April 3, 2020 Coats Museum News
The year 1983 continued to mark the date that people read that the International Bureau of Weights and Measures had redefined that light travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second; the movie The Right Stuff had cost $27 million to produce and grossed only $11 million while The Return of the Jedi, on the other hand, grossed $6, 219, 629 on the day it opened. Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., ending a self-imposed exile in the United States, was shot dead minutes after returning to his native country. Lt. Colonel Guton S. Bluford rode the shuttle Challenger and became the first black astronaut to enter space. Recall that this was the same Challenger that Astronaut Sally K. Ride became the first American woman in space (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Massachusetts: Federal Press, 1999, pp. 266-67).
Back in Coats, the Coats High School 1983 Marshals were pictured in the Daily Record-June 24, 1983 edition-Andrea Ennis, Patricia Royals (Chief), Foy Pope, Sonya Barbour, Maria Langdon, Jacqui McLamb, Alice Anne Roberts, Gina Keene, Gary Meadows, Mark Langdon, Melinda Stanley and Stacey Johnson, Jr (Daily Record June 22, 1983).
Anita Lynn Matthews, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Max Matthews of Coats and a junior at Coats High School, was selected by Farm Credit Services of Clinton to attend the Cooperative Youth Camp (Daily Record June 22, 1983).
Uptown at the municipal meeting of the Coats Town Commissioners, the 1983-84 budget was adopted. The pay hike was cut and water rates increased. The town would have a five-man police force (Daily Record June 23, 1983).
It was summer and softball games brought out the crowds to watch their favorite teams compete. Sherrill’s Wrecker team had won the regular season title in the Coats Men’s Softball League and had finished second in the league in the tournament. The team members were Claude Abate, Kimry Gardner, Barry Hoyle, Leon Johnson, Lebert Holder, Jeff Knight, Benny Wood, Jimmy Darrock, Ray Johnson, Larry Allen, Sammy Wagner, Randall McNeill, Jimmy Ennis and James Johnson (Daily Record June 24, 1983).
The Tyndall Electronics team had won the tournament in the Coats Men’s Softball League. Their members were Barry Butts, David Byrd, Wayne Thomas, Larry Messer, Mike West, Andy Jones, Danny Gardner, Ronald Coats, Gary Rhodes, Larry Walker, Cliff Holt, Doug Stewart, Tony Lee and Melvin Blackman. Let’s not fail to mention that Jane Tyndall was the batgirl (Daily Record June 24, 1983).
Did any of you readers put faces to those names as you read them? It was difficult not to and a sense of sadness came over me as I realized that several of those men are dead in 2020.
Coats dog owners were warned that they would be responsible for damage done by their animals and they were warned of a possible $50 fine if the ordinance was broken (Daily Record July 15, 1983).
This was not an uncommon step throughout the history of small towns. Back in early Coats, the town commissioners promised the owners of chickens who allowed them to roam the neighborhood yards would be fined. I wondered how one could identify whose chickens were whose if more than one owner allowed their chickens to peck for food.
The Agricultural Extension officials headed a tobacco disease tour in Harnett. They visited the farm of Doug and Freda Johnson in the Barclaysville community (Daily Record July 22, 1983).
A severe storm in the Coats area left damage in its wake. A storage and garage owned by Earl Stewart collapsed on the pickup and a huge tree was blown down in the front lawn (Daily Record July 25, 1983).
You are going to love the following story. Miss. Edna Beasley of Coats was called for jury duty but had to ask to be excused due to the death of her brother-in-law, Henry Parrish. She wanted to be with her sister who was 91 years old. He then asked Edna about her age which was 80 years. People over 65 do not have to serve. Edna told Judge Eddie Greene she would gladly serve if it had not been for the death. The judge told the people in the courtroom, “Ladies and gentlemen, this lady is 80 years old. She’s asked to be excused to be with her sister who’s 91, and needs her today because her husband had died. Now does she look 80?”
Who remembers Miss Edna Beasley? It was a common sight to see her eating with her nephews-Max and Godfrey and their wives Dovie and Ann Beasley – at Ron’s Barn every Sunday. They never failed to come over and speak to H.L. and me as they were leaving.
Edna was a real beauty as a teenager and also as a mature lady. My dad lived four miles northeast of Coats which seemed considerably farther in the early decades of the 1900’s than today. My dad’s uncle, John L. Johnson, was mayor of Coats from 1912—1918. Keep in mind that one did not have to have a driver’s license in N.C. until 1935, so my young dad would drive to Coats possibly to convey messages from my grandmother to her brother, John L., or conduct business with local merchants for my granddad’s cotton gin and sawmill.
You might wonder what all this jabber is. On the trips to Coats, my dad had the opportunity to see the very young Miss Edna Beasley and was smitten by her beauty. This was the time when socials were highlighted by the young lasses putting together a box and the young men would bid for the boxes and if lucky enough to outbid other male bidders, he could share the box with the young girl.
When Miss Edna Beasley’s box came up for bidding, my dad had obviously made provisions to outbid all the town boys for her box. Not knowing it at the time, several boys in town had made plans to combine their money to outbid my country boy Dad and did so. My dad never had much for the boys in Coats after that. Miss Edna often shared that she remembered my handsome dad well.
Pope and Son, Inc. of Coats was the CACC Business Focus of the Week. The enterprise was composed of three businesses- B.J.’s Chicken and Burger, Pope’s Convenience Mart, and Pope’s Party Beverage. Billy said his wife Peggie and his son Mark Pope were essential in operating the businesses (Daily Record July 28, 1983).
Jerry Lee Denning, 35, of Coats had died on Friday. Services were held at Prospect FWB Church and burial was in the Coats Cemetery. Surviving Jerry were his wife Gail Gilbert Denning, a son-Lee Denning, Jr., two daughters-Lindy and Lori Denning. His father was Ezra Lee Denning and his mother was Gladys Denning. Tommy and Linwood Denning were Lee’s brothers and Ruth Dennis and Judy Wood were sisters (Daily Record Aug. 1, 1983).
Mr. and Mrs. Hubert C. Gregory of Coats announced the engagement of their daughter, Vickie Lynn Gregory, to Jerry L McLeod of Coats, son of E.C. McLeod and the late Mrs. McLeod (Daily Record Aug. 3, 1983).
Coats Town Clerk Marilyn Ennis had resigned her job to accept a one in Raleigh. Marilyn had served as town clerk, tax collector and finance officer for over nine years (Daily Record Aug. 5, 1983).
A candlelight ceremony uniting Joy Gail Turner to John Anthony Tricoli, III was held at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Erwin. The bride was the daughter of Raymond D. Turner and Joyce Parrish Turner. Mr. Tricoli was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Tricoli, Sr. of Orlando, Florida. The bride carried a bouquet on a base that was a book of love poems, “Something Old”, written in 1918 by the bride’s grandmother, Mrs. Katie G. Turner, and a Saint Elizabeth medal blessed in the Vatican by the late Pope John Paul I borrowed from the groom’s mother (Daily Record Aug. 4, 1983).
How impressive that wedding must have been. Joyce Parrish Turner is so missed by the Coats Museum folks. She spent about three years of her life helping us research the history of Coats and its people. She was such remarkable lady in her love and generosity. She was proud to be a part of the improvements made to the original museum and brought her son-in-law and daughter from Florida to view it which resulted in an amazing donation to the Coats Museum Building Fund.
Over the years, many of you may recall reading that Elder Derle McGee officiated at the funeral services of many people from Harnett and Johnston County. The Johnston native grew up with my husband H.L. while his wife, the former Carole Pope, was my classmate at Coats High. The couple had married while Carole was in high school. Derle died a few years back and Carole recently lost her battle with cancer. I was honored to have Carole as a friend and have remembered her with a memorial to the Coats Museum.
All of us know people whom we can depend upon to help in time of need. When we were working on the various improvements at the Coats Museum, there were many projects that could be covered by volunteers and hence use the money on hand to pay for jobs that volunteers could not perform. There were many times that H.L. would call out to men in his circle to help perform some of these labors of love. One man who always seemed to be show up to help was Phillip Barnes. It was with great sadness that Phillip Barnes had died on March 25 after fighting the pain of cancer for many months. Phillip will long be remembered for his goodness and it with love that we add his name to our list of memorials for the Coats Museum.
The year 1983 continued to mark the date that people read that the International Bureau of Weights and Measures had redefined that light travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second; the movie The Right Stuff had cost $27 million to produce and grossed only $11 million while The Return of the Jedi, on the other hand, grossed $6, 219, 629 on the day it opened. Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., ending a self-imposed exile in the United States, was shot dead minutes after returning to his native country. Lt. Colonel Guton S. Bluford rode the shuttle Challenger and became the first black astronaut to enter space. Recall that this was the same Challenger that Astronaut Sally K. Ride became the first American woman in space (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Massachusetts: Federal Press, 1999, pp. 266-67).
Back in Coats, the Coats High School 1983 Marshals were pictured in the Daily Record-June 24, 1983 edition-Andrea Ennis, Patricia Royals (Chief), Foy Pope, Sonya Barbour, Maria Langdon, Jacqui McLamb, Alice Anne Roberts, Gina Keene, Gary Meadows, Mark Langdon, Melinda Stanley and Stacey Johnson, Jr (Daily Record June 22, 1983).
Anita Lynn Matthews, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Max Matthews of Coats and a junior at Coats High School, was selected by Farm Credit Services of Clinton to attend the Cooperative Youth Camp (Daily Record June 22, 1983).
Uptown at the municipal meeting of the Coats Town Commissioners, the 1983-84 budget was adopted. The pay hike was cut and water rates increased. The town would have a five-man police force (Daily Record June 23, 1983).
It was summer and softball games brought out the crowds to watch their favorite teams compete. Sherrill’s Wrecker team had won the regular season title in the Coats Men’s Softball League and had finished second in the league in the tournament. The team members were Claude Abate, Kimry Gardner, Barry Hoyle, Leon Johnson, Lebert Holder, Jeff Knight, Benny Wood, Jimmy Darrock, Ray Johnson, Larry Allen, Sammy Wagner, Randall McNeill, Jimmy Ennis and James Johnson (Daily Record June 24, 1983).
The Tyndall Electronics team had won the tournament in the Coats Men’s Softball League. Their members were Barry Butts, David Byrd, Wayne Thomas, Larry Messer, Mike West, Andy Jones, Danny Gardner, Ronald Coats, Gary Rhodes, Larry Walker, Cliff Holt, Doug Stewart, Tony Lee and Melvin Blackman. Let’s not fail to mention that Jane Tyndall was the batgirl (Daily Record June 24, 1983).
Did any of you readers put faces to those names as you read them? It was difficult not to and a sense of sadness came over me as I realized that several of those men are dead in 2020.
Coats dog owners were warned that they would be responsible for damage done by their animals and they were warned of a possible $50 fine if the ordinance was broken (Daily Record July 15, 1983).
This was not an uncommon step throughout the history of small towns. Back in early Coats, the town commissioners promised the owners of chickens who allowed them to roam the neighborhood yards would be fined. I wondered how one could identify whose chickens were whose if more than one owner allowed their chickens to peck for food.
The Agricultural Extension officials headed a tobacco disease tour in Harnett. They visited the farm of Doug and Freda Johnson in the Barclaysville community (Daily Record July 22, 1983).
A severe storm in the Coats area left damage in its wake. A storage and garage owned by Earl Stewart collapsed on the pickup and a huge tree was blown down in the front lawn (Daily Record July 25, 1983).
You are going to love the following story. Miss. Edna Beasley of Coats was called for jury duty but had to ask to be excused due to the death of her brother-in-law, Henry Parrish. She wanted to be with her sister who was 91 years old. He then asked Edna about her age which was 80 years. People over 65 do not have to serve. Edna told Judge Eddie Greene she would gladly serve if it had not been for the death. The judge told the people in the courtroom, “Ladies and gentlemen, this lady is 80 years old. She’s asked to be excused to be with her sister who’s 91, and needs her today because her husband had died. Now does she look 80?”
Who remembers Miss Edna Beasley? It was a common sight to see her eating with her nephews-Max and Godfrey and their wives Dovie and Ann Beasley – at Ron’s Barn every Sunday. They never failed to come over and speak to H.L. and me as they were leaving.
Edna was a real beauty as a teenager and also as a mature lady. My dad lived four miles northeast of Coats which seemed considerably farther in the early decades of the 1900’s than today. My dad’s uncle, John L. Johnson, was mayor of Coats from 1912—1918. Keep in mind that one did not have to have a driver’s license in N.C. until 1935, so my young dad would drive to Coats possibly to convey messages from my grandmother to her brother, John L., or conduct business with local merchants for my granddad’s cotton gin and sawmill.
You might wonder what all this jabber is. On the trips to Coats, my dad had the opportunity to see the very young Miss Edna Beasley and was smitten by her beauty. This was the time when socials were highlighted by the young lasses putting together a box and the young men would bid for the boxes and if lucky enough to outbid other male bidders, he could share the box with the young girl.
When Miss Edna Beasley’s box came up for bidding, my dad had obviously made provisions to outbid all the town boys for her box. Not knowing it at the time, several boys in town had made plans to combine their money to outbid my country boy Dad and did so. My dad never had much for the boys in Coats after that. Miss Edna often shared that she remembered my handsome dad well.
Pope and Son, Inc. of Coats was the CACC Business Focus of the Week. The enterprise was composed of three businesses- B.J.’s Chicken and Burger, Pope’s Convenience Mart, and Pope’s Party Beverage. Billy said his wife Peggie and his son Mark Pope were essential in operating the businesses (Daily Record July 28, 1983).
Jerry Lee Denning, 35, of Coats had died on Friday. Services were held at Prospect FWB Church and burial was in the Coats Cemetery. Surviving Jerry were his wife Gail Gilbert Denning, a son-Lee Denning, Jr., two daughters-Lindy and Lori Denning. His father was Ezra Lee Denning and his mother was Gladys Denning. Tommy and Linwood Denning were Lee’s brothers and Ruth Dennis and Judy Wood were sisters (Daily Record Aug. 1, 1983).
Mr. and Mrs. Hubert C. Gregory of Coats announced the engagement of their daughter, Vickie Lynn Gregory, to Jerry L McLeod of Coats, son of E.C. McLeod and the late Mrs. McLeod (Daily Record Aug. 3, 1983).
Coats Town Clerk Marilyn Ennis had resigned her job to accept a one in Raleigh. Marilyn had served as town clerk, tax collector and finance officer for over nine years (Daily Record Aug. 5, 1983).
A candlelight ceremony uniting Joy Gail Turner to John Anthony Tricoli, III was held at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Erwin. The bride was the daughter of Raymond D. Turner and Joyce Parrish Turner. Mr. Tricoli was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Tricoli, Sr. of Orlando, Florida. The bride carried a bouquet on a base that was a book of love poems, “Something Old”, written in 1918 by the bride’s grandmother, Mrs. Katie G. Turner, and a Saint Elizabeth medal blessed in the Vatican by the late Pope John Paul I borrowed from the groom’s mother (Daily Record Aug. 4, 1983).
How impressive that wedding must have been. Joyce Parrish Turner is so missed by the Coats Museum folks. She spent about three years of her life helping us research the history of Coats and its people. She was such remarkable lady in her love and generosity. She was proud to be a part of the improvements made to the original museum and brought her son-in-law and daughter from Florida to view it which resulted in an amazing donation to the Coats Museum Building Fund.
Over the years, many of you may recall reading that Elder Derle McGee officiated at the funeral services of many people from Harnett and Johnston County. The Johnston native grew up with my husband H.L. while his wife, the former Carole Pope, was my classmate at Coats High. The couple had married while Carole was in high school. Derle died a few years back and Carole recently lost her battle with cancer. I was honored to have Carole as a friend and have remembered her with a memorial to the Coats Museum.
All of us know people whom we can depend upon to help in time of need. When we were working on the various improvements at the Coats Museum, there were many projects that could be covered by volunteers and hence use the money on hand to pay for jobs that volunteers could not perform. There were many times that H.L. would call out to men in his circle to help perform some of these labors of love. One man who always seemed to be show up to help was Phillip Barnes. It was with great sadness that Phillip Barnes had died on March 25 after fighting the pain of cancer for many months. Phillip will long be remembered for his goodness and it with love that we add his name to our list of memorials for the Coats Museum.