February 1, 2019 Coats Museum News
The date on the calendar continued to display 1974. The cost of mailing a first-class letter rose to ten cents, quite a bit less than the current Forever fifty-five cent stamp. Electricity rates increased a record 30 percent during the year. The economy slid into crisis as inflation exceeded ten percent and unemployment climbed past seven percent. Mrs. Martin Luther King, Sr., mother of the slain civil rights leader, was shot and killed in church by an apparently insane gunman. Americans were dying on the roads at a rate of 3. 57 for every 100 million mile traveled, down from 6.28 rate in 1956 (Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-Mail, Springfield, Massachusetts: Federal Street Press 1999, pp. 210-11).
Amongst all the bad news on the national scene, some good and bad news came in Coats when it was printed that Denise Butts and William Earl Cox had married in the Prospect FWB Church. The Rev. Bob King officiated (Daily Record June 24, 1974). In Fuquay-Varina, Grady J. Ennis, 64, expired on a Sunday. His services were held at Overby Funeral Chapel in Angier with burial in the Angier PB Church Cemetery. Surviving him was his daughter, Mrs. Joyce Hall, of Charlotte. Bobby Ray, LeRoy, Russell and Kenneth L. Ennis were his sons. His siblings were Mrs. Nettie Sorrell, Mrs. Vada Cobb, Mrs. Hazel Wood and Sexton Ennis (Daily Record June 24, 1974).
In Harnett County, Mayor Ronald Coats was renamed as Chairman of the Democratic Party. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Lee of Coats were honored on their wedding anniversary at the Old Mill Stream near Newton Grove. Their daughters, Debbie Jo and Bonnie, joined with other friends and family to celebrate the big event (Daily Record July 1. 1974).
The July 2nd edition of the same paper printed that another couple celebrated a wedding anniversary and this one being for Mr. and Mrs. Carl Parrish who celebrated their 50th at their home in Coats. Mrs. Parrish was the former Nora Harris. Children of the pair were Miss Flossie Parrish, Graham, Leon, James, and William Parrish. A highlight of the day was congratulatory message from President Richard Nixon (Daily Record July 2, 1974). Had Nixon not resigned at this point?
Much news was printed about Coats folks in the July 5, 1974 edition of the Daily Record. Another wedding made the news when Miss Sharon (Sherry) Byrd pledged her vows to Clifton Wayne Royal at Antioch PFWB Church. Her father, Rev. R.O. Byrd, officiated. A second wedding was announced when Joseph L Turlington and Lalia Jenkins were married at the Thalia Lynn Jenkins Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. The bride was a teacher in the Chesapeake Public School System. Sue Clayton, sister of the bridegroom, was a bridesmaid.
In that same edition of the Daily Record it was announced that John Wolf of Coats and a native of Waterloo, Iowa, had died Wednesday night in the Cape Fear Valley Hospital. He was a veteran of WWII, a member of the Coats Lions Club, and leader in Boy Scouts. Surviving him were his wife, Isabel Wolf, and his children-Mrs. Sandra McKellar, Mrs. Pamela Whitehead, Miss Anita Wolf and John A. Wolf. Mr. Wolf’s services were held at the Coats Baptist Church where he was a very active member. His burial was in the Turner Family Cemetery.
James Grimes, president of the Grove Rural Fire Department, Inc., and James T. Johnson, state director of the Farmers Administration, broke ground for the new firehouse in Coats. Another outstanding Coats student, James Randy Hedgepeth, made the news when it was shared that he was to attend a leadership development conference for FFA of which Randy was vice president (Daily Record July 19, 1974).
A death in the Turlington family was shared with the public. Mrs. Mary Ella Turlington of Benson had died on Friday night at GHH. She was 85 years old. The former teacher was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Willis Edgar Turlington of Johnston County (Daily Record July 19, 1974). Does that name sound familiar?
Do you remember reading that Coats was to have a public library which would be located in the old offices of Kenneth Ennis on McKinley Street and operated mainly by trained high school girls during the summer? It was opened Monday through Friday (Daily Record July 28, 1974). No, this is not the site of Kenneth’s current offices for this one was on the site of the old Lee-Moore Oil Company near the intersection of Main and McKinley Street (Daily Record July 28, 1974).
Miss Melody Neighbors was crowned Miss Coats Junior Order. She was daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Neighbors. The first runner-up was Michelle Byrd, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stacy Byrd. Second runner-up was Debbie Sorrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Sorrell, Jr. Pam Parker of Benson was Miss Congeniality (Daily Record July 24, 1974).
A great deal of the summer news focused on deaths and weddings. Miss Martha Dale Turlington and Dennie Keith Parrish had pledged their wedding vows on Saturday, July 13th at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church with Rev. Larry Kline officiating. Martha was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bickett (Wade) Turlington and Mr. and Mrs. Rupert Parrish were parents of the Keith (Daily Record July 29, 1974).
Miss Jane Johnson of Coats and Sp. 4 Todd Stanford were married in a double ring ceremony at the Airborne Chapel, Ft. Bragg. Jane was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim W. Johnson and was a Coats graduate. Parents of the groom were Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stanford of Sherrand, West Virginia (Daily Record Aug. 14, 1974).
It was back to school time for the students in Harnett County on August 27th. The first full day was to be on the 28th when lunch was served at the cost of 50 cents for a student plate. Sales Supervision Clarence McLamb of the Dunn Tobacco Board of Trade shared that the leaf averaged $1.10 per pound (Daily Record Aug. 15, 1974).
Two more engagements were sha red. Mr. and Mrs. Hampton McLamb announced that their daughter, Lou Ann McLamb, was to marry Don Pleasant, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Pleasant, of Coats. The wedding would be at Hodges Chapel Church. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Leon Barefoot of near Bethel PB Church announced the engagement of their daughter, Carol Barefoot (Daily Record Aug. 16, 1974).
The August 22, 1974 edition to the Daily Record reported that Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Edward Stewart of Coats were parents of a newborn, Kevin Troy Stewart, on August 21st. at BJMH. The mom was the former Lois Gayle McLeod. Mr. and Mrs. Stonewall Allen, Jr., of Coats were parents of a son, Tony Wayne Allen. Mrs. Allen was the former Mattie Saddler.
It was time to celebrate. Mr. and Mrs. Donahue Stephenson of Coats celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at a party. Mrs. Pam Tart, Mrs. Wanda Denton, and Miss LaRue Stephenson and friend Linda Byrd hosted the event (Daily Record Aug. 26, 1974).
Two baby boys were born to Coats parents. Mr. and Mrs. Terry Abney announced the birth of Terry, Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Edward Moore the birth of Edward Allie Moore. Mrs. Moore was the former Deborah Arlene Byrd and Mrs. Abney was the former Barbara Jo Burnette (Daily Record Aug. 30 and Sept. 4, 1974).
Mrs. Beulah Ennis, widow of Nelson Ennis, had a very busy and happy summer. Her four children from all over the state and country had found time to return home to visit their mom near Turlington’s Crossroads. Phillip visited from Hampton, VA to begin work at CPL in Raleigh. Jeanine Kluttz, wife of Dr. John Kluttz, was in the area from Colorado where John was a professor of seven years at the Air Force Academy. The family was to move for Hall State University in their extension in Europe. Laura Grace Ennis Pocock was a real estate agent in Wrightsville Beach but had found time to entertain her mom and siblings at Wrightsville Beach. Beulah’s youngest son, Don Ennis, was a Kraft representative in Rocky Mount. He was a professional musician (Dunn Dispatch Sept. 5, 1974).
Mrs. Isabel Wolf of Turlington’s Crossroads area was selected as the Harnett County chairman of the Governor’s Roundup for Scouts (Dunn Dispatch Sept. 9, 1974).
The Goodwill Extension Homemakers Club met in their club building on Route 2, Angier. Mrs. Judy Williams, president of the group, presented the program. Members present were Mrs. Minnie Barnes, Mrs. Dallas Jones, Mrs. Merchant Langdon, Mrs. Gerald Hayes, Mrs. Evitt Denning, Mrs. Jarvis Pleasant, Mrs. Rupert Parrish, Mrs. Mabel Barnes, Miss Janice Young, Miss Addie Parrish, and Mrs. Keith Parrish (Dunn Dispatch Sept. 13, 1974).
After museum volunteers spend hours preparing items to be displayed, the reward comes when visitors view them and truly seem to enjoy the stories behind these items in the exhibits. We so much enjoyed a group from the Dunn and Godwin area last Thursday. Amongst that group was Nancy Dorman Honeycutt. As a young girl, Nancy and her family lived in the old school after it had been converted to a house. Nancy’s dad played with the Bill Monroe Band. How many people can share a story like that? The Research Library is full of family genealogies and Nancy, who is connected to the Neighbors and Hodges families, plans to return and spend the day looking for her connections to those we have researched. The volunteers always enjoy a visit from Jack and Nancy Honeycutt.
Shelia and Teddy Byrd bought some antique furniture awhile back and were surprised to find an old scrapbook filled with photos belonging to Hiram Ennis. Becky Ennis Adams spent the day scanning the photos and plans to attempt to identify those in the pictures which none or few names are on the back of the photos. Thank you goes to Shelia and Teddy.
We hope most of you are following “Growing Up in Coats” and the “Coats Museum News” where Lynda Butler is sharing pictures of the former queens who attended Coats High School. The museum plans to recognize these queens at a future date with an event after which we will compile a notebook of past and current pictures of those queens. Anyone will be able to look at this collection in the Museum Research Library for years to come.
The date on the calendar continued to display 1974. The cost of mailing a first-class letter rose to ten cents, quite a bit less than the current Forever fifty-five cent stamp. Electricity rates increased a record 30 percent during the year. The economy slid into crisis as inflation exceeded ten percent and unemployment climbed past seven percent. Mrs. Martin Luther King, Sr., mother of the slain civil rights leader, was shot and killed in church by an apparently insane gunman. Americans were dying on the roads at a rate of 3. 57 for every 100 million mile traveled, down from 6.28 rate in 1956 (Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-Mail, Springfield, Massachusetts: Federal Street Press 1999, pp. 210-11).
Amongst all the bad news on the national scene, some good and bad news came in Coats when it was printed that Denise Butts and William Earl Cox had married in the Prospect FWB Church. The Rev. Bob King officiated (Daily Record June 24, 1974). In Fuquay-Varina, Grady J. Ennis, 64, expired on a Sunday. His services were held at Overby Funeral Chapel in Angier with burial in the Angier PB Church Cemetery. Surviving him was his daughter, Mrs. Joyce Hall, of Charlotte. Bobby Ray, LeRoy, Russell and Kenneth L. Ennis were his sons. His siblings were Mrs. Nettie Sorrell, Mrs. Vada Cobb, Mrs. Hazel Wood and Sexton Ennis (Daily Record June 24, 1974).
In Harnett County, Mayor Ronald Coats was renamed as Chairman of the Democratic Party. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Lee of Coats were honored on their wedding anniversary at the Old Mill Stream near Newton Grove. Their daughters, Debbie Jo and Bonnie, joined with other friends and family to celebrate the big event (Daily Record July 1. 1974).
The July 2nd edition of the same paper printed that another couple celebrated a wedding anniversary and this one being for Mr. and Mrs. Carl Parrish who celebrated their 50th at their home in Coats. Mrs. Parrish was the former Nora Harris. Children of the pair were Miss Flossie Parrish, Graham, Leon, James, and William Parrish. A highlight of the day was congratulatory message from President Richard Nixon (Daily Record July 2, 1974). Had Nixon not resigned at this point?
Much news was printed about Coats folks in the July 5, 1974 edition of the Daily Record. Another wedding made the news when Miss Sharon (Sherry) Byrd pledged her vows to Clifton Wayne Royal at Antioch PFWB Church. Her father, Rev. R.O. Byrd, officiated. A second wedding was announced when Joseph L Turlington and Lalia Jenkins were married at the Thalia Lynn Jenkins Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. The bride was a teacher in the Chesapeake Public School System. Sue Clayton, sister of the bridegroom, was a bridesmaid.
In that same edition of the Daily Record it was announced that John Wolf of Coats and a native of Waterloo, Iowa, had died Wednesday night in the Cape Fear Valley Hospital. He was a veteran of WWII, a member of the Coats Lions Club, and leader in Boy Scouts. Surviving him were his wife, Isabel Wolf, and his children-Mrs. Sandra McKellar, Mrs. Pamela Whitehead, Miss Anita Wolf and John A. Wolf. Mr. Wolf’s services were held at the Coats Baptist Church where he was a very active member. His burial was in the Turner Family Cemetery.
James Grimes, president of the Grove Rural Fire Department, Inc., and James T. Johnson, state director of the Farmers Administration, broke ground for the new firehouse in Coats. Another outstanding Coats student, James Randy Hedgepeth, made the news when it was shared that he was to attend a leadership development conference for FFA of which Randy was vice president (Daily Record July 19, 1974).
A death in the Turlington family was shared with the public. Mrs. Mary Ella Turlington of Benson had died on Friday night at GHH. She was 85 years old. The former teacher was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Willis Edgar Turlington of Johnston County (Daily Record July 19, 1974). Does that name sound familiar?
Do you remember reading that Coats was to have a public library which would be located in the old offices of Kenneth Ennis on McKinley Street and operated mainly by trained high school girls during the summer? It was opened Monday through Friday (Daily Record July 28, 1974). No, this is not the site of Kenneth’s current offices for this one was on the site of the old Lee-Moore Oil Company near the intersection of Main and McKinley Street (Daily Record July 28, 1974).
Miss Melody Neighbors was crowned Miss Coats Junior Order. She was daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Neighbors. The first runner-up was Michelle Byrd, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stacy Byrd. Second runner-up was Debbie Sorrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Sorrell, Jr. Pam Parker of Benson was Miss Congeniality (Daily Record July 24, 1974).
A great deal of the summer news focused on deaths and weddings. Miss Martha Dale Turlington and Dennie Keith Parrish had pledged their wedding vows on Saturday, July 13th at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church with Rev. Larry Kline officiating. Martha was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bickett (Wade) Turlington and Mr. and Mrs. Rupert Parrish were parents of the Keith (Daily Record July 29, 1974).
Miss Jane Johnson of Coats and Sp. 4 Todd Stanford were married in a double ring ceremony at the Airborne Chapel, Ft. Bragg. Jane was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim W. Johnson and was a Coats graduate. Parents of the groom were Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stanford of Sherrand, West Virginia (Daily Record Aug. 14, 1974).
It was back to school time for the students in Harnett County on August 27th. The first full day was to be on the 28th when lunch was served at the cost of 50 cents for a student plate. Sales Supervision Clarence McLamb of the Dunn Tobacco Board of Trade shared that the leaf averaged $1.10 per pound (Daily Record Aug. 15, 1974).
Two more engagements were sha red. Mr. and Mrs. Hampton McLamb announced that their daughter, Lou Ann McLamb, was to marry Don Pleasant, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Pleasant, of Coats. The wedding would be at Hodges Chapel Church. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Leon Barefoot of near Bethel PB Church announced the engagement of their daughter, Carol Barefoot (Daily Record Aug. 16, 1974).
The August 22, 1974 edition to the Daily Record reported that Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Edward Stewart of Coats were parents of a newborn, Kevin Troy Stewart, on August 21st. at BJMH. The mom was the former Lois Gayle McLeod. Mr. and Mrs. Stonewall Allen, Jr., of Coats were parents of a son, Tony Wayne Allen. Mrs. Allen was the former Mattie Saddler.
It was time to celebrate. Mr. and Mrs. Donahue Stephenson of Coats celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at a party. Mrs. Pam Tart, Mrs. Wanda Denton, and Miss LaRue Stephenson and friend Linda Byrd hosted the event (Daily Record Aug. 26, 1974).
Two baby boys were born to Coats parents. Mr. and Mrs. Terry Abney announced the birth of Terry, Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Edward Moore the birth of Edward Allie Moore. Mrs. Moore was the former Deborah Arlene Byrd and Mrs. Abney was the former Barbara Jo Burnette (Daily Record Aug. 30 and Sept. 4, 1974).
Mrs. Beulah Ennis, widow of Nelson Ennis, had a very busy and happy summer. Her four children from all over the state and country had found time to return home to visit their mom near Turlington’s Crossroads. Phillip visited from Hampton, VA to begin work at CPL in Raleigh. Jeanine Kluttz, wife of Dr. John Kluttz, was in the area from Colorado where John was a professor of seven years at the Air Force Academy. The family was to move for Hall State University in their extension in Europe. Laura Grace Ennis Pocock was a real estate agent in Wrightsville Beach but had found time to entertain her mom and siblings at Wrightsville Beach. Beulah’s youngest son, Don Ennis, was a Kraft representative in Rocky Mount. He was a professional musician (Dunn Dispatch Sept. 5, 1974).
Mrs. Isabel Wolf of Turlington’s Crossroads area was selected as the Harnett County chairman of the Governor’s Roundup for Scouts (Dunn Dispatch Sept. 9, 1974).
The Goodwill Extension Homemakers Club met in their club building on Route 2, Angier. Mrs. Judy Williams, president of the group, presented the program. Members present were Mrs. Minnie Barnes, Mrs. Dallas Jones, Mrs. Merchant Langdon, Mrs. Gerald Hayes, Mrs. Evitt Denning, Mrs. Jarvis Pleasant, Mrs. Rupert Parrish, Mrs. Mabel Barnes, Miss Janice Young, Miss Addie Parrish, and Mrs. Keith Parrish (Dunn Dispatch Sept. 13, 1974).
After museum volunteers spend hours preparing items to be displayed, the reward comes when visitors view them and truly seem to enjoy the stories behind these items in the exhibits. We so much enjoyed a group from the Dunn and Godwin area last Thursday. Amongst that group was Nancy Dorman Honeycutt. As a young girl, Nancy and her family lived in the old school after it had been converted to a house. Nancy’s dad played with the Bill Monroe Band. How many people can share a story like that? The Research Library is full of family genealogies and Nancy, who is connected to the Neighbors and Hodges families, plans to return and spend the day looking for her connections to those we have researched. The volunteers always enjoy a visit from Jack and Nancy Honeycutt.
Shelia and Teddy Byrd bought some antique furniture awhile back and were surprised to find an old scrapbook filled with photos belonging to Hiram Ennis. Becky Ennis Adams spent the day scanning the photos and plans to attempt to identify those in the pictures which none or few names are on the back of the photos. Thank you goes to Shelia and Teddy.
We hope most of you are following “Growing Up in Coats” and the “Coats Museum News” where Lynda Butler is sharing pictures of the former queens who attended Coats High School. The museum plans to recognize these queens at a future date with an event after which we will compile a notebook of past and current pictures of those queens. Anyone will be able to look at this collection in the Museum Research Library for years to come.