August 10, 2018 Coats Museum News
Death had come to a young mother from Coats in February of 1972. Mrs. Dorothy Lucas Messer had died in NC Memorial in Chapel Hill. She was forty-five years of age. Her survivors were her husband Winfred Messer, three sons-Larry, Ricky and Gerald (Daily Record Feb.3, 1972).
Happier news was reported from another Coats area family. In a ceremony performed at the home of the couple, Bonnie Lou Norris became the bride of Jesse B. West, Jr. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Norris, Jr. of Benson, Route One in the Oakdale area. Parents of the groom were Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. West, Sr. of Dunn. The bride wore a street length white polyester dress and was given in marriage by her father. Miss Glenda Norris was maid of honor while Glenn West attended his brother (Daily Record Feb. 4, 1972).
Mrs. Isabel Wolf received the highest honor at the annual Boy Scout Recognition Dinner at Buies Creek. The plaque was presented for outstanding service to Boy Scouting (Daily Record Feb. 7, 1972).Did her son, Johnny Wolf, receive his Eagle recognition? I do know that Coats has always been fortunate to have outstanding scout leaders and hence a large number of the young men have earned the Eagle recognition.
Miss Nancy Lamm, a senior at Coats High School, was a contestant in the Miss Dunn Pageant. Nancy planned to attend Pembroke State University (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1972). Another pretty senior at Coats High, Denise Currin, announced her entry into the same Miss Dunn Pageant. Denise was currently Miss Coats High (Daily Record Feb. 17, 1972).
The news went from beauty queens looking for pageant crowns to men looking forward to the Annual Spring Amateur Bird Dog Field Trials sponsored by the Coats Hunting and Fishing Club. The event was scheduled for March 4-5 on the Warren Ennis Farm. There was no admission and no alcoholic beverages were sold or allowed. Prizes were awarded in the division of Puppy, Derby, Bird Hunter event and Open Shooting dog. Prizes were also to be given to spectators (Daily Record Feb. 21, 1972).
Mrs. Hautense Denning announced the engagement of her daughter, Carolyn Faye Denning, to Phillip Louis Barnes, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Barnes of Coats. Carolyn was also the daughter of the late Mr. Troy Edward Denning of Coats. Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Tallie Dupree announced the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Shelia Darlene, to Daniel Coye Rhodes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Rhodes of Fresco, Colorado. The bride was a 1970 graduate of Campbell College with a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education. The bridegroom-elect held his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University. He was serving on a tour of duty as a First Lieutenant with the Corps of Engineers in Vietnam (Daily Record Feb. 22, 1972).Did you picture the folks mentioned in that edition of the paper? Carolyn and Phillip Barnes are seen around town daily but many of you may not have seen Sheila since high school or at the funerals of her parents-Tallie and Sarah Dupree. Shelia lives in Atlanta where she taught school.
Miss Linda Sue Turlington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Jr., of Route 3, Dunn, and Charles Jeffrey Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anthony Stewart of Coats, were married by Rev. Howard Beard who officiated at the Coats Baptist Church (Daily Record Feb. 23, 1972). This couple visited the museum not very long ago and they remain such a beautiful couple in many ways. What is really sad however is that I can also remember some of the last visits to the museum of their fathers, H.A., Jr. and Tony, and how proud they were to be military veterans.
Army Private First Class Tony E. Weaver, 20, was son of Mr. and Mrs. Owen Weaver who lived on Route 2, Angier. His wife Dottie also lived on Route 2, Angier. Private Weaver was one of the paratroopers of the 82nd Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. who had played a leading role in the recent exercise “Brave Shield I.” U.S. Pfc. Weaver was an assistant gunner with Company C, 2nd Battalion of Division’s 505th Infantry. Tony was a 1969 graduate of Coats High School (Daily Record Mar. 7, 1972).
Mr. and Mrs. James Allison Langdon, Jr. of Route 3, Dunn, announced the engagement of their daughter, Miss Teresa Frances Langdon, to Gary Michael Ennis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Billy Ray Ennis of Coats. The bride-elect was employed by the State Highway Commission in Raleigh. Her fiancé was attending W.W. Holding Technical Institute (Daily Record Mar. 7, 1972).What is school called in 2018?
Were all of these March engagements ahead of June weddings? I do know that another popular Coats fellow was married in March. Miss Polly Sue Norris became the bride of Larry Virgil Stewart in the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. The Saturday wedding was performed by Rev. C. W. Kimbrough. Given in marriage by her father, the bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Edward Norris of Benson. Parents of Larry were Mr. and Mrs. Grayden Virgil Stewart. Mrs. Barry Jo Norris served as honor attendant and the groom’s father was best man. Barry Jo Norris and Howard Penny were ushers. The bride was attending Campbell College (Daily Record Mar. 7, 1972).How many of Polly’s former students are reading this wedding announcement?
Roger F. Simmons was appointed to the Coats Town Board after the Board amended the Town Charter to increase the membership from four to five members. The addition of a fifth commissioner would enable the commissioners to fulfill the work on hand. Simmons was Street Commissioner and would hold the office until the May election (Daily Record Mar.10, 1972). Was Mr. Simmons a banker?
When many of us were growing up, we had country stores throughout our neighborhoods. In some instances, some were close enough for the youngsters to walk and pick up items that our parents needed immediately resulting in their not having to drive into town. In my neighborhood there were the Weeks and Creech, J.A. Langdon and Milford Dorman stores. Skipping and hopping to these country stores was fun with absolutely no fear from any car passing by. In fact, it was not uncommon for a neighbor passing by to offer a ride to the store which was normally rejected because that would take the fun out of the adventure.
On NC Highway 27 toward Benson from Coats, there was a country store that had been operated by William Hugh Johnson. The sixty-two year- old retired salesman and store operator had died on Friday. His services were conducted in the Rose and Graham Funeral Home Chapel by Reverend Joe Allen and R.M. King. Burial was in Roselawn. Surviving were his wife, Lois Ennis Johnson, and three daughters-Mrs. Earl Hinson (Laura), Mrs. Mrs. Earl P. King, Jr. (Susan) and Lois Ann Johnson. He had three surviving brothers- Walton, Hampton, and Layton Johnson. His six sisters- Mrs. Fate Barnes, Mrs. William Pittman, Mrs. Walton Massengill, Mrs. Astor Johnson, Mrs. Carlyle Massengill and Mrs. Walter Stancil also survived him.
Mrs. Rex A. Godwin of Coats was cited for 10 years service to First Citizens Bank in Buies Creek. She was a native of Ohio. Denise Currin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Currin, and Jennifer Eason, daughter of Mrs. Mozel Eason, were accepted at Campbell for the fall term (Daily Record Mar. 15, 1972).
Who remembers R. Hal Smith? What do you remember most about him? R. Hal Smith, the former principal of Coats from 1947 to 1959, was elected President of the Harnett County Retired School Personnel organization (Daily Record Mar. 17, 1972).
Ironically, I began this column with the death of a young Coats woman and will end it with the death of another Coats woman. Mrs. Patricia Godwin House, 47, had died on Friday. Funeral services were at the Coats Methodist Church by Rev. Ray Phillips. Burial was in the Lakeside Memorial Gardens. Surviving her was her husband, Edward House; her mother, Mrs. Minnie Godwin, and a sister, Mrs. Mary Mabry (Daily Record Mar. 20, 1972).
I had an informative call from Kenneth Keene last Friday. He remembered the P.F. Pope sawmill and recalled playing on the sawdust pile as a young boy. He stated that the P.F. Pope sawmill was in the area of the current the fire station. The P.F. Pope house is the large white house near the water tower.
Kenneth also shared that Mrs. Mary Coats would indeed not like the looks of her place today and he reminisced that his family had lived in the house next door to Roger and Mary Coats before it became the doctor’s office. Dr. Moore built the brick medical clinic and the house was moved to the current site off NC Highway 27 at the Ebenezer Church Road. Mary was the daughter of H.H. and Unity Coats Penny who had lived in the house until their deaths. Kenneth said that Roger and Mary Coats owned the house when his parents O.K. and Billie Keene rented it. He said that Mary Coats and Lucy Weaver made the best applejacks he had ever eaten. Isn’t it amazing what we remember from our earliest years?
We had drop in visits from Ronny Denning and Gail Grimes last Thursday. Thank you goes to Ronny for donating his mom’s- Mrs. Clara Denning, Coats Heritage books and Gail for donating a 1947 Coats High School graduation autograph booklet. It is amazing to discover that so many awesome items are out in the public and how generous the finders are in sharing them for others to enjoy.
Maynard Moran died several years ago and is remembered for writing the Coats School song. His sister Faye Moran Fish died last week in Fayetteville. Faye was a very personable lady who attended Coats School prior to marrying Joseph Fish, a former US Army veteran. Faye loaned the museum volunteers her granddaughter’s pink pedal car for our exhibit of vintage wedding clothes. Thank you goes to Judy and Tommy Ennis and the Class of 1960 for remembering Faye with memorials to the Coats Museum. Thank you to H.L. for giving memorials to the Coats Museum Endowment for Alice Johnson, Faye Moran Fish and Joyce Parrish Turner.
Death had come to a young mother from Coats in February of 1972. Mrs. Dorothy Lucas Messer had died in NC Memorial in Chapel Hill. She was forty-five years of age. Her survivors were her husband Winfred Messer, three sons-Larry, Ricky and Gerald (Daily Record Feb.3, 1972).
Happier news was reported from another Coats area family. In a ceremony performed at the home of the couple, Bonnie Lou Norris became the bride of Jesse B. West, Jr. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Norris, Jr. of Benson, Route One in the Oakdale area. Parents of the groom were Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. West, Sr. of Dunn. The bride wore a street length white polyester dress and was given in marriage by her father. Miss Glenda Norris was maid of honor while Glenn West attended his brother (Daily Record Feb. 4, 1972).
Mrs. Isabel Wolf received the highest honor at the annual Boy Scout Recognition Dinner at Buies Creek. The plaque was presented for outstanding service to Boy Scouting (Daily Record Feb. 7, 1972).Did her son, Johnny Wolf, receive his Eagle recognition? I do know that Coats has always been fortunate to have outstanding scout leaders and hence a large number of the young men have earned the Eagle recognition.
Miss Nancy Lamm, a senior at Coats High School, was a contestant in the Miss Dunn Pageant. Nancy planned to attend Pembroke State University (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1972). Another pretty senior at Coats High, Denise Currin, announced her entry into the same Miss Dunn Pageant. Denise was currently Miss Coats High (Daily Record Feb. 17, 1972).
The news went from beauty queens looking for pageant crowns to men looking forward to the Annual Spring Amateur Bird Dog Field Trials sponsored by the Coats Hunting and Fishing Club. The event was scheduled for March 4-5 on the Warren Ennis Farm. There was no admission and no alcoholic beverages were sold or allowed. Prizes were awarded in the division of Puppy, Derby, Bird Hunter event and Open Shooting dog. Prizes were also to be given to spectators (Daily Record Feb. 21, 1972).
Mrs. Hautense Denning announced the engagement of her daughter, Carolyn Faye Denning, to Phillip Louis Barnes, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Barnes of Coats. Carolyn was also the daughter of the late Mr. Troy Edward Denning of Coats. Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Tallie Dupree announced the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Shelia Darlene, to Daniel Coye Rhodes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Rhodes of Fresco, Colorado. The bride was a 1970 graduate of Campbell College with a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education. The bridegroom-elect held his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University. He was serving on a tour of duty as a First Lieutenant with the Corps of Engineers in Vietnam (Daily Record Feb. 22, 1972).Did you picture the folks mentioned in that edition of the paper? Carolyn and Phillip Barnes are seen around town daily but many of you may not have seen Sheila since high school or at the funerals of her parents-Tallie and Sarah Dupree. Shelia lives in Atlanta where she taught school.
Miss Linda Sue Turlington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Jr., of Route 3, Dunn, and Charles Jeffrey Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anthony Stewart of Coats, were married by Rev. Howard Beard who officiated at the Coats Baptist Church (Daily Record Feb. 23, 1972). This couple visited the museum not very long ago and they remain such a beautiful couple in many ways. What is really sad however is that I can also remember some of the last visits to the museum of their fathers, H.A., Jr. and Tony, and how proud they were to be military veterans.
Army Private First Class Tony E. Weaver, 20, was son of Mr. and Mrs. Owen Weaver who lived on Route 2, Angier. His wife Dottie also lived on Route 2, Angier. Private Weaver was one of the paratroopers of the 82nd Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. who had played a leading role in the recent exercise “Brave Shield I.” U.S. Pfc. Weaver was an assistant gunner with Company C, 2nd Battalion of Division’s 505th Infantry. Tony was a 1969 graduate of Coats High School (Daily Record Mar. 7, 1972).
Mr. and Mrs. James Allison Langdon, Jr. of Route 3, Dunn, announced the engagement of their daughter, Miss Teresa Frances Langdon, to Gary Michael Ennis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Billy Ray Ennis of Coats. The bride-elect was employed by the State Highway Commission in Raleigh. Her fiancé was attending W.W. Holding Technical Institute (Daily Record Mar. 7, 1972).What is school called in 2018?
Were all of these March engagements ahead of June weddings? I do know that another popular Coats fellow was married in March. Miss Polly Sue Norris became the bride of Larry Virgil Stewart in the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. The Saturday wedding was performed by Rev. C. W. Kimbrough. Given in marriage by her father, the bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Edward Norris of Benson. Parents of Larry were Mr. and Mrs. Grayden Virgil Stewart. Mrs. Barry Jo Norris served as honor attendant and the groom’s father was best man. Barry Jo Norris and Howard Penny were ushers. The bride was attending Campbell College (Daily Record Mar. 7, 1972).How many of Polly’s former students are reading this wedding announcement?
Roger F. Simmons was appointed to the Coats Town Board after the Board amended the Town Charter to increase the membership from four to five members. The addition of a fifth commissioner would enable the commissioners to fulfill the work on hand. Simmons was Street Commissioner and would hold the office until the May election (Daily Record Mar.10, 1972). Was Mr. Simmons a banker?
When many of us were growing up, we had country stores throughout our neighborhoods. In some instances, some were close enough for the youngsters to walk and pick up items that our parents needed immediately resulting in their not having to drive into town. In my neighborhood there were the Weeks and Creech, J.A. Langdon and Milford Dorman stores. Skipping and hopping to these country stores was fun with absolutely no fear from any car passing by. In fact, it was not uncommon for a neighbor passing by to offer a ride to the store which was normally rejected because that would take the fun out of the adventure.
On NC Highway 27 toward Benson from Coats, there was a country store that had been operated by William Hugh Johnson. The sixty-two year- old retired salesman and store operator had died on Friday. His services were conducted in the Rose and Graham Funeral Home Chapel by Reverend Joe Allen and R.M. King. Burial was in Roselawn. Surviving were his wife, Lois Ennis Johnson, and three daughters-Mrs. Earl Hinson (Laura), Mrs. Mrs. Earl P. King, Jr. (Susan) and Lois Ann Johnson. He had three surviving brothers- Walton, Hampton, and Layton Johnson. His six sisters- Mrs. Fate Barnes, Mrs. William Pittman, Mrs. Walton Massengill, Mrs. Astor Johnson, Mrs. Carlyle Massengill and Mrs. Walter Stancil also survived him.
Mrs. Rex A. Godwin of Coats was cited for 10 years service to First Citizens Bank in Buies Creek. She was a native of Ohio. Denise Currin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Currin, and Jennifer Eason, daughter of Mrs. Mozel Eason, were accepted at Campbell for the fall term (Daily Record Mar. 15, 1972).
Who remembers R. Hal Smith? What do you remember most about him? R. Hal Smith, the former principal of Coats from 1947 to 1959, was elected President of the Harnett County Retired School Personnel organization (Daily Record Mar. 17, 1972).
Ironically, I began this column with the death of a young Coats woman and will end it with the death of another Coats woman. Mrs. Patricia Godwin House, 47, had died on Friday. Funeral services were at the Coats Methodist Church by Rev. Ray Phillips. Burial was in the Lakeside Memorial Gardens. Surviving her was her husband, Edward House; her mother, Mrs. Minnie Godwin, and a sister, Mrs. Mary Mabry (Daily Record Mar. 20, 1972).
I had an informative call from Kenneth Keene last Friday. He remembered the P.F. Pope sawmill and recalled playing on the sawdust pile as a young boy. He stated that the P.F. Pope sawmill was in the area of the current the fire station. The P.F. Pope house is the large white house near the water tower.
Kenneth also shared that Mrs. Mary Coats would indeed not like the looks of her place today and he reminisced that his family had lived in the house next door to Roger and Mary Coats before it became the doctor’s office. Dr. Moore built the brick medical clinic and the house was moved to the current site off NC Highway 27 at the Ebenezer Church Road. Mary was the daughter of H.H. and Unity Coats Penny who had lived in the house until their deaths. Kenneth said that Roger and Mary Coats owned the house when his parents O.K. and Billie Keene rented it. He said that Mary Coats and Lucy Weaver made the best applejacks he had ever eaten. Isn’t it amazing what we remember from our earliest years?
We had drop in visits from Ronny Denning and Gail Grimes last Thursday. Thank you goes to Ronny for donating his mom’s- Mrs. Clara Denning, Coats Heritage books and Gail for donating a 1947 Coats High School graduation autograph booklet. It is amazing to discover that so many awesome items are out in the public and how generous the finders are in sharing them for others to enjoy.
Maynard Moran died several years ago and is remembered for writing the Coats School song. His sister Faye Moran Fish died last week in Fayetteville. Faye was a very personable lady who attended Coats School prior to marrying Joseph Fish, a former US Army veteran. Faye loaned the museum volunteers her granddaughter’s pink pedal car for our exhibit of vintage wedding clothes. Thank you goes to Judy and Tommy Ennis and the Class of 1960 for remembering Faye with memorials to the Coats Museum. Thank you to H.L. for giving memorials to the Coats Museum Endowment for Alice Johnson, Faye Moran Fish and Joyce Parrish Turner.