December 3, 2020 Coats Museum News
How many of you can remember from your school days when the teacher called your name to walk over to a chalk mark on the classroom floor for you to place your toes, look toward the eye chart on the blackboard or wall, cover one eye and then the other and call out the letters or symbols as she used a pointer so she could evaluate your eyesight in each eye? She would then record the results on your permanent record and in some cases sent a notification to a parent for the need for the child to set up an appointment with an optometrist. That was a time when 20/20 brought a sense of well being. The number 2020 has taken on a new meaning for us as we live in a state of caution and sadness. Many of us have lost loved ones, missed church, funerals, weddings, graduations and other events that are a part of our everyday existence.
Most readers look forward to the day when the calendar displays a new year with hope for a different and better new year. The April 2, 1986 edition of the Daily Record reported that the Coats Motor Company had had many new years as it celebrated its 67th Anniversary. The company was begun by C. Guy Stewart and was currently being operated by the founder’s son, Eugene Stewart, and grandson, Don Stewart. It was the oldest Chrysler dealership in the area and one of the oldest in the state.
A note of interest is the Mr. Guy Stewart initially worked for Dr. Harry Roberts who owned the dealership and had sold Ford vehicles. Mr. Stewart purchased the dealership from Roberts. A few years later Dr. Roberts died from injuries in a plane crash near his home in Coats. Also it is interesting to note that the dealership had offered a free plane ride over the area if a new car was purchased. This writer also remains fascinated that cars were assembled at the dealership after having arrived by the Durham and Southern rail in Coats. Maybe after assembling a few cars, the job was faster and easier.
Also in that same April 2nd edition of the Daily Record, it was printed that Frank Watson of Coats was reported to accept a check from Mrs. Rosemary Stevenson for $720 from the Blackmon’s Sunday school class of the Memorial Baptist Church in Buies Creek. The contribution was for the Transition Assistance to Longtime Offenders (TALO) program, founded by Mr. Watson to help prisoners just out of jail to adjust to life outside bars.
Sad news was heard by Coats folks when it was shared that Thomas Strickland, 18, of Route 1, Coats had died. He was a 1985 graduate of Coats High School and worked at Titan Mobile Builder Co. in Lillington. He was survived by his parents, Larry and Madeline Powell Strickland; his grandmother, Mrs. Eloise Lockamy and his fiancée, Miss Kimberly Renee Johnson of Erwin (Daily Record April 4, 1986).
County sheriffs are usually very popular with county folks and Lewis Rosser was no exception. A Rosser Rally was held in Coats for the sheriff. Some of those present for the campaign barbecue and rally were Albert and Betty Gregory, Johnny Williams and former Mayor J.D. Norris who served as master of ceremonies (Daily Record April 8, 1986).
Question—did Sheriff Rosser have relatives who lived in Coats in earlier years? Mr. and Mrs. Teddy Matthews of Route 3, Dunn, announced the engagement of their daughter, Lanita Carol Matthews, to Corbett W. Tart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Corbett tart of Dunn. Miss Matthews was the granddaughter of Mrs. Mildred Jernigan Weaver Council and the late Mr. James Weaver.
Mr. Daniel Elmon (Dan) Coats, 73, of Clemmons, died. He was survived by his wife, Gladys Billie O’Bryne Coats; sons-Terry and Jerry Coats; stepmother Mrs. Mae B. Coats; stepbrother, Lynwood Johnson; brother Garland A. Coats; three sisters-Mrs. Mabel Bailey, Mrs. Addie C. Overton, and Mrs. Thelma Jackson (Daily Record Apr. 10, 1986).
At the Coats Board of Commissioners meeting, about 20 senior citizens requested that the town apply to the Region “M” Council of Government for funding for a senior citizens center. Marvin Johnson, who was the 1986 Man of the Year, led the group. Many of the elderly attending the meeting were a part of the Swinging Elders of Coats (Daily Record Apr. 11, 1986).
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Greider of Coats were mourning the loss of their sweet daughter, Julia Elizabeth Greider (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1986).
Miss Sandy Howard, a first grade teacher at Coats School met with Congressional Candidate Martin Lancaster. Miss.Howard was chairman of the Harnett County Teachers Association NCAE which endorsed Mr. Lancaster (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1986).
Michelle Adams was representing Coats School in the Harnett County Annual Spelling Bee when she was in the 6th Grade (Daily Record Apr. 17, 1986).
A big thank you goes to two new friends of the museum. Kay Hedgepeth of Keith Hills donated to the museum a hat collection consisting of six fabric and feather hats and a toy stove that belonged to her mother who was born in 1898 along with a bag of political and advertising buttons. Tammy Castro of Dunn gave two wooden chairs. One was given to her by Bonita Pender Ramsey of Raleigh and is from the pre-Civil War era. The second chair is named on the bottom but not dated. Tammy also shared several of her personal books. Thank you very much to these ladies and to Lynda Butler who accepted the donations even though the museum is closed due to the pandemic precautions.
How many of you can remember from your school days when the teacher called your name to walk over to a chalk mark on the classroom floor for you to place your toes, look toward the eye chart on the blackboard or wall, cover one eye and then the other and call out the letters or symbols as she used a pointer so she could evaluate your eyesight in each eye? She would then record the results on your permanent record and in some cases sent a notification to a parent for the need for the child to set up an appointment with an optometrist. That was a time when 20/20 brought a sense of well being. The number 2020 has taken on a new meaning for us as we live in a state of caution and sadness. Many of us have lost loved ones, missed church, funerals, weddings, graduations and other events that are a part of our everyday existence.
Most readers look forward to the day when the calendar displays a new year with hope for a different and better new year. The April 2, 1986 edition of the Daily Record reported that the Coats Motor Company had had many new years as it celebrated its 67th Anniversary. The company was begun by C. Guy Stewart and was currently being operated by the founder’s son, Eugene Stewart, and grandson, Don Stewart. It was the oldest Chrysler dealership in the area and one of the oldest in the state.
A note of interest is the Mr. Guy Stewart initially worked for Dr. Harry Roberts who owned the dealership and had sold Ford vehicles. Mr. Stewart purchased the dealership from Roberts. A few years later Dr. Roberts died from injuries in a plane crash near his home in Coats. Also it is interesting to note that the dealership had offered a free plane ride over the area if a new car was purchased. This writer also remains fascinated that cars were assembled at the dealership after having arrived by the Durham and Southern rail in Coats. Maybe after assembling a few cars, the job was faster and easier.
Also in that same April 2nd edition of the Daily Record, it was printed that Frank Watson of Coats was reported to accept a check from Mrs. Rosemary Stevenson for $720 from the Blackmon’s Sunday school class of the Memorial Baptist Church in Buies Creek. The contribution was for the Transition Assistance to Longtime Offenders (TALO) program, founded by Mr. Watson to help prisoners just out of jail to adjust to life outside bars.
Sad news was heard by Coats folks when it was shared that Thomas Strickland, 18, of Route 1, Coats had died. He was a 1985 graduate of Coats High School and worked at Titan Mobile Builder Co. in Lillington. He was survived by his parents, Larry and Madeline Powell Strickland; his grandmother, Mrs. Eloise Lockamy and his fiancée, Miss Kimberly Renee Johnson of Erwin (Daily Record April 4, 1986).
County sheriffs are usually very popular with county folks and Lewis Rosser was no exception. A Rosser Rally was held in Coats for the sheriff. Some of those present for the campaign barbecue and rally were Albert and Betty Gregory, Johnny Williams and former Mayor J.D. Norris who served as master of ceremonies (Daily Record April 8, 1986).
Question—did Sheriff Rosser have relatives who lived in Coats in earlier years? Mr. and Mrs. Teddy Matthews of Route 3, Dunn, announced the engagement of their daughter, Lanita Carol Matthews, to Corbett W. Tart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Corbett tart of Dunn. Miss Matthews was the granddaughter of Mrs. Mildred Jernigan Weaver Council and the late Mr. James Weaver.
Mr. Daniel Elmon (Dan) Coats, 73, of Clemmons, died. He was survived by his wife, Gladys Billie O’Bryne Coats; sons-Terry and Jerry Coats; stepmother Mrs. Mae B. Coats; stepbrother, Lynwood Johnson; brother Garland A. Coats; three sisters-Mrs. Mabel Bailey, Mrs. Addie C. Overton, and Mrs. Thelma Jackson (Daily Record Apr. 10, 1986).
At the Coats Board of Commissioners meeting, about 20 senior citizens requested that the town apply to the Region “M” Council of Government for funding for a senior citizens center. Marvin Johnson, who was the 1986 Man of the Year, led the group. Many of the elderly attending the meeting were a part of the Swinging Elders of Coats (Daily Record Apr. 11, 1986).
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Greider of Coats were mourning the loss of their sweet daughter, Julia Elizabeth Greider (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1986).
Miss Sandy Howard, a first grade teacher at Coats School met with Congressional Candidate Martin Lancaster. Miss.Howard was chairman of the Harnett County Teachers Association NCAE which endorsed Mr. Lancaster (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1986).
Michelle Adams was representing Coats School in the Harnett County Annual Spelling Bee when she was in the 6th Grade (Daily Record Apr. 17, 1986).
A big thank you goes to two new friends of the museum. Kay Hedgepeth of Keith Hills donated to the museum a hat collection consisting of six fabric and feather hats and a toy stove that belonged to her mother who was born in 1898 along with a bag of political and advertising buttons. Tammy Castro of Dunn gave two wooden chairs. One was given to her by Bonita Pender Ramsey of Raleigh and is from the pre-Civil War era. The second chair is named on the bottom but not dated. Tammy also shared several of her personal books. Thank you very much to these ladies and to Lynda Butler who accepted the donations even though the museum is closed due to the pandemic precautions.