August 17, 2012 Coats Museum News
Last week you read the names of many of the 1931 Coats students who had made the honor roll in grades one through six. Today you will meet the students who made honor roll in grades seven through eleven. Mrs. Arnold recorded that Dixie Ruth Moore, Horace Pollard, Alvin Powell, Clearnice Roberts, Inez Kelly, Curtis Ennis, Lura Parrish, and Maida Lee were on the grade seven honor roll. Cosby Byrd made the honors list in grade eight while Josie Cannady, Lois Grimes, Virginia Langdon, Thetis Bayles, Grace Turlington, Elease Williams, and Vera Whittington were on Mr. Lewis’s grade nine list. Miss Johnson named Tiny Weaver, Grace Coats, and Onea Gegory to the tenth grade honor roll. Kenneth Kelly must have been some smart guy for only he made the eleventh grade list of Mrs. Broadwell (Harnett County News April 23, 1931). Question—When you read the words Miss Broadwell, how many of you think of Coy Broadwell who was such a great vocational education teacher at Coats and later used his horticultural knowledge to become one of the state’s largest nursery owners? Wonder if she is one of Coy’s ancestors.
I do know that tobacco farmers were being encouraged to buy the tobacco transplanter equipment from the Proctor-Barbour Co. in Fuquay Springs. They offered a complete stock of transplanters from the smallest hand-size to the modern New Idea or the Massey –Harris two horse planter. These transplanters could be purchased on very attractive terms (Harnett County News May 14, 1931). Does that mean credit? How many years was it before people in the Coats area were no longer using the hand planter to set the tobacco?
Surely, Mrs. C.G. Fuquay was not concerned with setting anything but the table with food for the junior class as she entertained them with an informal party on Tuesday evening, May 12, from 8 until 10P.M. Games and contests were enjoyed for about an hour and a half. Punch and sandwiches were served amongst the class colors of green and white.
The end of 1930-31 school term was coming and the Coats School commencement began with the grammar grade program on April 4th. The primary program was given on May 1. On May 8, the recitation and declamation contests were given. Virginia Langdon and Russell Williams were the winners. The Glee Club entertained during the program. The high school play, “A Poor Married Man”, was to be given on Friday night following Thursday night class night. On Friday morning, Dr. Paul Green would give the literary address. The graduates would receive certificates and medals after Dr. Green spoke. You are familiar with that name, right?
Here we go again with proof that all those stories told about how smart Grandpa and Grandma were in school can be verified in that same edition of the newspaper. The Coats students who made the final honor roll were printed. Read this list to see if you recognize the names of the bright students. Mary Eliza Lee and Ella Meredith Nichols made grade one honor roll while on the second grade list the following names were found: Francis Grimes, Prentiss Johnson, George Thomas Coats, Cecil Fuquay, Bernard Hill, Lois Odom, Delaney Turlington, Grace Williams, and Frances Whittington. In Grade 3, Zula Bright Hockaday, Helen Williams, Doris Stewart, Lorraine Highfill, Doris McLamb, Rosie Averette, Kathleen Byrd, Mayzelle Godwin, and Edward Stewart. Harry Turlington, Clinton Lee, and Edward Grimes made the fourth grade list and in grade 5, D.B. Durham, Jr., Earl Highfill, Madeline Keene, Imogene Turlington, Bobby Kelly, and Foy Stephenson. Grade 6 honor students were Ollie Bell Satterfield, Dorothy Patterson, Lola Langdon, Eunice Baird, and Reba Stewart. Horace Pollard, W.G. Tart, Dorothy Stewart, Katie McClees, Curtis Ennis, Maida Lee, Inez Kelly, and Lura Parrish were seventh grade honor roll students. Grade 8 had only Herbert Johnson on the list. Grade 9 had the names of Bernice Bayles, Thelis Bayles, Josie Cannady, Mabel Coats, Lois Grimes, Virginia Langdon, , Grace Turlington, Vira Whittington, Elease Williams, and P.B. Wood. Esther Stewart, Grace Coats, Onea Gregory and Tiny Weaver were 10th grade honors and lastly in grade 11, Kenneth Kelly made his final honor roll at Coats (Harnett County News May 21, 1931).
Students are likely in the tobacco and cotton fields in June but the Coats town board was meeting on June 4, 1931 at their regular meeting with all members except Joel Ennis were present for the installing of new officers. The new board was Mayor W.R. Roycroft, W.M. Keen, T.O Beasley, Joel Ennis, and C.J. Turlington as commissioners. The board appointed A.J. Godwin as “night police” at $40.00 per month (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, June 4, 1931).
On the county level, Harnett County Game Warden T.J. Turlington announced the agents who would furnish 1931 hunting licenses for hunting in Harnett County. Hunters in the Coats area could obtain the document from the Coats Pharmacy (Harnett County News August 20, 1931). Would that pharmacy be the Roycroft Drug Store?
Tragedy had once again struck the Byrd family in Coats. Mr. Ivan M. Byrd, son of Mr. and Mrs. John McKay Byrd, was fatally injured on a Friday evening when his car collided with a wagon on the highway as he was driving home from Raleigh. It seems that Mr. Byrd did not see the wagon, which was loaded with wood, in time to stop. Dr. Young of Angier was the first to reach the injured man and carried him to the Rex hospital where death occurred soon afterward. Mr. Byrd, who was 40 years old, was on his way home to Coats where his parents were prominent citizens. His father was once sheriff and a representative to the General Assembly in 1929. The Reverend E.N. Gardner officiated at the Coats Baptist Church. A large congregation attended and floral tributes were many and beautiful (Harnett County News September 3, 1931).
Activity still abounds at the Coats Museum. Tim Penny and Locke Muse have converted one room of the museum into a research library which will house all the family histories and research data on just about any topic you can name about the Coats area and its citizens. This room will be the new home of the trophies, yearbooks, sports uniforms, Gerald Hayes’s FFA jacket denoting him as a state officer and other articles and pictures from the old Coats High School. Former Coats High School graduates Tommy Coats and Tommy Young are constructing the bookcases for the research library at Mr. Coats’s cabinet company.
Thanks goes to the Coats High School Class of 1952 for the donation to the museum’s building fund to honor the memory of their classmate Thomas Cooper. Also thanks goes to the Butlers who gave to honor the memory of Gaynelle M. Young and Laura Betts. Jo Anne Turlington gave to the museum to honor Mrs. Betts also and recalled good memories of that family when they were Jo Anne and T.J. ‘s neighbors. A contribution has been given toward a commemorative brick to honor Mrs. Rebeth Mitchell’s 100th birthday on August 20, 2012. A special thank you goes to Randy and Rhonda Stephenson for their generous donation to honor Rhonda’s dad, Lamas Denning. That contribution will buy a mannequin to display one of the many military uniforms which have been given to the museum.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON AUGUST 17, 2012.
Last week you read the names of many of the 1931 Coats students who had made the honor roll in grades one through six. Today you will meet the students who made honor roll in grades seven through eleven. Mrs. Arnold recorded that Dixie Ruth Moore, Horace Pollard, Alvin Powell, Clearnice Roberts, Inez Kelly, Curtis Ennis, Lura Parrish, and Maida Lee were on the grade seven honor roll. Cosby Byrd made the honors list in grade eight while Josie Cannady, Lois Grimes, Virginia Langdon, Thetis Bayles, Grace Turlington, Elease Williams, and Vera Whittington were on Mr. Lewis’s grade nine list. Miss Johnson named Tiny Weaver, Grace Coats, and Onea Gegory to the tenth grade honor roll. Kenneth Kelly must have been some smart guy for only he made the eleventh grade list of Mrs. Broadwell (Harnett County News April 23, 1931). Question—When you read the words Miss Broadwell, how many of you think of Coy Broadwell who was such a great vocational education teacher at Coats and later used his horticultural knowledge to become one of the state’s largest nursery owners? Wonder if she is one of Coy’s ancestors.
I do know that tobacco farmers were being encouraged to buy the tobacco transplanter equipment from the Proctor-Barbour Co. in Fuquay Springs. They offered a complete stock of transplanters from the smallest hand-size to the modern New Idea or the Massey –Harris two horse planter. These transplanters could be purchased on very attractive terms (Harnett County News May 14, 1931). Does that mean credit? How many years was it before people in the Coats area were no longer using the hand planter to set the tobacco?
Surely, Mrs. C.G. Fuquay was not concerned with setting anything but the table with food for the junior class as she entertained them with an informal party on Tuesday evening, May 12, from 8 until 10P.M. Games and contests were enjoyed for about an hour and a half. Punch and sandwiches were served amongst the class colors of green and white.
The end of 1930-31 school term was coming and the Coats School commencement began with the grammar grade program on April 4th. The primary program was given on May 1. On May 8, the recitation and declamation contests were given. Virginia Langdon and Russell Williams were the winners. The Glee Club entertained during the program. The high school play, “A Poor Married Man”, was to be given on Friday night following Thursday night class night. On Friday morning, Dr. Paul Green would give the literary address. The graduates would receive certificates and medals after Dr. Green spoke. You are familiar with that name, right?
Here we go again with proof that all those stories told about how smart Grandpa and Grandma were in school can be verified in that same edition of the newspaper. The Coats students who made the final honor roll were printed. Read this list to see if you recognize the names of the bright students. Mary Eliza Lee and Ella Meredith Nichols made grade one honor roll while on the second grade list the following names were found: Francis Grimes, Prentiss Johnson, George Thomas Coats, Cecil Fuquay, Bernard Hill, Lois Odom, Delaney Turlington, Grace Williams, and Frances Whittington. In Grade 3, Zula Bright Hockaday, Helen Williams, Doris Stewart, Lorraine Highfill, Doris McLamb, Rosie Averette, Kathleen Byrd, Mayzelle Godwin, and Edward Stewart. Harry Turlington, Clinton Lee, and Edward Grimes made the fourth grade list and in grade 5, D.B. Durham, Jr., Earl Highfill, Madeline Keene, Imogene Turlington, Bobby Kelly, and Foy Stephenson. Grade 6 honor students were Ollie Bell Satterfield, Dorothy Patterson, Lola Langdon, Eunice Baird, and Reba Stewart. Horace Pollard, W.G. Tart, Dorothy Stewart, Katie McClees, Curtis Ennis, Maida Lee, Inez Kelly, and Lura Parrish were seventh grade honor roll students. Grade 8 had only Herbert Johnson on the list. Grade 9 had the names of Bernice Bayles, Thelis Bayles, Josie Cannady, Mabel Coats, Lois Grimes, Virginia Langdon, , Grace Turlington, Vira Whittington, Elease Williams, and P.B. Wood. Esther Stewart, Grace Coats, Onea Gregory and Tiny Weaver were 10th grade honors and lastly in grade 11, Kenneth Kelly made his final honor roll at Coats (Harnett County News May 21, 1931).
Students are likely in the tobacco and cotton fields in June but the Coats town board was meeting on June 4, 1931 at their regular meeting with all members except Joel Ennis were present for the installing of new officers. The new board was Mayor W.R. Roycroft, W.M. Keen, T.O Beasley, Joel Ennis, and C.J. Turlington as commissioners. The board appointed A.J. Godwin as “night police” at $40.00 per month (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, June 4, 1931).
On the county level, Harnett County Game Warden T.J. Turlington announced the agents who would furnish 1931 hunting licenses for hunting in Harnett County. Hunters in the Coats area could obtain the document from the Coats Pharmacy (Harnett County News August 20, 1931). Would that pharmacy be the Roycroft Drug Store?
Tragedy had once again struck the Byrd family in Coats. Mr. Ivan M. Byrd, son of Mr. and Mrs. John McKay Byrd, was fatally injured on a Friday evening when his car collided with a wagon on the highway as he was driving home from Raleigh. It seems that Mr. Byrd did not see the wagon, which was loaded with wood, in time to stop. Dr. Young of Angier was the first to reach the injured man and carried him to the Rex hospital where death occurred soon afterward. Mr. Byrd, who was 40 years old, was on his way home to Coats where his parents were prominent citizens. His father was once sheriff and a representative to the General Assembly in 1929. The Reverend E.N. Gardner officiated at the Coats Baptist Church. A large congregation attended and floral tributes were many and beautiful (Harnett County News September 3, 1931).
Activity still abounds at the Coats Museum. Tim Penny and Locke Muse have converted one room of the museum into a research library which will house all the family histories and research data on just about any topic you can name about the Coats area and its citizens. This room will be the new home of the trophies, yearbooks, sports uniforms, Gerald Hayes’s FFA jacket denoting him as a state officer and other articles and pictures from the old Coats High School. Former Coats High School graduates Tommy Coats and Tommy Young are constructing the bookcases for the research library at Mr. Coats’s cabinet company.
Thanks goes to the Coats High School Class of 1952 for the donation to the museum’s building fund to honor the memory of their classmate Thomas Cooper. Also thanks goes to the Butlers who gave to honor the memory of Gaynelle M. Young and Laura Betts. Jo Anne Turlington gave to the museum to honor Mrs. Betts also and recalled good memories of that family when they were Jo Anne and T.J. ‘s neighbors. A contribution has been given toward a commemorative brick to honor Mrs. Rebeth Mitchell’s 100th birthday on August 20, 2012. A special thank you goes to Randy and Rhonda Stephenson for their generous donation to honor Rhonda’s dad, Lamas Denning. That contribution will buy a mannequin to display one of the many military uniforms which have been given to the museum.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON AUGUST 17, 2012.