February 2, 2018 Coats Museum News
Shall we continue our journey into yesteryear as we revisit the occurrences of 1968 in Coats, the Grove Township and surrounding areas? Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Byrd of Coats had announced the engagement of their daughter, Teresa Dale Byrd, to Donald Ray Stewart, son of Eugene and Mary Stewart (Daily Record May 2, 1968). Does that mean that Teresa and Don will celebrate their 50th anniversary this May?
This I do know. The voters in Grove I and Grove II had voted favorably for Scott, Broughton and Gardner for NC Governor ((Daily Record May 6, 1968).
Carl Turlington, 60, of Route 3 Dunn, had died at his home. He was the son of the late Stuart Turlington and Emma Fowler Turlington. Carl had attended schools at Coats, Oak Ridge Academy and Campbell College. The service for the farmer was held at the Coats Baptist Church by Rev. Ralph Byrd and Rev. Howard Beard. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Rebecca Mabry Turlington; two sons-Edward and Frank Turlington. Mrs. Louise (Cecil) Smith was a stepdaughter. Mrs. Dora Turlington was his stepmother. His siblings were Harold Turlington and Mrs. Thelma Wilson. Eastwood Turlington was a half-brother (Daily Record May 6, 1968). Who knows his connection with the original Willis Turlington who bought the Dushee Shaw property now known as Turlington Crossroads?
While riding through the countryside in Harnett County, one can see horses in fenced pastures. When did farmers stop using mules on the farm? I do know that R.C. Miller, a local horse and mule dealer, reported that supply and demand had caught up on the mule business. He stated that they were selling anywhere between $100 and $125 for a good animal (Daily Record May 10, 1968).
The Good Will HD Club met at their community building on Route 2, Angier. Mrs. J. Sherrill Stephenson and Mrs. Carson Gregory hosted the meeting that had a lesson on “Teaching Children Responsibility” taught by Mrs. Rupert Parrish. Mrs. E.L. Parrish and Mrs. Thelma Mason were to host the next meeting (Daily Record May 10, 1968). Was that a mother daughter team?
Private John A. Ennis, Jr., 20, completed an automatic weapons crewman course on April 26, at the Army Air Defense Training Center, Ft. Bliss, Texas (Daily Record May 10, 1968).
Ten pretty girls were to compete for the title of the Coats “Miss Junior Order”. J.D. Norris had announced that the state event would be in Winston Salem in August (Daily Record May 14, 1968).
James F. Penny, Jr. called for an official runoff in the race for N.C. House (Daily Record May 14, 1968).
Campbell College was the setting for the athletic banquet presided over by James Cole, Campbell Soccer team coach. The recipient of the Herbert Taylor award was Tom Evans for being the best all around baseball team member. Evans was a northerner, turned southerner, when he married a Coats girl and moved to Coats (Daily Record May 20, 1968). Who was Tom Evans of Coats?
Lamuel Byrd succumbed at the Adams and Kinton Nursing Home. Mrs. Liffie Williams of Coats was one of his nine children (Daily Record May 24, 1968).
Kenneth Earl Stewart, class president, and Jennifer Earle Flowers, student body president, were to be the commencement speakers according to J.C. Hawley, principal of Coats High School. Around 54 students were expected to graduate. Class valedictorian, Jennifer Ellen Ferrell, and salutatorian, Alfred Gregory Beard, were scheduled to also speak at the commencements exercises (Daily Record May 24, 1968).
Precinct officials were named for Harnett County. Grove I had Everett Barnes as chairman and Mrs. Mack Reid Hudson as vice chairman. Grove II found H.A. Turlington, Sr. as chairman and Mrs. Pearl Hasty as vice chairman (Daily Record May 28, 1968).
A large group of area students were to receive degrees at universities. The following young graduates received degrees from UNC Chapel Hill: Robert Harold Dixon, Doctor of Dental Surgery; Charles W. Langdon, Doctor of Dental Surgery and John Edgar Malone, Pharmacy. Sandra Wolf had received her BA from the University of NC at Greensboro (Daily Record May 30, 1968).
Carson Gregory, a former dairy farmer, predicted that the time would come and “would not be far off” when we will be using stuff like “Coffemate”. He had gone out of business last year because he could not find laborers who would work seven days a week that was required of dairy farming. Wonder if Mr. Gregory lived long enough to see milk made from soybeans and almonds.
The polling places for Grove I and Grove II were listed in the June 3 edition of the Daily Record. Voters went to Stewart’s Garage where Mrs. Lula Beasley was registrar and Rupert Parrish and Flonnie Wood were judges for Grove 1 and in Grove II, Mrs. Mary Hough was registrar and J.R. Honeycutt and J.H. Parker were judges at the Coats Municipal Building.
The descendants of the late Calvin Ogburn of Johnston County held their 35th Annual Ogburn Reunion. Officers were P.K. Honeycutt, Lee Ogburn and Mrs. Juanita Ogburn Hudson. Elsewhere, a Coats beauty was selected into the Women’s Air Force (WAF). Miss Rebecca Ann Stephenson, a 1967 Coats graduate, had to pass mental and physical testing, pictures and interviews. Miss Stephenson had been very active in FHA, FTA and Glee Club at Coats High School. Rebecca was the 1967 Miss Junior Order of Coats (Daily Record June 3, 1968).
Who remembers when there was no air conditioning, power seats and windows in a car you drove? I wrote many years ago that the Packard automobile had air conditioning in 1938, but it was not until 1968 that it became a household item in some rural areas in our state. In 1963, electric cooperatives and their staff, “electrification advisors”, were helping members to update the indoor wiring to choose electric refrigerators, freezers chest, tobacco barn ventilation systems, electric space heating and water heating systems. When air conditioners moved into many households, they replaced the electric fans, open windows or big shade trees .It was not until the late 60’s that air conditioning was affordable in rural areas. As early as 1952, 8 percent was added to construction cost for installing air conditioning in a new house. It is understandable why trips were made, prior to those dates, to air conditioned theaters and department stores where cooling systems were used.
When I was writing “There and Back on a Paper Canoe” for The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina, I was given an article written by Perry Corner. It was in an unnamed and undated pamphlet. The title of the story was “Sundays in August” and I bet some of you can identify with his story about the 1950’s.
Corner recalled that Sunday in the South meant that all the family folks got themselves scrubbed, shaved, shined and scented and then put on their “Sunday clothes”. It was important to look your best because everyone would be looking at you. Once you arrived at church, sitting on a hard wooden pew with sweat trickling down from your underarms and onto your once nice clothes, the thing you looked for the most was a breeze coming through an open window.
Most times before anyone went anywhere, the regular farm chores had to be done-unpleasant jobs such as milking the cow, feeding the chickens and other farm animals. Some houses still had a “pot” that had to be emptied, washed, and sunned because there was no indoor plumbing for a bathroom.
If the preacher was coming for Sunday dinner, more food would have to be on the table. Somebody had to go out and catch the chickens, then ring their necks and pluck the feathers. The smell of fried chicken and banana pudding in the kitchen were pleasant smells. There were other smells -black shoe polish, Avon perfume, Old Spice, and Juicy Fruit chewing gum- as the family headed for church in an old Ford or Chevrolet which had no air conditioning.
In the 50’s and 60’s many country roads were unpaved which meant the dust could be thick as it made its way onto the scrubbed, red, and raw flesh and starched clothes. In the 50’s and 60’s women were dressed in floral or pastel dresses ,carried matching pocketbooks with shoes dyed to match and nylon hose with a seam up the back. There were even times when the hat was askew and hair rearranged due to the wind from the open car windows. The men had to endure the sweat running down their backs and patches of wetness under their arms.
Many rural churches had windows that opened and had no screens to keep flying creatures from attending the church services. Most of the pews had handheld fans that advertised tobacco warehouses or funeral homes on the back with an address or telephone number that was likely only four numbers. The front was often a snowcapped mountain peak or maybe a picture of shocked corn standing in a field surrounded by pumpkins under a Carolina blue sky. On many of the fans, one would discover which teenager loved which other teenager scribbled in pencil on the back of the fan. Any readers remember those days?
Find your 2018 calendar and mark Saturday, February 10 from 1-4 PM to be at the Coats Museum. The museum board and volunteers invite you to see our new exhibits. One of them, “The Art of War,” showcases war art painted by Diane Allen, Myrtle Bridges and Sandra Denning and artifacts from our earliest wars. Meet the ladies at the event. Andy Cole has his 1846 2/3 cannon and his war camp followers items on display. Two mourning dresses are on display. Come see an authentic hatchel or hatching tool used to make flax fibers.
Our book -Defenders of the Red, White and Blue- containing 400 pages of military pictures and records and more of the veterans from the Coats, Grove and Coats connected will be for sale at $20.00. A limited number of books have been printed.
Charles Malone, a Vietnam veteran, and Dr. Mike Potts have been invited to be on hand for their book signings. Desi Campbell will be in the Coats Community Building for a genealogy event. He would probably sell you some of his published books on black families connected to Coats.
Shall we continue our journey into yesteryear as we revisit the occurrences of 1968 in Coats, the Grove Township and surrounding areas? Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Byrd of Coats had announced the engagement of their daughter, Teresa Dale Byrd, to Donald Ray Stewart, son of Eugene and Mary Stewart (Daily Record May 2, 1968). Does that mean that Teresa and Don will celebrate their 50th anniversary this May?
This I do know. The voters in Grove I and Grove II had voted favorably for Scott, Broughton and Gardner for NC Governor ((Daily Record May 6, 1968).
Carl Turlington, 60, of Route 3 Dunn, had died at his home. He was the son of the late Stuart Turlington and Emma Fowler Turlington. Carl had attended schools at Coats, Oak Ridge Academy and Campbell College. The service for the farmer was held at the Coats Baptist Church by Rev. Ralph Byrd and Rev. Howard Beard. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Rebecca Mabry Turlington; two sons-Edward and Frank Turlington. Mrs. Louise (Cecil) Smith was a stepdaughter. Mrs. Dora Turlington was his stepmother. His siblings were Harold Turlington and Mrs. Thelma Wilson. Eastwood Turlington was a half-brother (Daily Record May 6, 1968). Who knows his connection with the original Willis Turlington who bought the Dushee Shaw property now known as Turlington Crossroads?
While riding through the countryside in Harnett County, one can see horses in fenced pastures. When did farmers stop using mules on the farm? I do know that R.C. Miller, a local horse and mule dealer, reported that supply and demand had caught up on the mule business. He stated that they were selling anywhere between $100 and $125 for a good animal (Daily Record May 10, 1968).
The Good Will HD Club met at their community building on Route 2, Angier. Mrs. J. Sherrill Stephenson and Mrs. Carson Gregory hosted the meeting that had a lesson on “Teaching Children Responsibility” taught by Mrs. Rupert Parrish. Mrs. E.L. Parrish and Mrs. Thelma Mason were to host the next meeting (Daily Record May 10, 1968). Was that a mother daughter team?
Private John A. Ennis, Jr., 20, completed an automatic weapons crewman course on April 26, at the Army Air Defense Training Center, Ft. Bliss, Texas (Daily Record May 10, 1968).
Ten pretty girls were to compete for the title of the Coats “Miss Junior Order”. J.D. Norris had announced that the state event would be in Winston Salem in August (Daily Record May 14, 1968).
James F. Penny, Jr. called for an official runoff in the race for N.C. House (Daily Record May 14, 1968).
Campbell College was the setting for the athletic banquet presided over by James Cole, Campbell Soccer team coach. The recipient of the Herbert Taylor award was Tom Evans for being the best all around baseball team member. Evans was a northerner, turned southerner, when he married a Coats girl and moved to Coats (Daily Record May 20, 1968). Who was Tom Evans of Coats?
Lamuel Byrd succumbed at the Adams and Kinton Nursing Home. Mrs. Liffie Williams of Coats was one of his nine children (Daily Record May 24, 1968).
Kenneth Earl Stewart, class president, and Jennifer Earle Flowers, student body president, were to be the commencement speakers according to J.C. Hawley, principal of Coats High School. Around 54 students were expected to graduate. Class valedictorian, Jennifer Ellen Ferrell, and salutatorian, Alfred Gregory Beard, were scheduled to also speak at the commencements exercises (Daily Record May 24, 1968).
Precinct officials were named for Harnett County. Grove I had Everett Barnes as chairman and Mrs. Mack Reid Hudson as vice chairman. Grove II found H.A. Turlington, Sr. as chairman and Mrs. Pearl Hasty as vice chairman (Daily Record May 28, 1968).
A large group of area students were to receive degrees at universities. The following young graduates received degrees from UNC Chapel Hill: Robert Harold Dixon, Doctor of Dental Surgery; Charles W. Langdon, Doctor of Dental Surgery and John Edgar Malone, Pharmacy. Sandra Wolf had received her BA from the University of NC at Greensboro (Daily Record May 30, 1968).
Carson Gregory, a former dairy farmer, predicted that the time would come and “would not be far off” when we will be using stuff like “Coffemate”. He had gone out of business last year because he could not find laborers who would work seven days a week that was required of dairy farming. Wonder if Mr. Gregory lived long enough to see milk made from soybeans and almonds.
The polling places for Grove I and Grove II were listed in the June 3 edition of the Daily Record. Voters went to Stewart’s Garage where Mrs. Lula Beasley was registrar and Rupert Parrish and Flonnie Wood were judges for Grove 1 and in Grove II, Mrs. Mary Hough was registrar and J.R. Honeycutt and J.H. Parker were judges at the Coats Municipal Building.
The descendants of the late Calvin Ogburn of Johnston County held their 35th Annual Ogburn Reunion. Officers were P.K. Honeycutt, Lee Ogburn and Mrs. Juanita Ogburn Hudson. Elsewhere, a Coats beauty was selected into the Women’s Air Force (WAF). Miss Rebecca Ann Stephenson, a 1967 Coats graduate, had to pass mental and physical testing, pictures and interviews. Miss Stephenson had been very active in FHA, FTA and Glee Club at Coats High School. Rebecca was the 1967 Miss Junior Order of Coats (Daily Record June 3, 1968).
Who remembers when there was no air conditioning, power seats and windows in a car you drove? I wrote many years ago that the Packard automobile had air conditioning in 1938, but it was not until 1968 that it became a household item in some rural areas in our state. In 1963, electric cooperatives and their staff, “electrification advisors”, were helping members to update the indoor wiring to choose electric refrigerators, freezers chest, tobacco barn ventilation systems, electric space heating and water heating systems. When air conditioners moved into many households, they replaced the electric fans, open windows or big shade trees .It was not until the late 60’s that air conditioning was affordable in rural areas. As early as 1952, 8 percent was added to construction cost for installing air conditioning in a new house. It is understandable why trips were made, prior to those dates, to air conditioned theaters and department stores where cooling systems were used.
When I was writing “There and Back on a Paper Canoe” for The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina, I was given an article written by Perry Corner. It was in an unnamed and undated pamphlet. The title of the story was “Sundays in August” and I bet some of you can identify with his story about the 1950’s.
Corner recalled that Sunday in the South meant that all the family folks got themselves scrubbed, shaved, shined and scented and then put on their “Sunday clothes”. It was important to look your best because everyone would be looking at you. Once you arrived at church, sitting on a hard wooden pew with sweat trickling down from your underarms and onto your once nice clothes, the thing you looked for the most was a breeze coming through an open window.
Most times before anyone went anywhere, the regular farm chores had to be done-unpleasant jobs such as milking the cow, feeding the chickens and other farm animals. Some houses still had a “pot” that had to be emptied, washed, and sunned because there was no indoor plumbing for a bathroom.
If the preacher was coming for Sunday dinner, more food would have to be on the table. Somebody had to go out and catch the chickens, then ring their necks and pluck the feathers. The smell of fried chicken and banana pudding in the kitchen were pleasant smells. There were other smells -black shoe polish, Avon perfume, Old Spice, and Juicy Fruit chewing gum- as the family headed for church in an old Ford or Chevrolet which had no air conditioning.
In the 50’s and 60’s many country roads were unpaved which meant the dust could be thick as it made its way onto the scrubbed, red, and raw flesh and starched clothes. In the 50’s and 60’s women were dressed in floral or pastel dresses ,carried matching pocketbooks with shoes dyed to match and nylon hose with a seam up the back. There were even times when the hat was askew and hair rearranged due to the wind from the open car windows. The men had to endure the sweat running down their backs and patches of wetness under their arms.
Many rural churches had windows that opened and had no screens to keep flying creatures from attending the church services. Most of the pews had handheld fans that advertised tobacco warehouses or funeral homes on the back with an address or telephone number that was likely only four numbers. The front was often a snowcapped mountain peak or maybe a picture of shocked corn standing in a field surrounded by pumpkins under a Carolina blue sky. On many of the fans, one would discover which teenager loved which other teenager scribbled in pencil on the back of the fan. Any readers remember those days?
Find your 2018 calendar and mark Saturday, February 10 from 1-4 PM to be at the Coats Museum. The museum board and volunteers invite you to see our new exhibits. One of them, “The Art of War,” showcases war art painted by Diane Allen, Myrtle Bridges and Sandra Denning and artifacts from our earliest wars. Meet the ladies at the event. Andy Cole has his 1846 2/3 cannon and his war camp followers items on display. Two mourning dresses are on display. Come see an authentic hatchel or hatching tool used to make flax fibers.
Our book -Defenders of the Red, White and Blue- containing 400 pages of military pictures and records and more of the veterans from the Coats, Grove and Coats connected will be for sale at $20.00. A limited number of books have been printed.
Charles Malone, a Vietnam veteran, and Dr. Mike Potts have been invited to be on hand for their book signings. Desi Campbell will be in the Coats Community Building for a genealogy event. He would probably sell you some of his published books on black families connected to Coats.