December 2, 2016 Coats Museum News
It was almost Christmas in 1960 and the folks in Coats were getting their new telephone numbers and this one would have seven digits (Daily Record December 22, 1961). However, they would no longer be able to watch their favorite movies at the Peerless because Fletcher Jernigan of Dunn confirmed that he was closing the county’s oldest theater.
In the true spirit of giving, the Ladies Auxiliary of Hodges Chapel were hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Leray Ennis with a Christmas party where at the beginning of the program, an electric organ was presented to the members of the Auxiliary. Those who attended were Mr. and Mrs. Bernice Wood, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Tripp, Mr. and Mrs. Will Sorrell, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Tripp, Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Miller, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Sorrell, Jr. and Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Bill Creech, and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest McLamb (Daily Record Dec. 23, 1960).
Christmas continued to be celebrated in the Grove area when the Oakdale HD Club heard Floyd Denning play his accordion for the 52 attendees at the Christmas party. Elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. David A. Anderson had a new member in their family. The mother of the new daughter was the former Joyce Hodges. While happiness prevailed in the Anderson household, sadness likely permeated the house of Grisetta Cameron on Christmas Day. Deacon Jones and Mrs. Annie D. Drane of Gentry School gave remarks about Grisetta’s life. Did she teach at that school? I do know that the senior choir of her church rendered music and Mrs. Ernestine McNeill was soloist. Survivors were her husband John Cameron of Coats. There were eight sons including Frank and Talmound of Coats (Daily Record Dec. 28, 1960).
December 28th marked the birthday of the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Vann Stewart of Coats. The baby was born in the Good Hope Hospital. Over in Dunn, Coats rural resident William Hugh Johnson needed hospital care. Coats also lost another citizen to death during the holidays and he was John A. Spence, 81. His wife was the former Viola Dennis of Coats who survived him (Daily Record Dec. 29, 1960).
The Coats High Class of 1949 had held its annual class reunion. The hostesses were Neal Barnes, Frances Matthews and Betsy Bray. Those who attended were Shelton Ennis, Jackie West, Margaret House, Betty Allen, J.A. Langdon, Joyce Ogburn, Joyce Carter, Evangeline Stewart, Neal Barnes, Bobby Stewart, Harold Flowers, Ruthleen Sexton, Lunette Vaughn, Marie Honeycutt, Bobby Honeycutt, Magdelene Stephenson, Betsy Bray, Lois Faircloth, and Frances Matthews.
William Ronald Jackson and Eroy Williams were less excited about their stay in the Good Hope Hospital where they were being treated (Daily Record Dec.30, 1960).
Well folks, the last news of 1960 that was recorded from Coats came in the form of Christmas music presented by Dr. and Mrs. Donald Moore when they performed for the Ruth Eller Class of the Coats Baptist Church. During that Christmas party, the Rev. Beard read the Christmas story (Daily Record Dec. 30, 1960).
The year was 1961-the year in which the Berlin Wall went up and the United States was humbled at the Bay of Pigs. The year 1961 had many fads and trends. One was bed racing conducted mostly by collegians from Canada and California. There was a growing concern, especially in Congress, over the power of the right wing, anti-communist John Birch Society. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary was published by Meriam-Webster and set off a debate as to what should and should not be in a dictionary. Concern about civil defense remained high, and President John F. Kennedy advised families to obtain –build or buy-a fallout shelter. The revival of the rocking chair returned thanks to Dr. Janet Travell, doctor of the president. A push for increased physical fitness occurred across the country, especially in the schools.
Numbers were bigger in 1961. U.S. patents number 3,000,000was awarded to the General Electric Company for an automatic reading machine. There were 3,200 U.S troops in Vietnam. The average American drank 147 quarts of milk and cream- the lowest amount in twenty years. Cheese consumption was up to 8.7 pounds per year. There were 1, 378,075 hospital beds in the U.S., or 7.5 beds per 1,000 population. There were 1,292,000 marriages in the U.S. in 1961, and 171,933 divorces. Cigarette manufactures spent $115 million on TV advertising. Seventeen million acres of wilderness remained in the U.S., down considerably from 55 million in 1926 ( Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-Mail, Springfield , Massachusetts , Federal Street Press 1999, 116-119).
The New Year arrived in Coats with the announcement that Betty Lou Sorrell had married Jerry Byrd in the Providence Presbyterian Church (Daily Record Jan. 2, 1961). The Lou Stewart Circle of the Coats Baptist Church had met with Mrs. Garland Johnson as hostess, and the Mattie Bain Circle met with Mrs. Myra Bryant as hostess. Mrs. Helen Dixon gave the program on “Alcohol and Narcotics Education”. The Marjorie Spence Circle met with Mrs. Dixie Bryan and Mrs. Howard Beard had presented the program “You Should Know”.
Mrs. Mamie Bennett, Mr. Larry Matthews, Miss Ethel Stone, and Mrs. Iva Lee were hospital patients. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Whitman of Coats announced the birth of Charles Garry on January 4th at Betsy Johnson Hospital. The mother was the former Hilda Gray Cutts.
Surely the Whitman family was excited with the new arrival as were the Coats boys’ basketball team who won 69-47 over Roseboro-Salemburg. Edward Turlington scored 23 points and Kenneth Ennis dropped 17 in the goal. The girls had lost 88-26 (Daily Record Jan. 5, 1961).
E.B. Langdon was a patient at Mary Elizabeth Hospital in Raleigh. In another r hospital, Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Stone welcomed a new son on January 6th at Good Hope. The mother was the former Ethelene Gardner.
Mr. Gerald Langdon, purebred Poland China breeder of rural Coats, had held a sale of bred gilts, open gilts, and boars at the Big Four Warehouse in Dunn (Daily Record Jan. 6, 1961). An interesting note about Mr. Gerald is that he donated to the town the land to build the Coats town park which has affected so many young lives in and out of the town.
Curtis Ennis (formerly of Coats), a Dunn accountant, whose hobby was keeping abreast of the mountains of Masonic lore, took over as Master of the Palmyra Lodge (Daily Record Jan. 10, 1961).
A pint of fresh oysters could be purchased for 89 cents. Yes, you read that right. Today they cost about --- Maybe some of the wives in the Goodwill HD Club served some to their husbands before they rushed off to the first meeting of the year. Mrs. Sherrill Stephenson and Mrs. Carson Gregory hosted the event. The topic “New Furniture from Old” was demonstrated by Mrs. Ruby Parker (Daily Record Jan. 12, 1961).
Johnny Jackson, husband of the former Mary Louise Coats, was appointed by the HCBOE to fill a place on the Dunn School Board (Daily Record Jan. 13, 1961).
Surely hope you plan to drop by the Coats Museum during the Christmas season while it is festive for Christmas. A special thank you goes to dedicated volunteer and board member Robie Butler who spent several hours staining the porch floor to further beautify the museums for the community.
It was almost Christmas in 1960 and the folks in Coats were getting their new telephone numbers and this one would have seven digits (Daily Record December 22, 1961). However, they would no longer be able to watch their favorite movies at the Peerless because Fletcher Jernigan of Dunn confirmed that he was closing the county’s oldest theater.
In the true spirit of giving, the Ladies Auxiliary of Hodges Chapel were hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Leray Ennis with a Christmas party where at the beginning of the program, an electric organ was presented to the members of the Auxiliary. Those who attended were Mr. and Mrs. Bernice Wood, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Tripp, Mr. and Mrs. Will Sorrell, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Tripp, Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Miller, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Sorrell, Jr. and Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Bill Creech, and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest McLamb (Daily Record Dec. 23, 1960).
Christmas continued to be celebrated in the Grove area when the Oakdale HD Club heard Floyd Denning play his accordion for the 52 attendees at the Christmas party. Elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. David A. Anderson had a new member in their family. The mother of the new daughter was the former Joyce Hodges. While happiness prevailed in the Anderson household, sadness likely permeated the house of Grisetta Cameron on Christmas Day. Deacon Jones and Mrs. Annie D. Drane of Gentry School gave remarks about Grisetta’s life. Did she teach at that school? I do know that the senior choir of her church rendered music and Mrs. Ernestine McNeill was soloist. Survivors were her husband John Cameron of Coats. There were eight sons including Frank and Talmound of Coats (Daily Record Dec. 28, 1960).
December 28th marked the birthday of the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Vann Stewart of Coats. The baby was born in the Good Hope Hospital. Over in Dunn, Coats rural resident William Hugh Johnson needed hospital care. Coats also lost another citizen to death during the holidays and he was John A. Spence, 81. His wife was the former Viola Dennis of Coats who survived him (Daily Record Dec. 29, 1960).
The Coats High Class of 1949 had held its annual class reunion. The hostesses were Neal Barnes, Frances Matthews and Betsy Bray. Those who attended were Shelton Ennis, Jackie West, Margaret House, Betty Allen, J.A. Langdon, Joyce Ogburn, Joyce Carter, Evangeline Stewart, Neal Barnes, Bobby Stewart, Harold Flowers, Ruthleen Sexton, Lunette Vaughn, Marie Honeycutt, Bobby Honeycutt, Magdelene Stephenson, Betsy Bray, Lois Faircloth, and Frances Matthews.
William Ronald Jackson and Eroy Williams were less excited about their stay in the Good Hope Hospital where they were being treated (Daily Record Dec.30, 1960).
Well folks, the last news of 1960 that was recorded from Coats came in the form of Christmas music presented by Dr. and Mrs. Donald Moore when they performed for the Ruth Eller Class of the Coats Baptist Church. During that Christmas party, the Rev. Beard read the Christmas story (Daily Record Dec. 30, 1960).
The year was 1961-the year in which the Berlin Wall went up and the United States was humbled at the Bay of Pigs. The year 1961 had many fads and trends. One was bed racing conducted mostly by collegians from Canada and California. There was a growing concern, especially in Congress, over the power of the right wing, anti-communist John Birch Society. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary was published by Meriam-Webster and set off a debate as to what should and should not be in a dictionary. Concern about civil defense remained high, and President John F. Kennedy advised families to obtain –build or buy-a fallout shelter. The revival of the rocking chair returned thanks to Dr. Janet Travell, doctor of the president. A push for increased physical fitness occurred across the country, especially in the schools.
Numbers were bigger in 1961. U.S. patents number 3,000,000was awarded to the General Electric Company for an automatic reading machine. There were 3,200 U.S troops in Vietnam. The average American drank 147 quarts of milk and cream- the lowest amount in twenty years. Cheese consumption was up to 8.7 pounds per year. There were 1, 378,075 hospital beds in the U.S., or 7.5 beds per 1,000 population. There were 1,292,000 marriages in the U.S. in 1961, and 171,933 divorces. Cigarette manufactures spent $115 million on TV advertising. Seventeen million acres of wilderness remained in the U.S., down considerably from 55 million in 1926 ( Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-Mail, Springfield , Massachusetts , Federal Street Press 1999, 116-119).
The New Year arrived in Coats with the announcement that Betty Lou Sorrell had married Jerry Byrd in the Providence Presbyterian Church (Daily Record Jan. 2, 1961). The Lou Stewart Circle of the Coats Baptist Church had met with Mrs. Garland Johnson as hostess, and the Mattie Bain Circle met with Mrs. Myra Bryant as hostess. Mrs. Helen Dixon gave the program on “Alcohol and Narcotics Education”. The Marjorie Spence Circle met with Mrs. Dixie Bryan and Mrs. Howard Beard had presented the program “You Should Know”.
Mrs. Mamie Bennett, Mr. Larry Matthews, Miss Ethel Stone, and Mrs. Iva Lee were hospital patients. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Whitman of Coats announced the birth of Charles Garry on January 4th at Betsy Johnson Hospital. The mother was the former Hilda Gray Cutts.
Surely the Whitman family was excited with the new arrival as were the Coats boys’ basketball team who won 69-47 over Roseboro-Salemburg. Edward Turlington scored 23 points and Kenneth Ennis dropped 17 in the goal. The girls had lost 88-26 (Daily Record Jan. 5, 1961).
E.B. Langdon was a patient at Mary Elizabeth Hospital in Raleigh. In another r hospital, Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Stone welcomed a new son on January 6th at Good Hope. The mother was the former Ethelene Gardner.
Mr. Gerald Langdon, purebred Poland China breeder of rural Coats, had held a sale of bred gilts, open gilts, and boars at the Big Four Warehouse in Dunn (Daily Record Jan. 6, 1961). An interesting note about Mr. Gerald is that he donated to the town the land to build the Coats town park which has affected so many young lives in and out of the town.
Curtis Ennis (formerly of Coats), a Dunn accountant, whose hobby was keeping abreast of the mountains of Masonic lore, took over as Master of the Palmyra Lodge (Daily Record Jan. 10, 1961).
A pint of fresh oysters could be purchased for 89 cents. Yes, you read that right. Today they cost about --- Maybe some of the wives in the Goodwill HD Club served some to their husbands before they rushed off to the first meeting of the year. Mrs. Sherrill Stephenson and Mrs. Carson Gregory hosted the event. The topic “New Furniture from Old” was demonstrated by Mrs. Ruby Parker (Daily Record Jan. 12, 1961).
Johnny Jackson, husband of the former Mary Louise Coats, was appointed by the HCBOE to fill a place on the Dunn School Board (Daily Record Jan. 13, 1961).
Surely hope you plan to drop by the Coats Museum during the Christmas season while it is festive for Christmas. A special thank you goes to dedicated volunteer and board member Robie Butler who spent several hours staining the porch floor to further beautify the museums for the community.