December 20, 2024 Coats Museum News
As you read this article, that is if you found the time amongst all the Christmas happenings at church, home and community, do you realize that Christmas is only five days away. However, in 1995, the date on the calendar signified it was February 6th. Within that paper it shared that Mrs. Lucille Stephenson Gregory, 80, had died on Friday. She was the daughter of the late Fletcher and Vallie Barefoot Stephenson. She was the widow of Victor Gregory and was an active member of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. She was survived by her daughter Pat Gregory Richardson and grandson, Dr. Gregory Richardson.
Isn’t it funny, how a name can spur so many memories from the past? When we were researching at the Daily Record back in 2003-05, we came upon thousands of names associated with the Coats area and many of the names stayed with us right up to today. I distinctly remember reading about a young girl and her amazing academic record when attending the Coats school. Her name was Onea Gregory who later attended Campbell College but that is not why her name stayed with me. Apparently, a group of young people were swimming, and she drowned at age nineteen.
I never saw a picture of Onea, but I did know her brother Victor Gregory who was so instrumental in our Ebenezer Presbyterian Church where he helped build a large part of the addition to the church. He was so beloved by the young people in the church that a Sunday Class was named in his honor. He had dark eyes, hair and skin which I remember so well as he would always give us youngsters a stick of Juicy Fruit chewing gum each Sunday.
Lucille and Victor’s daughter Patricia did not attend the Coats School because the family moved to Benson where she later won all kinds of beauty titles. The family continued to come to Ebenezer and being younger than Pat, others my age were always fascinated on how she looked so pretty in her store-bought clothes and high heeled shoes.
In our Coats Museum we have Victor’s homemade mallet that the men used to crush blocks of ice to make lemonade for the homecoming dinners which were held outside served on long tables. Along with the mallet, Patricia gave us the Gregory mantle clock on display in our museum.
Lucille worked at Neta’s in Benson, and I don’t know if she quilted or did “finger work,” but most ladies of her era did so. Quilting was once a necessity to provide covers during the cold winter months spent in houses that were not insulated and had only fireplaces or heaters to warm the inhabitants.
Scraps of cloth were sewn on to paper squares and then sewn onto other squares until the desired size of the quilt was acquired. Many patterns were designed by the shape and color of the fabric scraps. The wedding ring and crazy quilts were popular choices.
The ladies at the Coats Senior Center found pleasure in keeping the quilting tradition alive. Mabel Turlington Hayes recalled looking forward to getting home from school, eating teacakes and playing with her friends whose mothers had attended the quilting party when her mother, Lalon Turlington hosted the quilting party. The event was a time that the women could catch up on the neighborhood news. Since there were few radios and no television, quilting was entertainment according to Mrs. Hayes.
Enjoy a bit on how the ladies “put in” a quilt. Large stitches were used to tie the quilt to a four-sided wooden frame. The corners of the frame rested on four stands called “the boys”. The quilters took a needle, thread and thimbles and began to work from the outside inward making short, crisp stitches. As the quilters progressed, the quilt was rolled in order that ladies could begin a second row of quilting, and the process continued until everyone met in the center. A couple of quilters worked on each side of the square. The Coats quilters continued that ladder-back chairs were often used when there were no “the boys.” All the ladies at the Coats Senior Center stated that they learned to quilt as young girls but had not taught the art to their daughters or daughters-in-law (Daily Record Feb. 9, 1995).
The museum has been gifted several sets of “the boys” and one set is on display in our Cotton Museum where two of our mannequins are quilting away. If visiting the museum, you might also find it interesting that quilts were not only used to keep the body warm but were also used to give directions to the runaway slaves by the Underground Railroad. The museum is fortunate to an example of all those escape to safety quilts.
A big thank you goes to Ralph and Lorena Denning for remembering Dr. Richard Daniel with a memorial. Knowing people cared about Richard surely must make the sting of death more bearable for the Barnes and Daniel families.
As you read this article, that is if you found the time amongst all the Christmas happenings at church, home and community, do you realize that Christmas is only five days away. However, in 1995, the date on the calendar signified it was February 6th. Within that paper it shared that Mrs. Lucille Stephenson Gregory, 80, had died on Friday. She was the daughter of the late Fletcher and Vallie Barefoot Stephenson. She was the widow of Victor Gregory and was an active member of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. She was survived by her daughter Pat Gregory Richardson and grandson, Dr. Gregory Richardson.
Isn’t it funny, how a name can spur so many memories from the past? When we were researching at the Daily Record back in 2003-05, we came upon thousands of names associated with the Coats area and many of the names stayed with us right up to today. I distinctly remember reading about a young girl and her amazing academic record when attending the Coats school. Her name was Onea Gregory who later attended Campbell College but that is not why her name stayed with me. Apparently, a group of young people were swimming, and she drowned at age nineteen.
I never saw a picture of Onea, but I did know her brother Victor Gregory who was so instrumental in our Ebenezer Presbyterian Church where he helped build a large part of the addition to the church. He was so beloved by the young people in the church that a Sunday Class was named in his honor. He had dark eyes, hair and skin which I remember so well as he would always give us youngsters a stick of Juicy Fruit chewing gum each Sunday.
Lucille and Victor’s daughter Patricia did not attend the Coats School because the family moved to Benson where she later won all kinds of beauty titles. The family continued to come to Ebenezer and being younger than Pat, others my age were always fascinated on how she looked so pretty in her store-bought clothes and high heeled shoes.
In our Coats Museum we have Victor’s homemade mallet that the men used to crush blocks of ice to make lemonade for the homecoming dinners which were held outside served on long tables. Along with the mallet, Patricia gave us the Gregory mantle clock on display in our museum.
Lucille worked at Neta’s in Benson, and I don’t know if she quilted or did “finger work,” but most ladies of her era did so. Quilting was once a necessity to provide covers during the cold winter months spent in houses that were not insulated and had only fireplaces or heaters to warm the inhabitants.
Scraps of cloth were sewn on to paper squares and then sewn onto other squares until the desired size of the quilt was acquired. Many patterns were designed by the shape and color of the fabric scraps. The wedding ring and crazy quilts were popular choices.
The ladies at the Coats Senior Center found pleasure in keeping the quilting tradition alive. Mabel Turlington Hayes recalled looking forward to getting home from school, eating teacakes and playing with her friends whose mothers had attended the quilting party when her mother, Lalon Turlington hosted the quilting party. The event was a time that the women could catch up on the neighborhood news. Since there were few radios and no television, quilting was entertainment according to Mrs. Hayes.
Enjoy a bit on how the ladies “put in” a quilt. Large stitches were used to tie the quilt to a four-sided wooden frame. The corners of the frame rested on four stands called “the boys”. The quilters took a needle, thread and thimbles and began to work from the outside inward making short, crisp stitches. As the quilters progressed, the quilt was rolled in order that ladies could begin a second row of quilting, and the process continued until everyone met in the center. A couple of quilters worked on each side of the square. The Coats quilters continued that ladder-back chairs were often used when there were no “the boys.” All the ladies at the Coats Senior Center stated that they learned to quilt as young girls but had not taught the art to their daughters or daughters-in-law (Daily Record Feb. 9, 1995).
The museum has been gifted several sets of “the boys” and one set is on display in our Cotton Museum where two of our mannequins are quilting away. If visiting the museum, you might also find it interesting that quilts were not only used to keep the body warm but were also used to give directions to the runaway slaves by the Underground Railroad. The museum is fortunate to an example of all those escape to safety quilts.
A big thank you goes to Ralph and Lorena Denning for remembering Dr. Richard Daniel with a memorial. Knowing people cared about Richard surely must make the sting of death more bearable for the Barnes and Daniel families.