April 5, 2024 Coats Museum News
The date on the calendar was June 2, 1994, and the Daily Record printed that congratulations were extended to Betty Vaughn for being named “Betsy Johnson Employee of the Month.” Does that mean that she received a cake and a special parking space for the month?
I do know that many did not have good news. Walter Barnes had suffered a stroke and was a patient of Good Hope Hospital. Harold Jernigan had a sprained ankle. Betty Lee Byrd was home from the hospital as was Baxton Pollard. In fact, Baxton’s daughter Betsy Pollard had come home from Southport, N.C. and had celebrated her birthday while home.
Deana Katherine Fleming, a rising senior at UNC Chapel Hill, was to spend five weeks in Costa Rica attending the University of San Jose. Deana’s parents grew up in Coats-June Powell Fleming and the late Dr. Nesbit Fleming. Willa Dean and Graymon Powell and the late Dr. Fred and Katherine Fleming are grandparents (Daily Record June7, 1994).
Congratulations were sent out to Audra Jill Pleasant for making the Dean’s List at Meredith College. How proud Robert and Jeanette must have been of their older daughter. Another former Coats student made the news. David Weaver, CHS Class of 1959, had died in Georgia. His mother was Mildred Weaver. Carvis Barnes was also a hospital patient but death had taken a much respected Coats man- Walter Barnes.
Walter served during WWII and while serving his country, his wife clipped newspapers items relevant to our local WWII servicemen and their families. From that collection of clippings she assembled two scrapbooks. These two scrapbooks were gifted to the museum by David Barnes and were so valuable to the museum volunteers when they sponsored two Military Open Houses and published the military book- Defenders of the Red, White and Blue.
Belle Williams shared in her notes that the Rev. and Mrs. Jesse Mooney had moved into their beautiful home on Durane Street. Another pastor, Rev. Jimmy Tripp, had been in the hospital according to Belle. He was a patient at Wake Medical Center for angioplasty.
Belle also suggested that her readers go by the Coats City Cemetery to see the handiwork of Mrs. Florence Grimes by observing the beautiful landscaping done by Mrs. Florence with a hoe and shovel. Mrs. Grimes was in her late eighties and spent most of her day, each day, at the Coats Cemetery according to the Daily Record June 1, 1994 edition.
The Coats Town Board proposed garbage and water rate increases. The board noted that Senator Elaine Marshall had introduced a bill requesting $10,000 for the Coats Town Museum and the town requested $15,000 in the same proposal.
A former Coats resident, Grover Maurice Godwin, had graduated from Indiana State University in Terre Haute with a Master’s Degree in Criminology. The honor graduate planned to attend the University of Liverpool to earn his PH.D. Maurice is the son of Priscilla McGee McKinnie and the late Halford Godwin of Coats (Daily Record June 10, 1994).
Let’s now discover who was recently married from Coats. Susan Carol Amick and Michael Denton were united at the Coats Church of God. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Moore. Parents of the groom were Jewel Grimes Denton and the late Sherrill Denton (Daily Record June 13, 1994).
When I hear or read the name Jewel Grimes Denton, it carries me back to the time that the Orus Grimes family was our neighbor. Jewell had a twin sister -Judy. Even though they were twins, Judy had brown hair and Jewell was blonde. Jewell had cancer in the upper part of her leg and it had to be amputated. I can’t remember if it was a Christmas wish or just a plea to the community that she wanted an artificial leg so she could play with her twin sister. A club in Dunn came forth with the money and she had her wish granted; and hence, many years later Jewel was able to walk down the aisle for her son Michael’s wedding that you just read about above.
Did she have the prosthesis when we were neighbors? Yes, because she actually showed us where her leg was amputated by taking off the prosthesis for my sister and me to see. In my mind’s eye, I can still see what she showed us.
The CACC honored the Rudy Collins Farm Center as the Business Focus. The business was located on Highway 55 toward Erwin. Rudy Collins had been joined by his son, Michael Collins, after he had graduated from NC State University. Jeneal Parrish Denton (Wade) had served as secretary and bookkeeper for four years. The store was equipped to serve the farm needs of the area (Daily Record June 16, 1994).
Do you know where Rudy’s Farm Center was located? If you pass the Smith Farm Ice Cream business and travel down Hwy 55 a bit, the farm business was a distance off the road toward the woods on the left. It was in this area that old timers shared with me that this is general area that Andrew Jackson Turlington operated a sawmill. The NC Business Directories from 1872-1896 verify that he did indeed operate a sawmill but where -the directories did not state. Andrew Jackson Turlington was a large landowner and was the son of the Willis Turlington who had purchased the 2300 acres of land from the Dushee Shaw heirs in 1839. Note that date was before James Thomas Coats purchased the Daniel Shaw land that would become where most of the town of early Coats is located.
Andrew Jackson Turlington had married Brazilla Denning of the Troyville-Barclaysville area. They were parents of “Nancy” Isabella Turlington who married James Thomas Coats of the Pleasant Grove area of Johnston County. Andrew and Brazilla’s other child was Devereux Turlington. He is associated with the sawmill down at the Turlington (Slocumb-Taylor Crossroads on early maps). Around 1903, the Kivett boys from Buies Creek wrote in a journal about going to “Debro” Turlington’s sawmill to get logs sawed.
Devereux Turlington is father to Stewart “Stuart”, grandfather to Carl and great-grandfather to the late Edward and Frank Turlington. Did A.J. Turlington inherit or was gifted land in the Turlington Crossroads area? Some refer to the two-story house that was once on the curve in the area of the Coats-Erwin Middle School as being the Andrew Jackson Turlington house. Frank Turlington, Carl’s son and Ed’s brother, moved it down to the woods where Frank had an arena for bull riding. The house where a satanic cult invaded was the Stewart “Stuart” Turlington house and before it was destroyed by fire was located in the area of CEMS. Hence it reads like A.J. did inherit some original Shaw land at Turlington.
James Thomas Coats came to the Daniel Shaw property after purchasing 706 acres from the Daniel Shaw heirs from January 6, 1875 to March 1, 1876. Some of this land is what Coats sits upon. On December 31, 1887, Andrew (A.J.) and Brazilla Denning Turlington gave their daughter ‘Nancy” Isabella Turlington Coats of Harnett County two tracts of land for one dollar. One tract was 75 acres west side of Black River adjacent to J.K. Stewart and a second tract was the 35 acres Joseph Stone tract. The total land owned by the James Thomas and “Nancy” Coats was 816 acres.
Did A.J. Turlington own the land where the Farm Store was located? The puzzle remains. Do you want to know what I think? I think if we can locate the J.K. Stewart and Joseph Stone land, we might get an answer.
Thank you goes to Margaret House for remembering Dovie Beasley with a memorial to the Coats Museum. I am saddened for the family and friends of Annis Barbee who was an amazing neighbor and friend to so many. My family has sent a memorial to the NCCF Coats Museum Endowment in her honor.
The date on the calendar was June 2, 1994, and the Daily Record printed that congratulations were extended to Betty Vaughn for being named “Betsy Johnson Employee of the Month.” Does that mean that she received a cake and a special parking space for the month?
I do know that many did not have good news. Walter Barnes had suffered a stroke and was a patient of Good Hope Hospital. Harold Jernigan had a sprained ankle. Betty Lee Byrd was home from the hospital as was Baxton Pollard. In fact, Baxton’s daughter Betsy Pollard had come home from Southport, N.C. and had celebrated her birthday while home.
Deana Katherine Fleming, a rising senior at UNC Chapel Hill, was to spend five weeks in Costa Rica attending the University of San Jose. Deana’s parents grew up in Coats-June Powell Fleming and the late Dr. Nesbit Fleming. Willa Dean and Graymon Powell and the late Dr. Fred and Katherine Fleming are grandparents (Daily Record June7, 1994).
Congratulations were sent out to Audra Jill Pleasant for making the Dean’s List at Meredith College. How proud Robert and Jeanette must have been of their older daughter. Another former Coats student made the news. David Weaver, CHS Class of 1959, had died in Georgia. His mother was Mildred Weaver. Carvis Barnes was also a hospital patient but death had taken a much respected Coats man- Walter Barnes.
Walter served during WWII and while serving his country, his wife clipped newspapers items relevant to our local WWII servicemen and their families. From that collection of clippings she assembled two scrapbooks. These two scrapbooks were gifted to the museum by David Barnes and were so valuable to the museum volunteers when they sponsored two Military Open Houses and published the military book- Defenders of the Red, White and Blue.
Belle Williams shared in her notes that the Rev. and Mrs. Jesse Mooney had moved into their beautiful home on Durane Street. Another pastor, Rev. Jimmy Tripp, had been in the hospital according to Belle. He was a patient at Wake Medical Center for angioplasty.
Belle also suggested that her readers go by the Coats City Cemetery to see the handiwork of Mrs. Florence Grimes by observing the beautiful landscaping done by Mrs. Florence with a hoe and shovel. Mrs. Grimes was in her late eighties and spent most of her day, each day, at the Coats Cemetery according to the Daily Record June 1, 1994 edition.
The Coats Town Board proposed garbage and water rate increases. The board noted that Senator Elaine Marshall had introduced a bill requesting $10,000 for the Coats Town Museum and the town requested $15,000 in the same proposal.
A former Coats resident, Grover Maurice Godwin, had graduated from Indiana State University in Terre Haute with a Master’s Degree in Criminology. The honor graduate planned to attend the University of Liverpool to earn his PH.D. Maurice is the son of Priscilla McGee McKinnie and the late Halford Godwin of Coats (Daily Record June 10, 1994).
Let’s now discover who was recently married from Coats. Susan Carol Amick and Michael Denton were united at the Coats Church of God. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Moore. Parents of the groom were Jewel Grimes Denton and the late Sherrill Denton (Daily Record June 13, 1994).
When I hear or read the name Jewel Grimes Denton, it carries me back to the time that the Orus Grimes family was our neighbor. Jewell had a twin sister -Judy. Even though they were twins, Judy had brown hair and Jewell was blonde. Jewell had cancer in the upper part of her leg and it had to be amputated. I can’t remember if it was a Christmas wish or just a plea to the community that she wanted an artificial leg so she could play with her twin sister. A club in Dunn came forth with the money and she had her wish granted; and hence, many years later Jewel was able to walk down the aisle for her son Michael’s wedding that you just read about above.
Did she have the prosthesis when we were neighbors? Yes, because she actually showed us where her leg was amputated by taking off the prosthesis for my sister and me to see. In my mind’s eye, I can still see what she showed us.
The CACC honored the Rudy Collins Farm Center as the Business Focus. The business was located on Highway 55 toward Erwin. Rudy Collins had been joined by his son, Michael Collins, after he had graduated from NC State University. Jeneal Parrish Denton (Wade) had served as secretary and bookkeeper for four years. The store was equipped to serve the farm needs of the area (Daily Record June 16, 1994).
Do you know where Rudy’s Farm Center was located? If you pass the Smith Farm Ice Cream business and travel down Hwy 55 a bit, the farm business was a distance off the road toward the woods on the left. It was in this area that old timers shared with me that this is general area that Andrew Jackson Turlington operated a sawmill. The NC Business Directories from 1872-1896 verify that he did indeed operate a sawmill but where -the directories did not state. Andrew Jackson Turlington was a large landowner and was the son of the Willis Turlington who had purchased the 2300 acres of land from the Dushee Shaw heirs in 1839. Note that date was before James Thomas Coats purchased the Daniel Shaw land that would become where most of the town of early Coats is located.
Andrew Jackson Turlington had married Brazilla Denning of the Troyville-Barclaysville area. They were parents of “Nancy” Isabella Turlington who married James Thomas Coats of the Pleasant Grove area of Johnston County. Andrew and Brazilla’s other child was Devereux Turlington. He is associated with the sawmill down at the Turlington (Slocumb-Taylor Crossroads on early maps). Around 1903, the Kivett boys from Buies Creek wrote in a journal about going to “Debro” Turlington’s sawmill to get logs sawed.
Devereux Turlington is father to Stewart “Stuart”, grandfather to Carl and great-grandfather to the late Edward and Frank Turlington. Did A.J. Turlington inherit or was gifted land in the Turlington Crossroads area? Some refer to the two-story house that was once on the curve in the area of the Coats-Erwin Middle School as being the Andrew Jackson Turlington house. Frank Turlington, Carl’s son and Ed’s brother, moved it down to the woods where Frank had an arena for bull riding. The house where a satanic cult invaded was the Stewart “Stuart” Turlington house and before it was destroyed by fire was located in the area of CEMS. Hence it reads like A.J. did inherit some original Shaw land at Turlington.
James Thomas Coats came to the Daniel Shaw property after purchasing 706 acres from the Daniel Shaw heirs from January 6, 1875 to March 1, 1876. Some of this land is what Coats sits upon. On December 31, 1887, Andrew (A.J.) and Brazilla Denning Turlington gave their daughter ‘Nancy” Isabella Turlington Coats of Harnett County two tracts of land for one dollar. One tract was 75 acres west side of Black River adjacent to J.K. Stewart and a second tract was the 35 acres Joseph Stone tract. The total land owned by the James Thomas and “Nancy” Coats was 816 acres.
Did A.J. Turlington own the land where the Farm Store was located? The puzzle remains. Do you want to know what I think? I think if we can locate the J.K. Stewart and Joseph Stone land, we might get an answer.
Thank you goes to Margaret House for remembering Dovie Beasley with a memorial to the Coats Museum. I am saddened for the family and friends of Annis Barbee who was an amazing neighbor and friend to so many. My family has sent a memorial to the NCCF Coats Museum Endowment in her honor.