April 15, 2022 Coats Museum News
It was a new year and news in the January 5, 1990 edition of the Daily Record shared that Gerald Hayes, Jr. was seeking his 4th term on the Harnett County Board of Education. Some readers may not be aware that Gerald, Jr. was an honor graduate of Coats High School where he was outstanding student before he went on to graduate from UNC Chapel Hill. In fact we encased one of his high school jackets and it is displayed in the Research Library along with some interesting magazine articles and pictures featuring Gerald. Thanks to the late Joe Tart, we also have the football helmet worn by Gerald’s younger brother, Kenneth. Also interesting is the fact that under Gerald’s county leadership, he had seen the first four year students from Coats, Erwin and Dunn graduate from Triton which at the time was the last area to consolidate its schools in Harnett County.
Another young man who has Coats roots and graduated from Triton is Ronald Franklin Avery, Jr. Ronald, Jr. had attended ECU but transferred to Campbell University on a scholarship according to the Jan. 8, 1990 of the Daily Record.
In that same paper it was printed that Jack B. Nordan of Benson had died on Thursday. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Nordan and brother to Bob Nordan of the Bailey’s Crossroads area. Some might ask is this the Jack Nordan who was a teacher.
Six hundred soldiers from Fort Bragg had returned to a “Hero’s Welcome” after spending time in Panama. While that likely brought tears of joy to their loved ones, there were likely tears of grief in the Gregory household where Nancy had lost her mother, Mrs. Clyde Senter, 81, on Sunday (Daily Record Jan. 9, 1990).
Wonder if the Coats Public Library has a copy of the US Constitution in Braille. I do know that each library in the country received a copy of it written in Braille according to the Jan. 10, 1990 edition of the Daily Record.
Little Leslie Ennis had celebrated her 2nd birthday. Leslie was the daughter of Michael and Kathy Ennis. Was this the first birthday party for Leslie in America?
Georgia Lee Brown, another popular elected official, was seeking reelection as she filed for her fifth term as Clerk of Court. In the Coats area, however, Liza Jernigan was the recipient of a $50 check from Venture Department Store after she found a card inside of a helium balloon that landed in her backyard (Daily Record Jan. 12, 1990).
Dreadful news came to a Coats family. LaRue Beasley, 33, of Coats had died in an automobile accident. She was the mother of Jonathan Beasley and sister to Wanda Williams and Pamela Tart. Tim Stephenson was her sole brother. Kittie Stephenson and Lester Williams were her grandparents.
Wedding anniversaries were being celebrated again in Coats as two couples shared the news in the Jan. 15, 1990 Daily Record. Chester and Edna Ennis celebrated their 49th while Mr. and Mrs. Seth Lee, Jr. celebrated their 50th.
Other news in that paper printed that Mr. and Mrs. Stacy A. Byrd of Coats announced the engagement of their daughter, Melanie Cherie, to Preston C. Short, of San Antonio, TX. Cherie was a Campbell graduate and Captain Short was in the Special Forces at Fort Bragg.
You might be interested to recall that Cherie was the granddaughter of Fred Byrd; the great –granddaughter of John McKay Byrd who was a member of the first class at the Buies Creek Academy (to later grow into the Campbell University). Also of interest is that John McKay Byrd was a major Coats businessman, former Sheriff of Harnett County, a former member of the NC House and a former Harnett County Register of Deeds.
As interesting as all that is, what fascinated me was a conversation with Cherie’s mom, Dot M. Bryd. Dot shared with the volunteers is that the house in which Cherie and Preston Short live was the Fred Byrd house and the walls are insulated with cotton seed hulls. Did you ask-“What?” Recall that not only did Fred Byrd operate a cotton gin but John McKay Byrd did also. We have heard of many uses of cotton but that was the first time we had heard that a by-product of it was used for insulation.
Do you know where the Byrd cotton gin was located? Some of you will recall that there was a Dairy Queen where Allen Faircloth built Donna’s Restaurant. This is the site of the gin. In fact the tall building behind the restaurant which looks a little like a tobacco barn was said to be the cotton seed barn. It is also in this block that the Coats Hosiery had operated before it burned.
John McKay Byrd and banker businessman N.T. Patterson were in partnership in these early businesses.
Back to what was occurring in the Coats area in January of 1990 was that the SEEK organization (Earl Denning’s brainchild) prepared for a big carnival to held in Coats in April.
Carsie Denning, along with eight other local citizens, met to discuss plans to restore the old green building next to the T-Mart. The building was formerly school classrooms for Coats School from 1913 to 1921. Plans were to move the building and make it into a museum with one room being a classroom as one would have been in the early 1900’s.
Was Christine Stewart Akerman one of those eight people at the meeting? I do know that she had returned home from a lengthy stay in Hawaii. Her son, Stewart Akerman, was to be stationed there for three years.
The Swinging Elders of Coats were swinging in the Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in Dunn. While the Elders were swinging, Julia Stewart was entertaining her special guest, a brother from Mississippi (Daily Record Jan. 18, 1990).
Many of our lives were touched by Cecil and Shirley Dupree Fuquay. Their daughter, Karen Lynn Fuquay and Mark Heiliger were married in Raleigh. Mark was the son of Virginia Heiliger of Lincoln, Nebraska. Karen was a graduate of Campbell University and her husband was a graduate of the University of Nebraska.
The Coats Middle School celebrated its first Homecoming and the Coats team had a 36-35 win over Erwin. The girl’s team lost 32-30. The Homecoming Queen was Christy Wood and Wayne Baker was the Homecoming King (Daily Record Jan. 19, 1990).
Last Saturday the Heritage Square was filled with students and some teachers of the CHS Class of 1973. It was a time to enjoy good food cooked by Mark Byrd and several of his 1973 CHS classmates, a time to view the laborious work of manicuring the shrubbery around the museum by Lenny Parker and his faithful crew, and a time to catch up with news from the lives of both students and teachers.
Thanks to Coats Museum board member Marc Powell and wife Jean for assisting in giving tours to Marc’s classmates and teachers. The CHS 1973 has several members who have been very supportive of the museum’s goals. Marc and Jean put together the current Boy Scout Exhibit.
Not only did Lenny Parker take on the task of mulching and grooming the landscape but this former SBI agent is allowing us to display his DMORT uniform and articles relevant to 9/11 and he will share with the public his involvement with DMORT at a presentation on Saturday (1:00) Sept. 10, 2022 in the community building.
We get frequent compliments on our exhibit cabinetry and of course, they were made by the Coats Cabinets owned by Tommy Coats who is also a member of the CHS Class of 1973.
A special moment at the reunion was a call made to a former classmate Carl Cooper of Lewisville. Love and prayers were given to this very ill classmate and your prayers would be greatly appreciated, also.
Are you wondering which teachers showed up for the cookout? Along with H.L. and I were Coy and Carolyn Broadwell, Dava Gage Anderson and Morris and Gloria Andrews who had moved to Apex after leaving Coats but currently live in Wallace, NC. I was fortunate to give them their tour.
It was a new year and news in the January 5, 1990 edition of the Daily Record shared that Gerald Hayes, Jr. was seeking his 4th term on the Harnett County Board of Education. Some readers may not be aware that Gerald, Jr. was an honor graduate of Coats High School where he was outstanding student before he went on to graduate from UNC Chapel Hill. In fact we encased one of his high school jackets and it is displayed in the Research Library along with some interesting magazine articles and pictures featuring Gerald. Thanks to the late Joe Tart, we also have the football helmet worn by Gerald’s younger brother, Kenneth. Also interesting is the fact that under Gerald’s county leadership, he had seen the first four year students from Coats, Erwin and Dunn graduate from Triton which at the time was the last area to consolidate its schools in Harnett County.
Another young man who has Coats roots and graduated from Triton is Ronald Franklin Avery, Jr. Ronald, Jr. had attended ECU but transferred to Campbell University on a scholarship according to the Jan. 8, 1990 of the Daily Record.
In that same paper it was printed that Jack B. Nordan of Benson had died on Thursday. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Nordan and brother to Bob Nordan of the Bailey’s Crossroads area. Some might ask is this the Jack Nordan who was a teacher.
Six hundred soldiers from Fort Bragg had returned to a “Hero’s Welcome” after spending time in Panama. While that likely brought tears of joy to their loved ones, there were likely tears of grief in the Gregory household where Nancy had lost her mother, Mrs. Clyde Senter, 81, on Sunday (Daily Record Jan. 9, 1990).
Wonder if the Coats Public Library has a copy of the US Constitution in Braille. I do know that each library in the country received a copy of it written in Braille according to the Jan. 10, 1990 edition of the Daily Record.
Little Leslie Ennis had celebrated her 2nd birthday. Leslie was the daughter of Michael and Kathy Ennis. Was this the first birthday party for Leslie in America?
Georgia Lee Brown, another popular elected official, was seeking reelection as she filed for her fifth term as Clerk of Court. In the Coats area, however, Liza Jernigan was the recipient of a $50 check from Venture Department Store after she found a card inside of a helium balloon that landed in her backyard (Daily Record Jan. 12, 1990).
Dreadful news came to a Coats family. LaRue Beasley, 33, of Coats had died in an automobile accident. She was the mother of Jonathan Beasley and sister to Wanda Williams and Pamela Tart. Tim Stephenson was her sole brother. Kittie Stephenson and Lester Williams were her grandparents.
Wedding anniversaries were being celebrated again in Coats as two couples shared the news in the Jan. 15, 1990 Daily Record. Chester and Edna Ennis celebrated their 49th while Mr. and Mrs. Seth Lee, Jr. celebrated their 50th.
Other news in that paper printed that Mr. and Mrs. Stacy A. Byrd of Coats announced the engagement of their daughter, Melanie Cherie, to Preston C. Short, of San Antonio, TX. Cherie was a Campbell graduate and Captain Short was in the Special Forces at Fort Bragg.
You might be interested to recall that Cherie was the granddaughter of Fred Byrd; the great –granddaughter of John McKay Byrd who was a member of the first class at the Buies Creek Academy (to later grow into the Campbell University). Also of interest is that John McKay Byrd was a major Coats businessman, former Sheriff of Harnett County, a former member of the NC House and a former Harnett County Register of Deeds.
As interesting as all that is, what fascinated me was a conversation with Cherie’s mom, Dot M. Bryd. Dot shared with the volunteers is that the house in which Cherie and Preston Short live was the Fred Byrd house and the walls are insulated with cotton seed hulls. Did you ask-“What?” Recall that not only did Fred Byrd operate a cotton gin but John McKay Byrd did also. We have heard of many uses of cotton but that was the first time we had heard that a by-product of it was used for insulation.
Do you know where the Byrd cotton gin was located? Some of you will recall that there was a Dairy Queen where Allen Faircloth built Donna’s Restaurant. This is the site of the gin. In fact the tall building behind the restaurant which looks a little like a tobacco barn was said to be the cotton seed barn. It is also in this block that the Coats Hosiery had operated before it burned.
John McKay Byrd and banker businessman N.T. Patterson were in partnership in these early businesses.
Back to what was occurring in the Coats area in January of 1990 was that the SEEK organization (Earl Denning’s brainchild) prepared for a big carnival to held in Coats in April.
Carsie Denning, along with eight other local citizens, met to discuss plans to restore the old green building next to the T-Mart. The building was formerly school classrooms for Coats School from 1913 to 1921. Plans were to move the building and make it into a museum with one room being a classroom as one would have been in the early 1900’s.
Was Christine Stewart Akerman one of those eight people at the meeting? I do know that she had returned home from a lengthy stay in Hawaii. Her son, Stewart Akerman, was to be stationed there for three years.
The Swinging Elders of Coats were swinging in the Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in Dunn. While the Elders were swinging, Julia Stewart was entertaining her special guest, a brother from Mississippi (Daily Record Jan. 18, 1990).
Many of our lives were touched by Cecil and Shirley Dupree Fuquay. Their daughter, Karen Lynn Fuquay and Mark Heiliger were married in Raleigh. Mark was the son of Virginia Heiliger of Lincoln, Nebraska. Karen was a graduate of Campbell University and her husband was a graduate of the University of Nebraska.
The Coats Middle School celebrated its first Homecoming and the Coats team had a 36-35 win over Erwin. The girl’s team lost 32-30. The Homecoming Queen was Christy Wood and Wayne Baker was the Homecoming King (Daily Record Jan. 19, 1990).
Last Saturday the Heritage Square was filled with students and some teachers of the CHS Class of 1973. It was a time to enjoy good food cooked by Mark Byrd and several of his 1973 CHS classmates, a time to view the laborious work of manicuring the shrubbery around the museum by Lenny Parker and his faithful crew, and a time to catch up with news from the lives of both students and teachers.
Thanks to Coats Museum board member Marc Powell and wife Jean for assisting in giving tours to Marc’s classmates and teachers. The CHS 1973 has several members who have been very supportive of the museum’s goals. Marc and Jean put together the current Boy Scout Exhibit.
Not only did Lenny Parker take on the task of mulching and grooming the landscape but this former SBI agent is allowing us to display his DMORT uniform and articles relevant to 9/11 and he will share with the public his involvement with DMORT at a presentation on Saturday (1:00) Sept. 10, 2022 in the community building.
We get frequent compliments on our exhibit cabinetry and of course, they were made by the Coats Cabinets owned by Tommy Coats who is also a member of the CHS Class of 1973.
A special moment at the reunion was a call made to a former classmate Carl Cooper of Lewisville. Love and prayers were given to this very ill classmate and your prayers would be greatly appreciated, also.
Are you wondering which teachers showed up for the cookout? Along with H.L. and I were Coy and Carolyn Broadwell, Dava Gage Anderson and Morris and Gloria Andrews who had moved to Apex after leaving Coats but currently live in Wallace, NC. I was fortunate to give them their tour.