August 31, 2018 Coats Museum News
From time to time we have former Coats School students come into the museum asking to look at old yearbooks in which their parents or they appeared. The obvious enjoyment that most experience as they attempt to identify who is who in some of the early grades is so evident to the volunteers at the museum.
One of the amazing items in the yearbooks is how seniors are pictured by their fellow classmates as they vote for them in a section referred to as Class Superlatives. In 1972, the class picked Shearon Roberts and James Tart as “Best all Around”; Linda Tart and Danny West as “Most Likely To Succeed” and Karen Stewart and Gary Beasley as “Beau and Belle.” The “Neatest” couple was Jenny Eason and David Barnes. Kay Lewis and Donnie Pope made them laugh and were voted “Wittiest.” Nancy Lamm and Paul Parker were the “Friendliest” and Jeneal Parrish and Harold Flowers were voted the “Most Courteous.” If a job had to be done well, the class trusted Carletta Ivey and Linwood Ennis to be the “Most Dependable.” “The Cutest” couple was Denise Currin and Dennis Ennis while the “Most Original” pair was Elaine Byrd and Sammy Wagner.
As you are reading about these superlatives, do you recall if you were voted for having one of these outstanding traits? I do know that Bethany Langdon and Gary Weaver were recognized for their athletic ability and voted “Most Athletic”; Sharon Poole and Charles Ivey were “Most School Spirited” and Martha Turlington and Stephen Walker were the “Best Sports”. Tommy Young and Vikki Faircloth were the “Most Talented.” Alex Castallanos and Janice Langdon were selected “Most Intellectual” of the Class of 1972.
Ginger Dupree and Don Turlington had won “Mr. and Mrs. Echoing Memories” and Jessica Creech and Mickey Messer were chosen the class mascots. Denise Currin was Miss Coats High and was surrounded by other lovely ladies such as senior Jenny Eason, junior Debbie Honeycutt, sophomore Sue Ogburn and freshman Becky Suggs. Nancy Lamm and Randy Suggs were captured as Beau and Belle of FHA and FFA. Nancy was escorted by Charles Ivey as she had won the Homecoming Queen title. Danny Gardner escorted the Maid of Honor Denise Currin.
As I was typing these names, it occurred to me how many of these students went off to colleges, universities and the military and returned to the Coats area and have made successful lives for themselves. There was a time when most graduates had to move to the larger cities for the type of jobs they sought.
Something else that has changed is how students arrived at the schools they attended. Our grandparents loved to talk about walking five or six miles through rain or snow to attend school. Then there was the time that town kids walked to school and their rural counterparts rode on school trucks driven by teenage drivers in buses that were partially made of wood and some even had a bench down the middle of the bus with side seats. As time passed, more modern buses were all driven by student drivers. The time then came that student drivers were replaced by adult drivers who were usually on the school staff as assistants. A very popular mode of transportation today is for parents, grandparents, neighbors, siblings or students to drive to school in personal vehicles. If you question that statement, just ride past the schools at opening and closing bells.
In 1972, students who were trained and selected to drive their fellow students to Coats High School were James McLean, Shearon Roberts, Linda Tart, Bethany Langdon, David Barnes, Randy Suggs, James Tart, Doug Stevens, Jenny Eason, Danny West, Karen Stewart, and Martha Turlington.
Those special friends and workers who fed the student body and cleaned up after them were Lillian Earp, Pauline Hudson, Geraldine Johnson, Omia Mae Lee and Alma McKoy. Jesse and Sally Terry will never be forgotten as they kept the buildings and grounds clean and safe.
There were student teachers and COP’s who will long be remembered. Mrs. Jane Sullivan, Linda Pope and Jim Currin are three that were pictured in the annual.
The athletic programs in the schools have been around almost from the beginning of public schools. The field schools had their competition with other field schools in the early decades of the 20th century. Did you ever remember hearing an old relative talk a Field Days where select students were picked to compete in county contests in Lillington? Most completions were played on dirt with minimal equipment. It would not be until the spring of 1952 that R.M. (Melvin) Turlington would finish the Coats gymnasium for a cost of about $100,000. Can you believe that? A single tree during a severe wind storm can cost almost that much damage to a house in a few seconds.
Students who proudly wore the letter “C” across their chest and loudly shouted it from their lips were the cheerleaders. In 1972, they were Chief Vikki Faircloth, Denise Currin, Jenny Eason, Karen Stewart, Gloria Dennis, Nancy Lamm, Sharon Poole, Donna Penny, Jenny Dannenburg, Gaynell Lee, Denise Adams and Lou Ann Stewart.
Billy Ray Turner, Dennis Foushee and Morris Andrews had to be proud of Keith Stewart as he won Honorable Mention as an All Conference football guard; of Kent Turlington as he made All Conference quarterback; of Charles Ivey as he earned Honorable Mention All Conference halfback; and of Danny Gardner as he was picked for Honorable Mention fullback.
There were traces of memories on the hardwood for Gary Weaver, Donnie Pope, Alex Castellanos, Danny West, Bobby Hayes, Robert Walters, Danny Gardner, Ronnie Stewart, Emmanuel Matthews, Michael Lee, Malcolm Smith and Doug Stevens.
The girls basketball team also made memories of scoring points, making fouls and playing the faculty in a game. Shearon Roberts, Martha Turlington, Lynn Adams, Denise Butts, Ann Pope, Marilyn Coats, Mary McKoy, Sue Lou Ogburn, Darlene Ryals, Gail Horton, Sandy Neighbors, Vonda Young, and Captain Bethany Langdon were remembered in the yearbook.
Are you recognizing any of these names from the early 1970’s? Try picturing these young students who played on the baseball team. You may even be able to recall the position they played on the field. These were recorded as playing on the team-Danny West, Richard Hudson, Donnie Pope, Sammy Wagner, Gary Weaver, Danny Gardner, Ronnie Stewart, Doug Stevens and Ricky Tart.
Who played on the golf team? Which of the following did not: Danny West, David Barnes, Harold Flowers, James Tart, or Alex Castellanos?
This I do know. The following were listed in the 1972 Echoing Memories as seniors at Coats High School: David Barnes, Gary Beasley, Jeanette Bennett, Donna Bryant, Elaine Byrd, Alex Castellanos, Patsy Coats, Denise Currin, Gloria Dennis, Johnny Denton, Ginger Dupree, Jenny Eason, Carletta Ivey Ennis, Dennis Ennis ,Linwood Ennis, Vikki Faircloth, Connie Faulkner, Harold Flowers, Richard Hudson, Charles Ivey, Annie Ruth Johnson, Nancy Lamm, Bethany Langdon , Janice Langdon, Kay Lewis, Dorothy Lilly, Roy McKoy, Margaret Medlin, Paul Parker, Jeneal Parrish, Sharon Poole, Shearon Roberts, Ann Ryals, Billy Smith, Jeffrey Spears, Shari Spears, Charlene Stevens, Davy Stewart, Joe Stewart, Randy Suggs, James Tart, Linda Tart, Don Turlington, Martha Turlington, Sammy Wagner, Stephen Walker, Gary Weaver, Danny West, Robert Wilbourne, Bonnie Williams, Elijah Williams, and Tommy Young (Echoing Memories 1972).
While most of the graduates of 1972 were celebrating their last summer before college, military or the job market, a July wedding was being planned for Miss Gay Nell Bass and Jackie Wayne Grimes. The bride-elect was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Ryals and the late George William Bass. Jackie was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Grimes (Daily Record June 2, 1972).
The volunteers at the Coats Museum welcomed the Progressive ECA ladies recently. Some ladies enjoyed looking at the scrapbooks of ECA activities preserved by Becky Adams. The Harnett County Leadership Class of 2018 also stopped on their trip around the county. The volunteers always enjoy sharing the story of cotton and the heritage of our town through artifacts and stories.
We have two new stories to share with museum visitors. Virginia Stone and her siblings-Lillie Mae, Thomas Layton, Nancy Catherine, Betty Helen, Myrtle Ruth donated a WWII Book belonging to their father William Thomas Stone. Thanks Virginia for bringing the gift. A second story concerns the giving of the Joel Giddeon Keene Family Bible. Ann Clevenger Henderson, a delightful lady from Newport, NC and Kenneth Keene (Ann’s cousin) presented the Bible on Sunday afternoon. It is amazing to discover how so many families in Coats are kin and we never knew it until they begin to call people we know as being Uncle Owen and Aunt Lula Beasley. That’s when the learning begins.
The Coats High School of 1963 visited the museum last Saturday for their 55th class reunion and, for some, toured the Coats Museums for the first time. They were so attentive during the tours and appreciative of what has been done to preserve the heritage of Coats. A special thank you goes to Ralph and Lorena Denning for making delicious finger foods for all to enjoy before heading to Ron’s Barn for dinner. The volunteers are appreciative of Ralph, Edna, and Gwen for planning the event.
The Dragonfly Florist in Coats is such a generous supporter of the Coats Museum. Again we send thanks to Terry and Frankie –this time for donating a beautiful arrangement of blue carnations for the class reunion.
Our dear museum volunteer Joyce Turner who gave her life to God, family and community continues to be remembered with memorials to the Coats Museum. Mark and Michelle Potts, Barbara Allen Holmes and David and Carolyn Auman sent memorials this past week. Joyce would be pleased to know how much many cared for her and her family. Also thank you goes to H.L. Sorrell for remembering his cousin, Pete Ennis, with a memorial to the Coats Museum Endowment.
May I again invite you to go to our coatsmuseum.com website and read past Coats Museum News columns. You might be surprised at how much you can learn about Coats and the area.
,
From time to time we have former Coats School students come into the museum asking to look at old yearbooks in which their parents or they appeared. The obvious enjoyment that most experience as they attempt to identify who is who in some of the early grades is so evident to the volunteers at the museum.
One of the amazing items in the yearbooks is how seniors are pictured by their fellow classmates as they vote for them in a section referred to as Class Superlatives. In 1972, the class picked Shearon Roberts and James Tart as “Best all Around”; Linda Tart and Danny West as “Most Likely To Succeed” and Karen Stewart and Gary Beasley as “Beau and Belle.” The “Neatest” couple was Jenny Eason and David Barnes. Kay Lewis and Donnie Pope made them laugh and were voted “Wittiest.” Nancy Lamm and Paul Parker were the “Friendliest” and Jeneal Parrish and Harold Flowers were voted the “Most Courteous.” If a job had to be done well, the class trusted Carletta Ivey and Linwood Ennis to be the “Most Dependable.” “The Cutest” couple was Denise Currin and Dennis Ennis while the “Most Original” pair was Elaine Byrd and Sammy Wagner.
As you are reading about these superlatives, do you recall if you were voted for having one of these outstanding traits? I do know that Bethany Langdon and Gary Weaver were recognized for their athletic ability and voted “Most Athletic”; Sharon Poole and Charles Ivey were “Most School Spirited” and Martha Turlington and Stephen Walker were the “Best Sports”. Tommy Young and Vikki Faircloth were the “Most Talented.” Alex Castallanos and Janice Langdon were selected “Most Intellectual” of the Class of 1972.
Ginger Dupree and Don Turlington had won “Mr. and Mrs. Echoing Memories” and Jessica Creech and Mickey Messer were chosen the class mascots. Denise Currin was Miss Coats High and was surrounded by other lovely ladies such as senior Jenny Eason, junior Debbie Honeycutt, sophomore Sue Ogburn and freshman Becky Suggs. Nancy Lamm and Randy Suggs were captured as Beau and Belle of FHA and FFA. Nancy was escorted by Charles Ivey as she had won the Homecoming Queen title. Danny Gardner escorted the Maid of Honor Denise Currin.
As I was typing these names, it occurred to me how many of these students went off to colleges, universities and the military and returned to the Coats area and have made successful lives for themselves. There was a time when most graduates had to move to the larger cities for the type of jobs they sought.
Something else that has changed is how students arrived at the schools they attended. Our grandparents loved to talk about walking five or six miles through rain or snow to attend school. Then there was the time that town kids walked to school and their rural counterparts rode on school trucks driven by teenage drivers in buses that were partially made of wood and some even had a bench down the middle of the bus with side seats. As time passed, more modern buses were all driven by student drivers. The time then came that student drivers were replaced by adult drivers who were usually on the school staff as assistants. A very popular mode of transportation today is for parents, grandparents, neighbors, siblings or students to drive to school in personal vehicles. If you question that statement, just ride past the schools at opening and closing bells.
In 1972, students who were trained and selected to drive their fellow students to Coats High School were James McLean, Shearon Roberts, Linda Tart, Bethany Langdon, David Barnes, Randy Suggs, James Tart, Doug Stevens, Jenny Eason, Danny West, Karen Stewart, and Martha Turlington.
Those special friends and workers who fed the student body and cleaned up after them were Lillian Earp, Pauline Hudson, Geraldine Johnson, Omia Mae Lee and Alma McKoy. Jesse and Sally Terry will never be forgotten as they kept the buildings and grounds clean and safe.
There were student teachers and COP’s who will long be remembered. Mrs. Jane Sullivan, Linda Pope and Jim Currin are three that were pictured in the annual.
The athletic programs in the schools have been around almost from the beginning of public schools. The field schools had their competition with other field schools in the early decades of the 20th century. Did you ever remember hearing an old relative talk a Field Days where select students were picked to compete in county contests in Lillington? Most completions were played on dirt with minimal equipment. It would not be until the spring of 1952 that R.M. (Melvin) Turlington would finish the Coats gymnasium for a cost of about $100,000. Can you believe that? A single tree during a severe wind storm can cost almost that much damage to a house in a few seconds.
Students who proudly wore the letter “C” across their chest and loudly shouted it from their lips were the cheerleaders. In 1972, they were Chief Vikki Faircloth, Denise Currin, Jenny Eason, Karen Stewart, Gloria Dennis, Nancy Lamm, Sharon Poole, Donna Penny, Jenny Dannenburg, Gaynell Lee, Denise Adams and Lou Ann Stewart.
Billy Ray Turner, Dennis Foushee and Morris Andrews had to be proud of Keith Stewart as he won Honorable Mention as an All Conference football guard; of Kent Turlington as he made All Conference quarterback; of Charles Ivey as he earned Honorable Mention All Conference halfback; and of Danny Gardner as he was picked for Honorable Mention fullback.
There were traces of memories on the hardwood for Gary Weaver, Donnie Pope, Alex Castellanos, Danny West, Bobby Hayes, Robert Walters, Danny Gardner, Ronnie Stewart, Emmanuel Matthews, Michael Lee, Malcolm Smith and Doug Stevens.
The girls basketball team also made memories of scoring points, making fouls and playing the faculty in a game. Shearon Roberts, Martha Turlington, Lynn Adams, Denise Butts, Ann Pope, Marilyn Coats, Mary McKoy, Sue Lou Ogburn, Darlene Ryals, Gail Horton, Sandy Neighbors, Vonda Young, and Captain Bethany Langdon were remembered in the yearbook.
Are you recognizing any of these names from the early 1970’s? Try picturing these young students who played on the baseball team. You may even be able to recall the position they played on the field. These were recorded as playing on the team-Danny West, Richard Hudson, Donnie Pope, Sammy Wagner, Gary Weaver, Danny Gardner, Ronnie Stewart, Doug Stevens and Ricky Tart.
Who played on the golf team? Which of the following did not: Danny West, David Barnes, Harold Flowers, James Tart, or Alex Castellanos?
This I do know. The following were listed in the 1972 Echoing Memories as seniors at Coats High School: David Barnes, Gary Beasley, Jeanette Bennett, Donna Bryant, Elaine Byrd, Alex Castellanos, Patsy Coats, Denise Currin, Gloria Dennis, Johnny Denton, Ginger Dupree, Jenny Eason, Carletta Ivey Ennis, Dennis Ennis ,Linwood Ennis, Vikki Faircloth, Connie Faulkner, Harold Flowers, Richard Hudson, Charles Ivey, Annie Ruth Johnson, Nancy Lamm, Bethany Langdon , Janice Langdon, Kay Lewis, Dorothy Lilly, Roy McKoy, Margaret Medlin, Paul Parker, Jeneal Parrish, Sharon Poole, Shearon Roberts, Ann Ryals, Billy Smith, Jeffrey Spears, Shari Spears, Charlene Stevens, Davy Stewart, Joe Stewart, Randy Suggs, James Tart, Linda Tart, Don Turlington, Martha Turlington, Sammy Wagner, Stephen Walker, Gary Weaver, Danny West, Robert Wilbourne, Bonnie Williams, Elijah Williams, and Tommy Young (Echoing Memories 1972).
While most of the graduates of 1972 were celebrating their last summer before college, military or the job market, a July wedding was being planned for Miss Gay Nell Bass and Jackie Wayne Grimes. The bride-elect was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Ryals and the late George William Bass. Jackie was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Grimes (Daily Record June 2, 1972).
The volunteers at the Coats Museum welcomed the Progressive ECA ladies recently. Some ladies enjoyed looking at the scrapbooks of ECA activities preserved by Becky Adams. The Harnett County Leadership Class of 2018 also stopped on their trip around the county. The volunteers always enjoy sharing the story of cotton and the heritage of our town through artifacts and stories.
We have two new stories to share with museum visitors. Virginia Stone and her siblings-Lillie Mae, Thomas Layton, Nancy Catherine, Betty Helen, Myrtle Ruth donated a WWII Book belonging to their father William Thomas Stone. Thanks Virginia for bringing the gift. A second story concerns the giving of the Joel Giddeon Keene Family Bible. Ann Clevenger Henderson, a delightful lady from Newport, NC and Kenneth Keene (Ann’s cousin) presented the Bible on Sunday afternoon. It is amazing to discover how so many families in Coats are kin and we never knew it until they begin to call people we know as being Uncle Owen and Aunt Lula Beasley. That’s when the learning begins.
The Coats High School of 1963 visited the museum last Saturday for their 55th class reunion and, for some, toured the Coats Museums for the first time. They were so attentive during the tours and appreciative of what has been done to preserve the heritage of Coats. A special thank you goes to Ralph and Lorena Denning for making delicious finger foods for all to enjoy before heading to Ron’s Barn for dinner. The volunteers are appreciative of Ralph, Edna, and Gwen for planning the event.
The Dragonfly Florist in Coats is such a generous supporter of the Coats Museum. Again we send thanks to Terry and Frankie –this time for donating a beautiful arrangement of blue carnations for the class reunion.
Our dear museum volunteer Joyce Turner who gave her life to God, family and community continues to be remembered with memorials to the Coats Museum. Mark and Michelle Potts, Barbara Allen Holmes and David and Carolyn Auman sent memorials this past week. Joyce would be pleased to know how much many cared for her and her family. Also thank you goes to H.L. Sorrell for remembering his cousin, Pete Ennis, with a memorial to the Coats Museum Endowment.
May I again invite you to go to our coatsmuseum.com website and read past Coats Museum News columns. You might be surprised at how much you can learn about Coats and the area.
,