February 17, 2017 Coats Museum News
The Daily Record posted the names of those individuals who were to respond to a summons for Civil Court jury pool. The individuals were Ezra Lee Denning, D.E. Ennis, and Dock Butts while Talbert Dennis, A.D. McGee, Daywood Langdon, Ernis Langdon, Hubert Faircloth, W.H. Lucas, Sherrill Coats, Thomas Cooper, Herbert J. Lane, and E. L. Holmes responded to the Criminal Term (Daily Record July 18, 1961).
Elsewhere the family of Mr. J. C. Messer, 62, was likely making plans to attend his funeral. He had died in Good Hope Hospital. His sister was Mrs. Eddie Pleasant. (Daily Record July 24, 1961).Question- was it not the Messer family who was so instrumental in the organization of the Red Hill Church on Red Hill Church Road?
The 1961 calendar verified that Don House was officially a teenager in the household of Mr. and Mrs. Dave House. To celebrate the occasion of the 13th birthday, lots of his friends attended the event. Among those at the cookout were Ronnie Denning, Randy Rambeau, Pam Stewart, Hope Stewart, Bill House, Kenneth Weaver, Bob House, Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Stewart, Mrs. Edwin Stewart, and Mrs. Dave House.
It was recorded that J. Sherrill Stephenson of near Barclaysville was carrying on one of the best soil and water conservation farm programs in the county (Daily Record July 25, 1961).
Another wedding was announced from Coats. Peggy O’Neal, daughter of Iva O’Neal and the late L.H. O’Neal, had married Willard Wheeler on April 03, 1961 in Dillon, S.C. From another point in Grove Township, the Ebenezer Presbyterian Women of Bailey’s Crossroads had met at the home of President Juanita Hudson who presented the program entitled “The Church of Tomorrow and the Christian of Today”.
Possibly the husbands of those ladies were interested in the fact that the House Tobacco Sub-Committee had approved a two-year experimental program for leasing of tobacco acreage allotments. The bill permitted growers to lease their allotments to other farmers in the same county on a one-year basis. The purpose of the bill was designed to reduce production costs and boost the income of small tobacco farmers (Daily Record July 26, 1961).
Mrs. Eva Nichols was suddenly tearful when she learned that Governor Terry Sanford had appointed her to the board of the State School for the Blind and Deaf. She was among 28 outstanding Tar Heel Women appointed to various state institutions and agencies (Daily Record July 27, 1961).
Charles W. Langdon, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Langdon, and James Carroll Lee, son of Mr. and Mrs. Evitt Lee of rural Dunn, were two of the 100 students who participated in UNC’s pre-registered program (Daily Record July 28, 1961).
Mr. and Mrs. Willie Burchette (Audrey Parrish) and children-Donald, Elaine and Vickie- had visited Topsoil Beach and later visited her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eddie L. Parrish, before returning to their home in Raleigh (Daily Record July 31, 1961).
A middle-aged storekeeper was accused of driving off a trio of Harnett rural policemen with a snub nosed revolver and a threat that if they came through the door it would be the last one that they would ever come through.
The officers had gone to the little store at the edge of Coats to serve a search warrant. Thus turned around and went back to their car. The woman was later indicted and charged with a deadly weapon with intent to kill three officers. Did you say, “Wow!”?
Does anyone remember when Bud Jernigan (W.J.) Jernigan of Route 2 Four Oaks had drowned on a Sunday afternoon? He had one sister, Mrs. Hardee H. Jernigan of Coats (Daily Record Aug. 1, 1961).
Coats has several ladies with the same name-Doris Ennis. One Doris Ennis of Coats lost her father, George Willis Massengill, 74, of rural Smithfield. Which Doris Ennis is his daughter (Daily Record Aug. 2, 1961)?
Who remembers Clarence Moore? Wasn’t he a Coats police officer? Do you remember the names of his daughters? I do know that one of them had married Kenneth Gregory and they announced the birth of a daughter. Mrs. Gregory was a former Coats Homecoming Queen at Coats High (Daily Record Aug. 3, 1961).
A Coats family announced the arrival of a daughter. Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Johnson announced the arrival in the Betsy Johnson Hospital. The parents, Jeanette and T.J., had attended Coats High. T.J. was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Johnson and Jeanette, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Daniel.
Another Coats related family added a son-in-law. The marriage of Opal Marie Sorrell and James Paul Coats was solemnized in a double ring ceremony on Sunday, July 23, in the manse of Providence Presbyterian Church near McGee’s Crossroad. Present were Mr. and Mrs. Paul Coats, Mrs. and Mrs. Lentis Sorrell, H. L. Sorrell, Jr. and Gayle Johnson. The bride was a descendant of H.H. Penny, half brother to James Thomas Coats and James was a descendant of William Benjamin Coats, twin brother of James Thomas Coats.
A former Coats man was buried in Oakland, CA. W.B. Turlington, 65, was brother to Mayor C.J. Turlington, Mrs. Ora T. Parrish, Mrs. James Willis, and Mrs. M.S. Whittington of Coats. He was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. L.L. (Laura Frances Sorrell) Turlington. Was this the grandfather of Christy Turlington of the Maybelline commercials?
I do know that Mrs. Ethelene Carroll Faulkner and Mr. Silas Faulkner were parents of new son on August 6th (Daily Record Aug. 7, 1961).
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence M. Faircloth welcomed the birth of a son. Mrs. Faircloth was the former Lois LaRue Smith. Mrs. Betty Gregory was also a patient at Good Hope. Summons for the September Civil Jurors were given to J. Lee Langdon, Ralph Byrd, Dewey McLamb and James W. Wiggins. The Defense Department had announced that the Army would draft 25,000 men in September as part of President Kennedy’s military buildup (Daily Record Aug. 10. 1961).
The descendants of Julius Monroe Lee-Annie Lloyd Lee had held the 3rd Reunion on Sunday, August 6 at the old Lee family home place (Daily Record Aug. 11, 1961). Is this family connected to the M.P. Lee family?
A fire in Coats had caused $1,500 in damages. The fire broke out in a building that adjoined Barefoot’s Café and was owned by Luther Barefoot (Daily Record Aug.14, 1961).
Are there some of you among the readers of this column who remember Mr. Luke Barefoot? Fellows, did any of you catch an opossum for Mr. Luke and exchange it for a hotdog? Did he really cage the animal for a couple of weeks and then eat it? Howard Penny, Jr. had some vivid memories of a bunch of his friends “possum trading” with “Mr. Luke” (Penny, May, 2004).
Mrs. Doris (M.T., Jr.) Strickland had won a trophy in a Powder Puff race at Fairgounds Speedway. Mrs. Strickland came in second. Racing blood ran in the family. Another trophy was won by her sister, Mrs. Dorothy Webb (Daily Record Aug. 15, 1961).
A former Coats teacher, Dr. James Valsame, had received his Doctor’s Degree in Education at East Carolina College. Valsame had taught math and served as basketball coach at Coats from 1950-54. He was married to Dorothy Barnes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Barnes of Coats.
Major Faircloth was a patient at Good Hope while Mrs. Mabel Byrd was in Betsy Johnson.
News out of Dunn was that Robie Butler was one of 20 boys to receive a coveted Mark Clark Award as “Outstanding Camper” in graduation exercises for the Citadel Summer Camp for Boys. This camp was founded by General Clark in 1957 (Daily Record Aug. 16, 1961).
Many of you know that Robie taught at Campbell University for many years and continues to give hundreds of volunteer hours for good causes in Harnett County such as VITA, Coats Kiwanis Club and the Coats Museum.
Most jobs have the feel good moments and a rewarding perk of teaching young people is that you get to follow them as adults. Almost weekly, a name appearing in the column is a student who sat in the classes taught by either my husband H.L. or me and in some cases, both. This week I enter the names of Rhonda Denning Stephenson and her husband Randy. Both were extraordinary students and are remarkable citizens of the Coats community in such a quiet way. It is not uncommon for Rhonda to walk into the museum bringing artifacts for display or a donation to honor someone or to remember a deceased friend of their families. Thank you also goes to Betty Vaughn and the Coats Woman’s Club for remembering Lib Guy with memorials. Coats is a remarkable little town filled with many generous and caring citizens.
The Daily Record posted the names of those individuals who were to respond to a summons for Civil Court jury pool. The individuals were Ezra Lee Denning, D.E. Ennis, and Dock Butts while Talbert Dennis, A.D. McGee, Daywood Langdon, Ernis Langdon, Hubert Faircloth, W.H. Lucas, Sherrill Coats, Thomas Cooper, Herbert J. Lane, and E. L. Holmes responded to the Criminal Term (Daily Record July 18, 1961).
Elsewhere the family of Mr. J. C. Messer, 62, was likely making plans to attend his funeral. He had died in Good Hope Hospital. His sister was Mrs. Eddie Pleasant. (Daily Record July 24, 1961).Question- was it not the Messer family who was so instrumental in the organization of the Red Hill Church on Red Hill Church Road?
The 1961 calendar verified that Don House was officially a teenager in the household of Mr. and Mrs. Dave House. To celebrate the occasion of the 13th birthday, lots of his friends attended the event. Among those at the cookout were Ronnie Denning, Randy Rambeau, Pam Stewart, Hope Stewart, Bill House, Kenneth Weaver, Bob House, Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Stewart, Mrs. Edwin Stewart, and Mrs. Dave House.
It was recorded that J. Sherrill Stephenson of near Barclaysville was carrying on one of the best soil and water conservation farm programs in the county (Daily Record July 25, 1961).
Another wedding was announced from Coats. Peggy O’Neal, daughter of Iva O’Neal and the late L.H. O’Neal, had married Willard Wheeler on April 03, 1961 in Dillon, S.C. From another point in Grove Township, the Ebenezer Presbyterian Women of Bailey’s Crossroads had met at the home of President Juanita Hudson who presented the program entitled “The Church of Tomorrow and the Christian of Today”.
Possibly the husbands of those ladies were interested in the fact that the House Tobacco Sub-Committee had approved a two-year experimental program for leasing of tobacco acreage allotments. The bill permitted growers to lease their allotments to other farmers in the same county on a one-year basis. The purpose of the bill was designed to reduce production costs and boost the income of small tobacco farmers (Daily Record July 26, 1961).
Mrs. Eva Nichols was suddenly tearful when she learned that Governor Terry Sanford had appointed her to the board of the State School for the Blind and Deaf. She was among 28 outstanding Tar Heel Women appointed to various state institutions and agencies (Daily Record July 27, 1961).
Charles W. Langdon, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Langdon, and James Carroll Lee, son of Mr. and Mrs. Evitt Lee of rural Dunn, were two of the 100 students who participated in UNC’s pre-registered program (Daily Record July 28, 1961).
Mr. and Mrs. Willie Burchette (Audrey Parrish) and children-Donald, Elaine and Vickie- had visited Topsoil Beach and later visited her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eddie L. Parrish, before returning to their home in Raleigh (Daily Record July 31, 1961).
A middle-aged storekeeper was accused of driving off a trio of Harnett rural policemen with a snub nosed revolver and a threat that if they came through the door it would be the last one that they would ever come through.
The officers had gone to the little store at the edge of Coats to serve a search warrant. Thus turned around and went back to their car. The woman was later indicted and charged with a deadly weapon with intent to kill three officers. Did you say, “Wow!”?
Does anyone remember when Bud Jernigan (W.J.) Jernigan of Route 2 Four Oaks had drowned on a Sunday afternoon? He had one sister, Mrs. Hardee H. Jernigan of Coats (Daily Record Aug. 1, 1961).
Coats has several ladies with the same name-Doris Ennis. One Doris Ennis of Coats lost her father, George Willis Massengill, 74, of rural Smithfield. Which Doris Ennis is his daughter (Daily Record Aug. 2, 1961)?
Who remembers Clarence Moore? Wasn’t he a Coats police officer? Do you remember the names of his daughters? I do know that one of them had married Kenneth Gregory and they announced the birth of a daughter. Mrs. Gregory was a former Coats Homecoming Queen at Coats High (Daily Record Aug. 3, 1961).
A Coats family announced the arrival of a daughter. Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Johnson announced the arrival in the Betsy Johnson Hospital. The parents, Jeanette and T.J., had attended Coats High. T.J. was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Johnson and Jeanette, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Daniel.
Another Coats related family added a son-in-law. The marriage of Opal Marie Sorrell and James Paul Coats was solemnized in a double ring ceremony on Sunday, July 23, in the manse of Providence Presbyterian Church near McGee’s Crossroad. Present were Mr. and Mrs. Paul Coats, Mrs. and Mrs. Lentis Sorrell, H. L. Sorrell, Jr. and Gayle Johnson. The bride was a descendant of H.H. Penny, half brother to James Thomas Coats and James was a descendant of William Benjamin Coats, twin brother of James Thomas Coats.
A former Coats man was buried in Oakland, CA. W.B. Turlington, 65, was brother to Mayor C.J. Turlington, Mrs. Ora T. Parrish, Mrs. James Willis, and Mrs. M.S. Whittington of Coats. He was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. L.L. (Laura Frances Sorrell) Turlington. Was this the grandfather of Christy Turlington of the Maybelline commercials?
I do know that Mrs. Ethelene Carroll Faulkner and Mr. Silas Faulkner were parents of new son on August 6th (Daily Record Aug. 7, 1961).
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence M. Faircloth welcomed the birth of a son. Mrs. Faircloth was the former Lois LaRue Smith. Mrs. Betty Gregory was also a patient at Good Hope. Summons for the September Civil Jurors were given to J. Lee Langdon, Ralph Byrd, Dewey McLamb and James W. Wiggins. The Defense Department had announced that the Army would draft 25,000 men in September as part of President Kennedy’s military buildup (Daily Record Aug. 10. 1961).
The descendants of Julius Monroe Lee-Annie Lloyd Lee had held the 3rd Reunion on Sunday, August 6 at the old Lee family home place (Daily Record Aug. 11, 1961). Is this family connected to the M.P. Lee family?
A fire in Coats had caused $1,500 in damages. The fire broke out in a building that adjoined Barefoot’s Café and was owned by Luther Barefoot (Daily Record Aug.14, 1961).
Are there some of you among the readers of this column who remember Mr. Luke Barefoot? Fellows, did any of you catch an opossum for Mr. Luke and exchange it for a hotdog? Did he really cage the animal for a couple of weeks and then eat it? Howard Penny, Jr. had some vivid memories of a bunch of his friends “possum trading” with “Mr. Luke” (Penny, May, 2004).
Mrs. Doris (M.T., Jr.) Strickland had won a trophy in a Powder Puff race at Fairgounds Speedway. Mrs. Strickland came in second. Racing blood ran in the family. Another trophy was won by her sister, Mrs. Dorothy Webb (Daily Record Aug. 15, 1961).
A former Coats teacher, Dr. James Valsame, had received his Doctor’s Degree in Education at East Carolina College. Valsame had taught math and served as basketball coach at Coats from 1950-54. He was married to Dorothy Barnes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Barnes of Coats.
Major Faircloth was a patient at Good Hope while Mrs. Mabel Byrd was in Betsy Johnson.
News out of Dunn was that Robie Butler was one of 20 boys to receive a coveted Mark Clark Award as “Outstanding Camper” in graduation exercises for the Citadel Summer Camp for Boys. This camp was founded by General Clark in 1957 (Daily Record Aug. 16, 1961).
Many of you know that Robie taught at Campbell University for many years and continues to give hundreds of volunteer hours for good causes in Harnett County such as VITA, Coats Kiwanis Club and the Coats Museum.
Most jobs have the feel good moments and a rewarding perk of teaching young people is that you get to follow them as adults. Almost weekly, a name appearing in the column is a student who sat in the classes taught by either my husband H.L. or me and in some cases, both. This week I enter the names of Rhonda Denning Stephenson and her husband Randy. Both were extraordinary students and are remarkable citizens of the Coats community in such a quiet way. It is not uncommon for Rhonda to walk into the museum bringing artifacts for display or a donation to honor someone or to remember a deceased friend of their families. Thank you also goes to Betty Vaughn and the Coats Woman’s Club for remembering Lib Guy with memorials. Coats is a remarkable little town filled with many generous and caring citizens.