August 3, 2018 Coats Museum News
The Christmas season for 1971 was history but there may be a few people living who remember that specific one. Surely the friends and family of Mr. and Mrs. Moses Poole will remember their 50th Wedding Anniversary which was held at their home on December 12, 1971. Their four children were Ruby Williams, Reba Barbour, Eldon Poole and Chire Williams. Others may remember the funeral services of Joyce Lee Langdon which were held at the Coats Baptist Church by Rev. Howard Beard. Surviving her were her husband, E.B. (Butch) Langdon and son, Jerry Langdon; two brothers- Seth and M.P. Lee; and three sisters-Mrs. J.D. Dixon, Mrs. Emery Engen, and Mrs. C.K. Denning, Sr.(Daily Record Jan. 4, 1972).
Mr. Hoover Adams wrote in his paper that Democratic Chairman Ed McCormick believed that Coats Mayor Ronald Coats was the state’s youngest mayor at age 27 (Daily Record Jan. 5, 1972).
Coats received a FHA loan of $10,000 for a new waste disposal system. The Homemakers of the Harnett County Extension Council made a study of “Keeping North Carolina More Livable.” Clubs represented were Oakdale and Goodwill (Daily Record Jan. 6, 1972). Does $10,000 sound like a small amount for a waste disposal system?
Happy news in Coats was that Carson Gregory had been elected Pork Producer Association President and sad news was that Mrs. Neta Williams of Coats was a patient in Good Hope Hospital (Daily Record Jan. 7, 1972).
Staff Sgt. Joseph Byrd, US Air Force, was on duty at Ubon Royal Thai AFB, Thailand. Staff Sgt. Byrd, a weapon maintenance specialist, was assigned to a unit of the Pacific Air Forces, headquarters for air operations in Southeast Asia, the Far East and Pacific area. Byrd was a Coats graduate and son of Mr. and Mrs. Lacy E. Byrd (Daily Record Jan. 11, 1972). Joe is a man of many talents. Many remember Joe for his musical abilities in high school while today he is more recognized as an accomplished artist.
Alejandro (Alex) Castellanos, a senior at Coats High School, was named the district nominee for the Morehead Scholarship for 1972. Castellanos was the only Harnett student selected to attend the Governor’s School in the summer of 1971. Alex has the top grades in his senior class; scored the highest mark on the Preliminary Scholarship Aptitude Test in the history of the Coats School; was a marshal; earned membership into the Beta Club; played on the basketball and golf teams and was in the French Club. Alex was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Jose Castellanos, natives of Cuba (Daily Record Jan. 18, 1972).
Death had come to Coats and taken Mrs. Lillie H. Matthews, 80, of Route One, Coats. She had died on Wednesday and her funeral services were held at the Pleasant Union Christian Church near Lillington. Burial was in the church cemetery. Surviving Mrs. Matthews were Mrs. Mamie Bennett, Mrs. Mary Huff, and Mrs. Ruby Blackman. Her sons were Herbert, Edward, Grover and Ersie Matthews. Parly Hall of Erwin was a brother (Daily Record Jan. 20, 1972).
The Rev. and Mrs. J.D. Norris, Jr., of Manchester, Tennessee, announced the birth of a daughter, Lisa Elizabeth, on January 19th in Manchester (Daily Record Jan. 21, 1972). Just a side note on J.D., he is now Dr. J.D. Norris, a 1960 Coats high graduate, and lives in Virginia. J. D. has several relatives in the area, one being his nephew Matt Capps of Dunn.
“Coats of Coats Had Some Ideas” stated the headlines of an article by Jack Aulis in the News and Observer and reprinted in the Daily Record on January 21, 1972. Ronald had defeated long time Mayor Godfrey Beasley in June 1971. When Coats took the office, the first problem to tackle was the water supply shortage. Over the past two or three years, the town had had to bring in water from neighboring towns in tank trucks.
The mayor and commissioners went to the one industry in town, the Coats Lingerie (Terre Hill), which employed 450 workers, and promoted the passage of a $120,000 water bond referendum. The board held a series of hearings, printed a pamphlet, and met with the women’s groups and made every effort to talk and inform everyone. The vote came in December and passed overwhelmingly by 243 to 10. The result of the vote brought three new wells and a new water tank. Mayor Coats noted that the town had no water-sewer system. He was counting on the statewide $150 million water-sewer bond to give Coats $600,000 if it passed. The Coats tax rate was $1.75 per $100 value that was “pretty high”. Using federal and state aid, the Town of Coats had purchased a new garbage truck.
Before spring, the mayor said the town would have a police car. The town had not had a police car in 15 years and was the largest town in the state without a police car. The two town policeman had used their own cars and had asked the Highway Patrol to handle traffic problems “because the people couldn’t see the town cops were policemen.”
Mayor Coats was quoted as saying the town must think about zoning because of mobile homes and annexation if the town was to grow. He quoted to the reporter that Coats had 1,047 in 1950; 1,049 in 1960 and 1,051 in 1970. The town had grown at the rate of four people in the past twenty years. Mayor Coats felt the town should be able to improve upon that (Daily Record Jan. 21, 1972).
Staff Sgt. Jerry R. Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Coy O. Johnson, of Route One, Coats, N.C., had arrived in Panama City, Florida at Tyndall AFB. Sgt Johnson was a flight engineer with a unit of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service. The sergeant had attended Coats High School. His wife was the former Bonnie L. Moore.
Another Coats graduate was in the news when it was shared that Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth McLamb of Route One, Coats were parents of Jonathan Ross on January 18th in Cape Fear Valley Hospital (Daily Record Jan. 25, 1972).
Funeral services were held for Lester Williams, 75, retired farmer, who had died on Wednesday. His survivors were two sisters-Mrs. A.C. Ogburn and Mrs. Lena W. Fish (Daily Record Jan. 28, 1972). Was Mr. Williams a relative of Bill Dad, Hester or Stacy Williams?
I do know that Mrs. Mary Coats was 78 years old according to an article in the Feb. 2, 1972 Daily Record. It wrote that she weighed 88 pounds and her fingers stayed busy piecing together five or six quilts each summer and quilting them on frames her husband had made her many, many years ago. She had advice for her neighbors who just sat around-keeping busy would make them feel better. Mrs. Coats had lived in her house since 1913 and she had raised her daughter and sister’s daughter in it.
Mrs. Mary Coats was sister to Mrs. Willie H. (Lizzie) Turlington and Joe Penny, Sr. of the Coats area. Her nephew, Alfred Johnson, was mayor of Fuquay Varina for many years. Her late husband Roger Coats had dropped dead at and had been overseer at the P.F. Pope sawmill which was located in the area of the former BB&T and Honeycutt Used Car businesses. Their house built in 1913 is said to have been built from wood that Mr. Coats handpicked and remains in good condition being located next door to Miller’s NAPA on McKinley Street. If she were living today, she would likely say that some busy hands needed to remove and trim some of the landscape around her house.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a visit from Sam Byrd whose family has deep roots in the Bunnlevel area. Sam was filling in a missing link in his Turlington heritage. He is the grandson of Gertrude Turlington Byrd who was daughter of the former Harnett County Sheriff W.H. “Will” Turlington. Sam, the son of Worth Byrd, was named after his Uncle Sam M. Byrd. He was an absolute delight to help share some of our collections of Turlington genealogy. He added to and corrected some of our errors. He, like many others, remembers a parent talking about older relatives and seeks to know more about those early ancestors. We hope he will visit again soon so we can tell him in person how appreciative the volunteers are of his very generous donation to the museum and his delightful visit.
A thank you also goes to JoAnne Ennis Turlington for her memorial donation to the museum to honor her Aunt Wynona Ennis. JoAnne is a faithful supporter of the museum in many ways and is one who calls to give me the answers to many of the questions I ask in the column.
The volunteers are hearing wonderful comments about the Glassware Road Show. Myrtle Bridges was surely tired after spending four hours identifying glassware. She commented to us that the glassware was SO beautiful. Some of it she could not identify because it pre-dated the Depression glass era. Thank you goes to Myrtle and all the Coats Museum volunteers and especially thank you to the forty plus folks who brought in glassware to be identified. By the way, we now have an exhibit of pink Depression glass on display for your enjoyment. Visit the museum often because Lynda Butler is constantly changing and adding to exhibits.
Don Whittington asked about donating a 1938 license plate after reading about the 1938 Class reunion in the column. If he donates it, we will have a 1918, 1926 and now a 1938. Would it not be awesome to have a license plate display in our Transportation module? You do know at one time the SIZE and color of the plates changed from one year to the next? Just for fun, go to coatsmuseum.com and search my November 30, 2012 Coats Museum News and discover the color of the NC license plate in 1936. If someone else has a license plate that you like to loan or give to the museum for the display, the volunteers would welcome the use of it.
The Christmas season for 1971 was history but there may be a few people living who remember that specific one. Surely the friends and family of Mr. and Mrs. Moses Poole will remember their 50th Wedding Anniversary which was held at their home on December 12, 1971. Their four children were Ruby Williams, Reba Barbour, Eldon Poole and Chire Williams. Others may remember the funeral services of Joyce Lee Langdon which were held at the Coats Baptist Church by Rev. Howard Beard. Surviving her were her husband, E.B. (Butch) Langdon and son, Jerry Langdon; two brothers- Seth and M.P. Lee; and three sisters-Mrs. J.D. Dixon, Mrs. Emery Engen, and Mrs. C.K. Denning, Sr.(Daily Record Jan. 4, 1972).
Mr. Hoover Adams wrote in his paper that Democratic Chairman Ed McCormick believed that Coats Mayor Ronald Coats was the state’s youngest mayor at age 27 (Daily Record Jan. 5, 1972).
Coats received a FHA loan of $10,000 for a new waste disposal system. The Homemakers of the Harnett County Extension Council made a study of “Keeping North Carolina More Livable.” Clubs represented were Oakdale and Goodwill (Daily Record Jan. 6, 1972). Does $10,000 sound like a small amount for a waste disposal system?
Happy news in Coats was that Carson Gregory had been elected Pork Producer Association President and sad news was that Mrs. Neta Williams of Coats was a patient in Good Hope Hospital (Daily Record Jan. 7, 1972).
Staff Sgt. Joseph Byrd, US Air Force, was on duty at Ubon Royal Thai AFB, Thailand. Staff Sgt. Byrd, a weapon maintenance specialist, was assigned to a unit of the Pacific Air Forces, headquarters for air operations in Southeast Asia, the Far East and Pacific area. Byrd was a Coats graduate and son of Mr. and Mrs. Lacy E. Byrd (Daily Record Jan. 11, 1972). Joe is a man of many talents. Many remember Joe for his musical abilities in high school while today he is more recognized as an accomplished artist.
Alejandro (Alex) Castellanos, a senior at Coats High School, was named the district nominee for the Morehead Scholarship for 1972. Castellanos was the only Harnett student selected to attend the Governor’s School in the summer of 1971. Alex has the top grades in his senior class; scored the highest mark on the Preliminary Scholarship Aptitude Test in the history of the Coats School; was a marshal; earned membership into the Beta Club; played on the basketball and golf teams and was in the French Club. Alex was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Jose Castellanos, natives of Cuba (Daily Record Jan. 18, 1972).
Death had come to Coats and taken Mrs. Lillie H. Matthews, 80, of Route One, Coats. She had died on Wednesday and her funeral services were held at the Pleasant Union Christian Church near Lillington. Burial was in the church cemetery. Surviving Mrs. Matthews were Mrs. Mamie Bennett, Mrs. Mary Huff, and Mrs. Ruby Blackman. Her sons were Herbert, Edward, Grover and Ersie Matthews. Parly Hall of Erwin was a brother (Daily Record Jan. 20, 1972).
The Rev. and Mrs. J.D. Norris, Jr., of Manchester, Tennessee, announced the birth of a daughter, Lisa Elizabeth, on January 19th in Manchester (Daily Record Jan. 21, 1972). Just a side note on J.D., he is now Dr. J.D. Norris, a 1960 Coats high graduate, and lives in Virginia. J. D. has several relatives in the area, one being his nephew Matt Capps of Dunn.
“Coats of Coats Had Some Ideas” stated the headlines of an article by Jack Aulis in the News and Observer and reprinted in the Daily Record on January 21, 1972. Ronald had defeated long time Mayor Godfrey Beasley in June 1971. When Coats took the office, the first problem to tackle was the water supply shortage. Over the past two or three years, the town had had to bring in water from neighboring towns in tank trucks.
The mayor and commissioners went to the one industry in town, the Coats Lingerie (Terre Hill), which employed 450 workers, and promoted the passage of a $120,000 water bond referendum. The board held a series of hearings, printed a pamphlet, and met with the women’s groups and made every effort to talk and inform everyone. The vote came in December and passed overwhelmingly by 243 to 10. The result of the vote brought three new wells and a new water tank. Mayor Coats noted that the town had no water-sewer system. He was counting on the statewide $150 million water-sewer bond to give Coats $600,000 if it passed. The Coats tax rate was $1.75 per $100 value that was “pretty high”. Using federal and state aid, the Town of Coats had purchased a new garbage truck.
Before spring, the mayor said the town would have a police car. The town had not had a police car in 15 years and was the largest town in the state without a police car. The two town policeman had used their own cars and had asked the Highway Patrol to handle traffic problems “because the people couldn’t see the town cops were policemen.”
Mayor Coats was quoted as saying the town must think about zoning because of mobile homes and annexation if the town was to grow. He quoted to the reporter that Coats had 1,047 in 1950; 1,049 in 1960 and 1,051 in 1970. The town had grown at the rate of four people in the past twenty years. Mayor Coats felt the town should be able to improve upon that (Daily Record Jan. 21, 1972).
Staff Sgt. Jerry R. Johnson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Coy O. Johnson, of Route One, Coats, N.C., had arrived in Panama City, Florida at Tyndall AFB. Sgt Johnson was a flight engineer with a unit of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service. The sergeant had attended Coats High School. His wife was the former Bonnie L. Moore.
Another Coats graduate was in the news when it was shared that Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth McLamb of Route One, Coats were parents of Jonathan Ross on January 18th in Cape Fear Valley Hospital (Daily Record Jan. 25, 1972).
Funeral services were held for Lester Williams, 75, retired farmer, who had died on Wednesday. His survivors were two sisters-Mrs. A.C. Ogburn and Mrs. Lena W. Fish (Daily Record Jan. 28, 1972). Was Mr. Williams a relative of Bill Dad, Hester or Stacy Williams?
I do know that Mrs. Mary Coats was 78 years old according to an article in the Feb. 2, 1972 Daily Record. It wrote that she weighed 88 pounds and her fingers stayed busy piecing together five or six quilts each summer and quilting them on frames her husband had made her many, many years ago. She had advice for her neighbors who just sat around-keeping busy would make them feel better. Mrs. Coats had lived in her house since 1913 and she had raised her daughter and sister’s daughter in it.
Mrs. Mary Coats was sister to Mrs. Willie H. (Lizzie) Turlington and Joe Penny, Sr. of the Coats area. Her nephew, Alfred Johnson, was mayor of Fuquay Varina for many years. Her late husband Roger Coats had dropped dead at and had been overseer at the P.F. Pope sawmill which was located in the area of the former BB&T and Honeycutt Used Car businesses. Their house built in 1913 is said to have been built from wood that Mr. Coats handpicked and remains in good condition being located next door to Miller’s NAPA on McKinley Street. If she were living today, she would likely say that some busy hands needed to remove and trim some of the landscape around her house.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a visit from Sam Byrd whose family has deep roots in the Bunnlevel area. Sam was filling in a missing link in his Turlington heritage. He is the grandson of Gertrude Turlington Byrd who was daughter of the former Harnett County Sheriff W.H. “Will” Turlington. Sam, the son of Worth Byrd, was named after his Uncle Sam M. Byrd. He was an absolute delight to help share some of our collections of Turlington genealogy. He added to and corrected some of our errors. He, like many others, remembers a parent talking about older relatives and seeks to know more about those early ancestors. We hope he will visit again soon so we can tell him in person how appreciative the volunteers are of his very generous donation to the museum and his delightful visit.
A thank you also goes to JoAnne Ennis Turlington for her memorial donation to the museum to honor her Aunt Wynona Ennis. JoAnne is a faithful supporter of the museum in many ways and is one who calls to give me the answers to many of the questions I ask in the column.
The volunteers are hearing wonderful comments about the Glassware Road Show. Myrtle Bridges was surely tired after spending four hours identifying glassware. She commented to us that the glassware was SO beautiful. Some of it she could not identify because it pre-dated the Depression glass era. Thank you goes to Myrtle and all the Coats Museum volunteers and especially thank you to the forty plus folks who brought in glassware to be identified. By the way, we now have an exhibit of pink Depression glass on display for your enjoyment. Visit the museum often because Lynda Butler is constantly changing and adding to exhibits.
Don Whittington asked about donating a 1938 license plate after reading about the 1938 Class reunion in the column. If he donates it, we will have a 1918, 1926 and now a 1938. Would it not be awesome to have a license plate display in our Transportation module? You do know at one time the SIZE and color of the plates changed from one year to the next? Just for fun, go to coatsmuseum.com and search my November 30, 2012 Coats Museum News and discover the color of the NC license plate in 1936. If someone else has a license plate that you like to loan or give to the museum for the display, the volunteers would welcome the use of it.