April 29, 2016 Coats Museum News
The Daily Record headlines read “Police Chief of Coats Fired-What a Turnover in Coats Lawmen!” The latest man to fill the post, Buddy Collins, was confronted by a group of men headed by the mayor. The mystery of the missing gas from the fire truck played into the firing. Junior Mangum had already admitted holding the flashlight for Collins to draw the gas from the fire truck. Collins had borrowed a knife from Mangum to cut off a piece of new hose from the car wash operation at Coats Motor Co. The hose was used to siphon the gas. Collins had seen nothing wrong with taking the gas to put into the town’s police car. Mayor Charlie Turlington and Fire Chief Haywood Roberts pointed out to Collins that the fire department gas was not paid out of town funds but was earned the hard way with turkey shoots, etc. Fifty-four gallons had disappeared in two weeks. Rural policeman Clarence Moore had investigated the affair of the gas-famished fire truck. Roberts declared, “That was a serious act.” No gas in the truck could have caused something to burn down (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
The Coats Police Department was causing a few chuckles around the area. Maybe we should say lack of a police chief had caused them. The following was a (probably partial) report on the record regarding police chief activity according to the news article. Police Chief A was in a bad fight with a man he was arresting. The man had the chief arrested. Nothing much became of it, but the chief departed.
Police Chief B also had difficulty with a lad who had resisted arrest. Chief B took a job in another town. Police Chief C was discharged for bad conduct after he went to Apex and got into a fight while wearing his uniform. He was also picked up for speeding, careless, and reckless arriving in Wake County and jumped bond on the charge.
Police Chief D was discharged for drinking on the job and wrecking the police car. Police Chief E gave out a bunch of bad checks. He sold shoes on mail order basis, collected three deposits, and never delivered the shoes. He couldn’t be found. Police Chief F was an honest man, straight fellow who worked about a month and gave it up on the grounds that he “just didn’t like that kind of work”.
Police Chief G was hired on Monday and quit on Friday. The job required night work and this fellow could not sleep in the day time so he left. Police Chief H stayed a month and left to take a job at the state penitentiary. Police Chief I stayed a few weeks and left to work at a packing plant in Raleigh. You just read that Police chief J was released over the fire truck gas incident (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
Does anyone want to guess why the mayor and town board all decided not to run for another term? There were still openings for Chief K, L, M and etc. The chief was paid $200 per month and free uniforms.
The Oakdale HD Club continued to be very strong in community involvement. Mrs. U.M. Ennis was presiding officer. Each member brought canned food for a neighborhood family that had lost everything they had when a fire destroyed their house. Was this before or after Police Chief J and the missing gas from the fire truck?
Mrs. Claudia Messer, Mrs. Floyd Whittington, Mrs. David Ennis, Mrs. Maynard Coats, Mrs. Delmer Ennis, Mrs. Garland Coats, Mrs. Rob Adams, Mrs. Alonzo Coats and Mrs. U.M. Ennis were present at the meeting.
Elsewhere, Glenn Harmon and his wife of Richmond, VA had spent the weekend visiting Mrs. Grace Harmon and Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins Bass in Clinton. Allie Mae Barnes made Dean’s List at East Carolina College while W. Bruce Stone and Ann Pleasant were on the Honor Roll there.
The Junior GA’s met at Mrs. Curtis Guy’s house. The young girls who attended to study were June Powell, Linda Stephens, Linda Moore, Elizabeth Lee, Judy Jernigan, Sondra Ennis, Sandra Wolf, Darlene Stevens, Hazel Taylor, Joan Ivey, Judy Denning, and Carolyn Currin.
The Coats Student Council had sponsored a Social Emphasis Week. It emphasized courtesy, safety, care and use of school property, honesty and Christian living, attitude toward schoolwork and sportsmanship. Each topic had a different speaker and those who spoke were Superintendent G.T. Proffit, Rev. Ben Eller, Dean A.R. Burkot, Bessie Massengill and Coach Fred McCall (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
Do any of you recognize the name Carroll Hall? He attended the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church when I was young and he was always such a jovial person-a bit of a tease. He was nurseryman and landscaped many of the finest homes in Johnston and Harnett most of his life. He died a few years ago and was the same happy fellow up to the end. The 1958 paper reported that Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Garner Hall had announced the birth of a daughter at Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Hall was the former Emily LaRue Coats (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
Bill Warren of Dunn planned to oppose Commissioner Jarvis Pleasant in the Democratic primary for District #2 seat on the HCBOC (Daily Record Jan. 27, 1958).
A member of the Turlington clan had reason to celebrate. H.A. and Rachael Tripp Turlington had added another daughter to the family. The Fidelis Class of Coats Baptist was also rejoicing as they observed the 40th anniversary of the class with Mrs. W.E. Nichols and Mrs. C.C. Hough as co-hostesses. Past presidents who were recognized were Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Carlos Stewart, and Mrs. Lucy Kelly. The Ruth Eller Class of Coats Baptist met with Mrs. Layton and Mrs. Grace Dixon as co-hostesses. Mrs. Earl Ennis, Mrs. Daywood Langdon, Mrs. Vic Lee, Mrs. J.A. Langdon, Mrs. Sherrill Coats, and Mrs. Thomas Williams were attendees who heard the very impressive program by Mrs. Leon Barefoot (Daily Record January 30, 1958).
Coats had hired a new police chief, J.R. Parker, from Greenville, N.C. Mayor C.J. Turlington said it was not fair to say that J.W. Collins had been fired. He was laid off temporarily said Turlington and the board accepted his resignation. Collins said he did not realize he was wrong when taking the gas in line of his duty and had offered to pay the fire department for it. According to Turlington and Collins, much information was misrepresented. Collins did assert that he felt the whole origin of the unfair charges resulted from his giving a ticket to a youth who resented and plotted to cause trouble. Collins refused to take the job back because of the politics played with the job. The mayor and fire chief signed a petition asserting to Collins’ good character (Daily Record Jan. 31, 1958).
James D. Coats (Jim Coats) formerly of the Hardee’s Crossroads area had died at 71 in Lake City, Florida. He was the husband of Martha L. Hardee, who had died in 1944. The WWI veteran was father of C. Stanton Coats (Daily Record Feb. 3, 1958). Mr. C. Stanton Coats compiled the Coats Family Genealogy which includes the information of thousands of the Coats clan including that of James T. Coats, the founder of Coats.
A big thank you is extended to the Coats Kiwanis Club for their pledge donation. The Kiwanis Club of Coats was for years a partner with the museum and has played a tremendous role in the success of the museum. Thank you goes to the scores of supporters of the Kiwanis Golf tournament and to the hardworking members who put hundreds of hours contacting individuals and businesses for hole sponsorships.
How impressed the volunteers at the museum were with the Virginians who visited the museum on their four day mystery trip. We were their first stop and they were full of enthusiastic questions. Thank you goes to Cornerstone for accommodating this group of 37 travelers for lunch.
We ask readers to be mindful that the volunteers at the Coats Museum welcome large groups to visit the museum for guided tours. There is no admission charge and the only stipulation is that you call to make an appointment so extra volunteers can be on site to help give tours.
Please mark your calendar to be at the museum from 2-5 on Sunday, May 15th, for an afternoon with Brian Davis. Brian has published over 15 books and his latest book about Coats will be available for purchasing and signing by Brian. Hopefully we can talk him into playing the piano and singing a few songs. Brian grew up in Coats but has touched the lives of millions with his worldwide ministry.
The Daily Record headlines read “Police Chief of Coats Fired-What a Turnover in Coats Lawmen!” The latest man to fill the post, Buddy Collins, was confronted by a group of men headed by the mayor. The mystery of the missing gas from the fire truck played into the firing. Junior Mangum had already admitted holding the flashlight for Collins to draw the gas from the fire truck. Collins had borrowed a knife from Mangum to cut off a piece of new hose from the car wash operation at Coats Motor Co. The hose was used to siphon the gas. Collins had seen nothing wrong with taking the gas to put into the town’s police car. Mayor Charlie Turlington and Fire Chief Haywood Roberts pointed out to Collins that the fire department gas was not paid out of town funds but was earned the hard way with turkey shoots, etc. Fifty-four gallons had disappeared in two weeks. Rural policeman Clarence Moore had investigated the affair of the gas-famished fire truck. Roberts declared, “That was a serious act.” No gas in the truck could have caused something to burn down (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
The Coats Police Department was causing a few chuckles around the area. Maybe we should say lack of a police chief had caused them. The following was a (probably partial) report on the record regarding police chief activity according to the news article. Police Chief A was in a bad fight with a man he was arresting. The man had the chief arrested. Nothing much became of it, but the chief departed.
Police Chief B also had difficulty with a lad who had resisted arrest. Chief B took a job in another town. Police Chief C was discharged for bad conduct after he went to Apex and got into a fight while wearing his uniform. He was also picked up for speeding, careless, and reckless arriving in Wake County and jumped bond on the charge.
Police Chief D was discharged for drinking on the job and wrecking the police car. Police Chief E gave out a bunch of bad checks. He sold shoes on mail order basis, collected three deposits, and never delivered the shoes. He couldn’t be found. Police Chief F was an honest man, straight fellow who worked about a month and gave it up on the grounds that he “just didn’t like that kind of work”.
Police Chief G was hired on Monday and quit on Friday. The job required night work and this fellow could not sleep in the day time so he left. Police Chief H stayed a month and left to take a job at the state penitentiary. Police Chief I stayed a few weeks and left to work at a packing plant in Raleigh. You just read that Police chief J was released over the fire truck gas incident (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
Does anyone want to guess why the mayor and town board all decided not to run for another term? There were still openings for Chief K, L, M and etc. The chief was paid $200 per month and free uniforms.
The Oakdale HD Club continued to be very strong in community involvement. Mrs. U.M. Ennis was presiding officer. Each member brought canned food for a neighborhood family that had lost everything they had when a fire destroyed their house. Was this before or after Police Chief J and the missing gas from the fire truck?
Mrs. Claudia Messer, Mrs. Floyd Whittington, Mrs. David Ennis, Mrs. Maynard Coats, Mrs. Delmer Ennis, Mrs. Garland Coats, Mrs. Rob Adams, Mrs. Alonzo Coats and Mrs. U.M. Ennis were present at the meeting.
Elsewhere, Glenn Harmon and his wife of Richmond, VA had spent the weekend visiting Mrs. Grace Harmon and Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins Bass in Clinton. Allie Mae Barnes made Dean’s List at East Carolina College while W. Bruce Stone and Ann Pleasant were on the Honor Roll there.
The Junior GA’s met at Mrs. Curtis Guy’s house. The young girls who attended to study were June Powell, Linda Stephens, Linda Moore, Elizabeth Lee, Judy Jernigan, Sondra Ennis, Sandra Wolf, Darlene Stevens, Hazel Taylor, Joan Ivey, Judy Denning, and Carolyn Currin.
The Coats Student Council had sponsored a Social Emphasis Week. It emphasized courtesy, safety, care and use of school property, honesty and Christian living, attitude toward schoolwork and sportsmanship. Each topic had a different speaker and those who spoke were Superintendent G.T. Proffit, Rev. Ben Eller, Dean A.R. Burkot, Bessie Massengill and Coach Fred McCall (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
Do any of you recognize the name Carroll Hall? He attended the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church when I was young and he was always such a jovial person-a bit of a tease. He was nurseryman and landscaped many of the finest homes in Johnston and Harnett most of his life. He died a few years ago and was the same happy fellow up to the end. The 1958 paper reported that Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Garner Hall had announced the birth of a daughter at Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Hall was the former Emily LaRue Coats (Daily Record Jan. 23, 1958).
Bill Warren of Dunn planned to oppose Commissioner Jarvis Pleasant in the Democratic primary for District #2 seat on the HCBOC (Daily Record Jan. 27, 1958).
A member of the Turlington clan had reason to celebrate. H.A. and Rachael Tripp Turlington had added another daughter to the family. The Fidelis Class of Coats Baptist was also rejoicing as they observed the 40th anniversary of the class with Mrs. W.E. Nichols and Mrs. C.C. Hough as co-hostesses. Past presidents who were recognized were Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Carlos Stewart, and Mrs. Lucy Kelly. The Ruth Eller Class of Coats Baptist met with Mrs. Layton and Mrs. Grace Dixon as co-hostesses. Mrs. Earl Ennis, Mrs. Daywood Langdon, Mrs. Vic Lee, Mrs. J.A. Langdon, Mrs. Sherrill Coats, and Mrs. Thomas Williams were attendees who heard the very impressive program by Mrs. Leon Barefoot (Daily Record January 30, 1958).
Coats had hired a new police chief, J.R. Parker, from Greenville, N.C. Mayor C.J. Turlington said it was not fair to say that J.W. Collins had been fired. He was laid off temporarily said Turlington and the board accepted his resignation. Collins said he did not realize he was wrong when taking the gas in line of his duty and had offered to pay the fire department for it. According to Turlington and Collins, much information was misrepresented. Collins did assert that he felt the whole origin of the unfair charges resulted from his giving a ticket to a youth who resented and plotted to cause trouble. Collins refused to take the job back because of the politics played with the job. The mayor and fire chief signed a petition asserting to Collins’ good character (Daily Record Jan. 31, 1958).
James D. Coats (Jim Coats) formerly of the Hardee’s Crossroads area had died at 71 in Lake City, Florida. He was the husband of Martha L. Hardee, who had died in 1944. The WWI veteran was father of C. Stanton Coats (Daily Record Feb. 3, 1958). Mr. C. Stanton Coats compiled the Coats Family Genealogy which includes the information of thousands of the Coats clan including that of James T. Coats, the founder of Coats.
A big thank you is extended to the Coats Kiwanis Club for their pledge donation. The Kiwanis Club of Coats was for years a partner with the museum and has played a tremendous role in the success of the museum. Thank you goes to the scores of supporters of the Kiwanis Golf tournament and to the hardworking members who put hundreds of hours contacting individuals and businesses for hole sponsorships.
How impressed the volunteers at the museum were with the Virginians who visited the museum on their four day mystery trip. We were their first stop and they were full of enthusiastic questions. Thank you goes to Cornerstone for accommodating this group of 37 travelers for lunch.
We ask readers to be mindful that the volunteers at the Coats Museum welcome large groups to visit the museum for guided tours. There is no admission charge and the only stipulation is that you call to make an appointment so extra volunteers can be on site to help give tours.
Please mark your calendar to be at the museum from 2-5 on Sunday, May 15th, for an afternoon with Brian Davis. Brian has published over 15 books and his latest book about Coats will be available for purchasing and signing by Brian. Hopefully we can talk him into playing the piano and singing a few songs. Brian grew up in Coats but has touched the lives of millions with his worldwide ministry.