February 14, 2025 Coats Museum News
“I’m coming home” are some of the sweetest words a parent might hear from a child who had moved away for college or work opportunities. Wonder if that was the case when Amy, Anthony and little Katy Beasley were moving to Coats from Florida? Many will recall that Amy Parrish was not only a beautiful girl but was equally intelligent. Surely Patsy and Keith Parrish were excited to learn of the move back to Harnett County.
Did Amy have Mrs. Linda Turlington as a teacher at Coats School? Linda grew up in Benson but the folks in Coats felt she belonged to us. Other folks must have felt her worth in that Linda was a chosen as the guest speaker for the 1995 Honors Banquet at Campbell University (Daily Record Apr. 21, 1995).
A name that has made history in the Coats community and beyond is the Albert Gregory family. Their community outreach was apparently noticed by those outside of the community because Charles Albert Gregory of Route 2, Angier, was elected to Campbell University Board of Advisors. Mr. Gregory was the owner and operator of CAG Farms and Lane’s Seafood and Steakhouse. He was a BB&T board member and also a leader in the Coats Baptist Church. His wife was the former Betty Bowling of McGee’s Crossroad area. They are parents of Lane, Larry and Blake Gregory (Daily Record Apr. 25, 1995).
Ruby Johnson was a very popular lady in Coats. Not only was she a historian but was also very involved with the United Methodist Church in Coats. In fact, the church honored her for her leadership in the N.C. Conference of United Methodist Church work in the Women’s Division.
Two other events making the news were that congratulations also went to the Brian and Jennifer Whittington on the birth of a daughter and to the Triton Choir (in two buses, a van, and a car) went to Florida to perform at Disney World.
Belle also shared in her “Notes from Coats’ that Carolyn and David Moore operated a flower shop in Coats and that they really enjoyed their three young grandchildren. –Brianna and Justin Amick and Ashton Denton. Did you realize that those “young” grandchildren would be over 30 years of age now in 2025?
Do you know that of all the students I ever taught, I never had a student with the last name “Blair?” Lo and behold-my daughter married a young man from Mitchell, SD whose mother was a Blair and ever since for some reason the name pops up everywhere. In fact, Lenee and JB named their daughter Blair, so the name catches my eye each time I see it. In the April 27, 1995 edition of the record, the name showed up when it was printed that Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Blair of Coats had announced the birth of a daughter, Danielle Renee Blair, at BJMH. The mother was the former Kim Caprano--a new name for our rural community.
Joe Junior McLamb, 48, of Bailey’s Crossroads, died on Thursday. His services were at the Pleasant Grove FWB Church. A son, Joey McLamb, and daughters, Lynn M. Godwin and Rita M. Johnson, survived him. He was the son of R.A. McLamb and Hazel Pope McLamb. Meghan Johnson was his granddaughter (Daily Record Apr. 28, 1995).
Each year Carolina Telephone provided mouthwatering hotdogs with all the trimming for the athletes competing in the Special Olympics. Among those helping to serve the Exceptional Children were Grady Strickland, Jessie Moore, Teresa Eason and County Board Chairman H.L. Sorrell, Jr. (Daily Record May 1, 1995).
Carsie Denning and his wife, Mary Lee Denning, were responsible for getting the ball rolling to convert an old school building into a community museum according to committee member M.O. Phillips. He quickly had added the project had been a group effort of some hardworking Coats people. The old dilapidated wooden building had been used as two classrooms from 1914 to 1922 until a tri-level brick building was completed on that campus in 1921 after several tax increases on the locals (Daily Record May 2, 1995).
This structure was referred to as the “Goat House” by later students because it was used as storage and was really messy according to former students who were interviewed in 1985 for the Coats Reunion Project. All former graduates from 1925 to 1985 were invited to a May weekend of food, entertainment and reconnecting. From that 1985 date, the high school students would no longer attend the Coats School but go to Triton for their four final years of school. The group moved the “Goat House” to its current site on McKinley Street and converted the building into the Coats Museum. The 30’ by 16’structure is now joined on the Heritage Square with a 50’ by 50’ Kress and Nell Penny Exhibit Hall constructed in 2013 and a separate 30’by 40’ Cotton Museum built in 2005.
Just a point of interest is that the Heritage Square property was once owned by Fred Byrd and later belonged to W.E. Nichols who donated it for a community building site. Later the Lee Moore Oil Company added its site of oil drums to the community building property. Part of the Coats Museum and Cotton Museum is on that property. The Coats Museum Board purchased most of its site from the Durham and Southern Railroad. Wonder how the land came into Mr. Byrd’s possession? Let’s explore that in another column.
Geraldine Byrd, a very dedicated supporter of the museum, has lost two siblings in a short time period. Myra Jean Lee Wood has been memorialized on the coatsmuseum.com website by a friend of Geraldine’s.
“I’m coming home” are some of the sweetest words a parent might hear from a child who had moved away for college or work opportunities. Wonder if that was the case when Amy, Anthony and little Katy Beasley were moving to Coats from Florida? Many will recall that Amy Parrish was not only a beautiful girl but was equally intelligent. Surely Patsy and Keith Parrish were excited to learn of the move back to Harnett County.
Did Amy have Mrs. Linda Turlington as a teacher at Coats School? Linda grew up in Benson but the folks in Coats felt she belonged to us. Other folks must have felt her worth in that Linda was a chosen as the guest speaker for the 1995 Honors Banquet at Campbell University (Daily Record Apr. 21, 1995).
A name that has made history in the Coats community and beyond is the Albert Gregory family. Their community outreach was apparently noticed by those outside of the community because Charles Albert Gregory of Route 2, Angier, was elected to Campbell University Board of Advisors. Mr. Gregory was the owner and operator of CAG Farms and Lane’s Seafood and Steakhouse. He was a BB&T board member and also a leader in the Coats Baptist Church. His wife was the former Betty Bowling of McGee’s Crossroad area. They are parents of Lane, Larry and Blake Gregory (Daily Record Apr. 25, 1995).
Ruby Johnson was a very popular lady in Coats. Not only was she a historian but was also very involved with the United Methodist Church in Coats. In fact, the church honored her for her leadership in the N.C. Conference of United Methodist Church work in the Women’s Division.
Two other events making the news were that congratulations also went to the Brian and Jennifer Whittington on the birth of a daughter and to the Triton Choir (in two buses, a van, and a car) went to Florida to perform at Disney World.
Belle also shared in her “Notes from Coats’ that Carolyn and David Moore operated a flower shop in Coats and that they really enjoyed their three young grandchildren. –Brianna and Justin Amick and Ashton Denton. Did you realize that those “young” grandchildren would be over 30 years of age now in 2025?
Do you know that of all the students I ever taught, I never had a student with the last name “Blair?” Lo and behold-my daughter married a young man from Mitchell, SD whose mother was a Blair and ever since for some reason the name pops up everywhere. In fact, Lenee and JB named their daughter Blair, so the name catches my eye each time I see it. In the April 27, 1995 edition of the record, the name showed up when it was printed that Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Blair of Coats had announced the birth of a daughter, Danielle Renee Blair, at BJMH. The mother was the former Kim Caprano--a new name for our rural community.
Joe Junior McLamb, 48, of Bailey’s Crossroads, died on Thursday. His services were at the Pleasant Grove FWB Church. A son, Joey McLamb, and daughters, Lynn M. Godwin and Rita M. Johnson, survived him. He was the son of R.A. McLamb and Hazel Pope McLamb. Meghan Johnson was his granddaughter (Daily Record Apr. 28, 1995).
Each year Carolina Telephone provided mouthwatering hotdogs with all the trimming for the athletes competing in the Special Olympics. Among those helping to serve the Exceptional Children were Grady Strickland, Jessie Moore, Teresa Eason and County Board Chairman H.L. Sorrell, Jr. (Daily Record May 1, 1995).
Carsie Denning and his wife, Mary Lee Denning, were responsible for getting the ball rolling to convert an old school building into a community museum according to committee member M.O. Phillips. He quickly had added the project had been a group effort of some hardworking Coats people. The old dilapidated wooden building had been used as two classrooms from 1914 to 1922 until a tri-level brick building was completed on that campus in 1921 after several tax increases on the locals (Daily Record May 2, 1995).
This structure was referred to as the “Goat House” by later students because it was used as storage and was really messy according to former students who were interviewed in 1985 for the Coats Reunion Project. All former graduates from 1925 to 1985 were invited to a May weekend of food, entertainment and reconnecting. From that 1985 date, the high school students would no longer attend the Coats School but go to Triton for their four final years of school. The group moved the “Goat House” to its current site on McKinley Street and converted the building into the Coats Museum. The 30’ by 16’structure is now joined on the Heritage Square with a 50’ by 50’ Kress and Nell Penny Exhibit Hall constructed in 2013 and a separate 30’by 40’ Cotton Museum built in 2005.
Just a point of interest is that the Heritage Square property was once owned by Fred Byrd and later belonged to W.E. Nichols who donated it for a community building site. Later the Lee Moore Oil Company added its site of oil drums to the community building property. Part of the Coats Museum and Cotton Museum is on that property. The Coats Museum Board purchased most of its site from the Durham and Southern Railroad. Wonder how the land came into Mr. Byrd’s possession? Let’s explore that in another column.
Geraldine Byrd, a very dedicated supporter of the museum, has lost two siblings in a short time period. Myra Jean Lee Wood has been memorialized on the coatsmuseum.com website by a friend of Geraldine’s.