowstorm and, if not, there is no doubt that he had been an excellent role model for Carsie and his siblings. With all the hard work that Ezra was doing, he obviously had no time to shoot snowbirds. (These are not of the human species that migrate to warmer climates during the cold season.)The snowbirds were often killed and skinned. The breast of the little bird was the only part saved and it was roasted over the coals in a fireplace. Cruel? Come on! Doesn’t having to dig out all those tunnels and paths sounds cruel?
Bad news was heard in the Coats area in regards to the highway between Erwin and Angier. Engineer W.T. Smith of the Harnett County Highway Commission had been asked to leave that position. The construction of the highway was put on hold temporarily. The residents from Erwin to Angier section were loud in their demand for that road (Harnett County News March 17, 1927).
The Coats Town Board called a special session on March 24, 1927. Dance halls within the corporate limits had to pay a $25.00 privilege tax prior to the day of the dance. A $50.00 fine was charged if not paid up front. Any person selling fish in corporate Coats had to provide themselves with a stand or house as a protection against the weather and unsanitary conditions. A fine of $5.00 for each offense with each day being a separate offense was to be enforced. Do you wonder if anyone ever had to pay the fines? The minutes of the meetings fail to share that kind of information (Coats Town Board Meeting Minutes March 24, 1927).
A new Forest Fire Tower was to be built on Highway 21, ten miles from Fayetteville. It would be 60 feet tall and would command a range of view of Cumberland, Harnett, Sampson, and Hoke Counties. What do you think the cost of the tower was? According to the Harnett News April 7, 1927 edition, the cost was to be $1,000.
A few names from the Grove Township were drawn to serve on the May term of the Superior Court. G.M. Stewart, N.T. Whittington, Herbert Young, and J.S. Coats were picked. The N.C. Legislature made some new statutes for the motorists. Now, every vehicle had to carry a rear light. A horse drawn vehicle could be equipped with reflectors that were approved by the state highway commission. Speed limits were increased to 45 miles per hour on the highways, 20 miles mph in residential sections, and 15 mph in business areas. On curves and in school zones during recess or ingress and egress of pupils , the speed was 15mph. Driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs was punishable by imprisonment from 30 days to a year or a fine of $100 to $1,000 or both. Reckless drivers or hazardous driving carried a 5 to 90 days in jail or a fine of $25.00 to $500.00 or both. Railroad stop laws required motorists to stop at crossings designated by state highway commission. Lights of all vehicles had to be tested under supervision of the highway department and the test certificate had to carried at all times. The light could not show a glare above 42” at 75 feet. Drivers were prohibited from coasting downgrade by throwing gears in neutral. Cars on the right had the right of way and vehicles on the left had to yield when approaching intersections at the same time. Drivers involved in accidents had to stop. Signs, posters, and stickers were prohibited on windshields, side wings, rear, or side mirrors. Red and green lights were prohibited on the front of cars unless they were police cars or fire vehicles. License plates had to follow the car. Fees for plates were raised to $2.00 to replace a plate instead of a dollar. Registration for a car with 25 horsepower or less was $12.50 instead of $20.00. The car registration card was to be kept in a container on the crowl or instrument board. The container cost 50 cents. Who remembers when hand signals were used? According to the April 7, 1927 article of the Harnett County News, the hand signals are the same as one might use in 2012.
What did you think of those road statutes? Read next week to learn what Coats students won in the end of year county commencement and other happenings in the Grove area. I do know that this weekend will be exciting for the Coats Museum folks as they meet with Dr. Moses Jones from Alabama to help him gather more family history for a documentary. We hope to carry him and his group to Summerville, Averasboro, local Ryals cemeteries, and the Erwin and Coats area.
A special thank you to Tom Stewart from Erwin who dropped by the museum to give a collection of pictures of the Turlington family. One of them was Martin Turlington who was a well known builder in early Coats. Ironically, Becky Adams and Joyce Turner were working as volunteers and Becky noted that she thought he had built her Grandfather Rodolphus Ennis’s house.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS WAS PUBLISHED ON APRIL 13, 2012 IN THE DAILY RECORD