February 27, 2015
Coats Museum News
Christmas of 1952 was history in Coats but memories of the many visits and activities of that day surely lingered on into January. Halford Godwin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cleve Godwin, had spent some time with his parents in Coats. Mrs. T.J. Turlington, Sr., T.J. Jr. and Jo Ann Ennis had visited Delaney Turlington Ingraham in Parkton during Christmas. T.J., Jr. was home from the Army at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Barbee of Winston Salem had spent time with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. O.C. Gregory, Sr. had had as their guest, their son, O.C. Gregory, Jr. The young Gregory also was stationed at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Stacy Byrd who was stationed with the Air Force in Texas was also home to see his parents, the Maylon Byrds. Bobby Williams was also home from Randolph Fields in Texas to see his family, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Williams of Coats.
Bobby Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Stewart, was home from Minnesota where he was in the Air Force. Bobby later reported to South Dakota to return to his division. Luther Barefoot had lost a sister, Miss Flonnie Barefoot, who had resided in Benson.
Coats appeared to be swarming with men in uniform. Another young soldier, Gene Sauls, had visited his mother, Mrs. Waylon Sauls. Gene was with the Army in Texas. Darwin Whittington, son of Mr. and Mrs. Millard Whittington, was home for the holidays from Oklahoma where he was stationed with the Army. Waeford Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Council Williams, was stationed at MAMP Camp, New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Neal Barnes were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Barnes and Mr. and Mrs. James Willis during the Christmas season.
Miss Bryan continued in her news that Mrs. Algie Avery was recuperating after surgery and was doing fine. Hayes Beasley was home visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.O. Beasley. Hayes was with the Navy in Norfolk.
Sue Langdon wrote the Coats School News for the Daily Record in 1952. Sue reported that the senior class would present a 3-act comedy entitled “Comin’ Round the Mountain”. Students who played the roles on the stage of the auditorium were Maw-Jean Hawley; Paw-D.C. Ryals; Curley-Marvin McLean; Corney Bill-Melvia Williams; Dizzy May-Laura Grace Ennis; Zizzie-Jimmy Vaughn; Effie Lou-Becky Upchurch; Sammy Fester-Dennis Pope; Robert Bruce- Frederick Byrd; Edward Small- Maynard Moran; Carol Hughes-Fannie Sue Langdon; Doris Dean-Lela Ruth Cobb; Director-Edith Allen. To watch this play, adults had to divvy up 40 cents and children paid 25 cents.
Sue Langdon also reported that the boys basketball team from Coats defeated the Boone Trail team on January 1st. Several team members were hurt and some had foul trouble. Mack Ray Turlington, Rudolph Miller (17 points) and Hoover Johnson had played outstanding basketball. The Coats girls had lost to Boone Trail by a score of 26-49. Sue Turlington was best defensive player and Dorothy Stewart led the offensive with 14points.
The Coats Students Council officers and representatives had received council pens on January 1, 1952. The pens were gold colored and had the inscription CHS and Student Council with a guard connected to pen; 52 was on the guard (Daily Record Jan. 4, 1952). Does someone have one of those pens in a jewelry box somewhere?
This I do know. Mrs. Jennie Eason of Roanoke Rapids had announced the marriage of her daughter, Miss Mary Eason, to Sgt. Willie Eugene Moore, son of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Moore of Coats. The marriage had taken place in Erwin on December 24, 1951 (Daily Record Jan. 7, 1952).
The town of Dunn had added two Negro policemen to their police department. In Lillington, the HCBOC had approved a health center. The center was originally hoped to be 4,000 square meet but was built at 1800 square feet at the cost of $1.00 a square foot. The HCBOC also had received notice that it would receive an additional 6.8 miles of road pavement from the N.C. Highway Commission. The board had struggled with the best place to t put the hard surface (Daily Record Jan. 8, 1952).
Dunn was to get one of the finest shopping centers in eastern N.C. (Does anyone know where this nameless shopping center was to be located?) The paper also reported that in basketball the Coats girls ranked 1 for 6 in the conference standing while the Coats boys were 2 for 5 (Daily Record Jan. 10, 1952).
Did the Coats teams have a gymnasium for the teams to practice? Did they have an activity bus to ride to and from the games? What color were the team uniforms in 1952? Did the school have a mascot? You must be thinking “You are always asking questions but seldom answer them.”
I will share a few answers with you but you can talk out the other questions with your friends. First, Coats did not have a gym yet. They continued to go to another school gym or practiced on dirt. Second question about the activity is not known by this writer but I have not found any proof that there was one until later in the 1950’s. The mascot was the yellow jacket and was selected in the 1947-48 school term. You tell me when black and gold were selected as the school colors.
Hoover Adams wrote in “These Little Things” that a rumor was circulating that Attorney Duncan Wilson would oppose Rep. Carson Gregory. The same edition of paper shared that the Goodwill HD Club had met and Mrs. Joe Stewart presided. The program was about “Buying Coats and Suits”. Mrs. Daywood Langdon won the prize box. Mrs. Julian Mabry and Mrs. Jack Gregory of Alexandria, Virginia were guests.
Mrs. Exie Smith worked at Jean’s in Raleigh was home for a few days. Johnnie Malone’s little first grade friends were surely happy to learn that he did not have polio. He was son of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Malone. The Coats Teacherage had two new boarders who were E.B. Taylor and Gilbert Lewis, students at N.C. State College.
Warrant Officer Godfrey Beasley of the Ordinance Department Medical Corps and Mrs. Beasley, who had been stationed in Hawaii for three years, were on their way to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.O. Beasley. Godfrey was to be stationed at Fort Bragg after their visit to Coats. Godfrey’s younger brother Hayes was stationed in Norfolk and he was due to arrive home for a 10-day break from the Naval Air Force (Daily Record Jan. 11, 1952).
Recall that Mr. Adams said that rumors were that Rep. Gregory might have competition for his legislative seat. The newspaper wrote that Mr. Gregory was now promising that if he were reelected that he would fight for aid in getting pay for the deputies in Harnett County. Were they unpaid or was he going to get help in raising their pay?
Ruth Denning reported from the Coats School that three new students had enrolled-Janie Blunt, a sophomore from Linden; Jimmy Stephenson, a freshman from Cleveland, and Jesse Tart from Deep River. The Rollateers had presented a very interesting and entertaining program. The roller skaters stars were a classic among skating attraction (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1952).
A special thank you goes to the Coats Woman’s Club for remembering Rupert Honeycutt with a memorial donation to the Coats Museum. The Tocci families from Nevada and California have visited our museum several times since 2013. Their mother was a Harnett girl from near Lafayette and their grandmother and Aunt Margaret lived on Ebenezer Church Road NE of Coats. We proudly display in our mini parlor their mom’s wedding dress made from a parachute and their father’s WWII uniform along with several other WWII artifacts. Mike and Claudia Tocci, thank you for adding your name to our donor plaque in the Kress and Nell Penny Williams Exhibit Hall. We also appreciate Ron Avery for putting on loan the police cap of Chief Clarence Moore who served Coats for many, many years.
Christmas of 1952 was history in Coats but memories of the many visits and activities of that day surely lingered on into January. Halford Godwin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cleve Godwin, had spent some time with his parents in Coats. Mrs. T.J. Turlington, Sr., T.J. Jr. and Jo Ann Ennis had visited Delaney Turlington Ingraham in Parkton during Christmas. T.J., Jr. was home from the Army at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Barbee of Winston Salem had spent time with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. O.C. Gregory, Sr. had had as their guest, their son, O.C. Gregory, Jr. The young Gregory also was stationed at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Stacy Byrd who was stationed with the Air Force in Texas was also home to see his parents, the Maylon Byrds. Bobby Williams was also home from Randolph Fields in Texas to see his family, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Williams of Coats.
Bobby Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Stewart, was home from Minnesota where he was in the Air Force. Bobby later reported to South Dakota to return to his division. Luther Barefoot had lost a sister, Miss Flonnie Barefoot, who had resided in Benson.
Coats appeared to be swarming with men in uniform. Another young soldier, Gene Sauls, had visited his mother, Mrs. Waylon Sauls. Gene was with the Army in Texas. Darwin Whittington, son of Mr. and Mrs. Millard Whittington, was home for the holidays from Oklahoma where he was stationed with the Army. Waeford Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Council Williams, was stationed at MAMP Camp, New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Neal Barnes were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Barnes and Mr. and Mrs. James Willis during the Christmas season.
Miss Bryan continued in her news that Mrs. Algie Avery was recuperating after surgery and was doing fine. Hayes Beasley was home visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.O. Beasley. Hayes was with the Navy in Norfolk.
Sue Langdon wrote the Coats School News for the Daily Record in 1952. Sue reported that the senior class would present a 3-act comedy entitled “Comin’ Round the Mountain”. Students who played the roles on the stage of the auditorium were Maw-Jean Hawley; Paw-D.C. Ryals; Curley-Marvin McLean; Corney Bill-Melvia Williams; Dizzy May-Laura Grace Ennis; Zizzie-Jimmy Vaughn; Effie Lou-Becky Upchurch; Sammy Fester-Dennis Pope; Robert Bruce- Frederick Byrd; Edward Small- Maynard Moran; Carol Hughes-Fannie Sue Langdon; Doris Dean-Lela Ruth Cobb; Director-Edith Allen. To watch this play, adults had to divvy up 40 cents and children paid 25 cents.
Sue Langdon also reported that the boys basketball team from Coats defeated the Boone Trail team on January 1st. Several team members were hurt and some had foul trouble. Mack Ray Turlington, Rudolph Miller (17 points) and Hoover Johnson had played outstanding basketball. The Coats girls had lost to Boone Trail by a score of 26-49. Sue Turlington was best defensive player and Dorothy Stewart led the offensive with 14points.
The Coats Students Council officers and representatives had received council pens on January 1, 1952. The pens were gold colored and had the inscription CHS and Student Council with a guard connected to pen; 52 was on the guard (Daily Record Jan. 4, 1952). Does someone have one of those pens in a jewelry box somewhere?
This I do know. Mrs. Jennie Eason of Roanoke Rapids had announced the marriage of her daughter, Miss Mary Eason, to Sgt. Willie Eugene Moore, son of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Moore of Coats. The marriage had taken place in Erwin on December 24, 1951 (Daily Record Jan. 7, 1952).
The town of Dunn had added two Negro policemen to their police department. In Lillington, the HCBOC had approved a health center. The center was originally hoped to be 4,000 square meet but was built at 1800 square feet at the cost of $1.00 a square foot. The HCBOC also had received notice that it would receive an additional 6.8 miles of road pavement from the N.C. Highway Commission. The board had struggled with the best place to t put the hard surface (Daily Record Jan. 8, 1952).
Dunn was to get one of the finest shopping centers in eastern N.C. (Does anyone know where this nameless shopping center was to be located?) The paper also reported that in basketball the Coats girls ranked 1 for 6 in the conference standing while the Coats boys were 2 for 5 (Daily Record Jan. 10, 1952).
Did the Coats teams have a gymnasium for the teams to practice? Did they have an activity bus to ride to and from the games? What color were the team uniforms in 1952? Did the school have a mascot? You must be thinking “You are always asking questions but seldom answer them.”
I will share a few answers with you but you can talk out the other questions with your friends. First, Coats did not have a gym yet. They continued to go to another school gym or practiced on dirt. Second question about the activity is not known by this writer but I have not found any proof that there was one until later in the 1950’s. The mascot was the yellow jacket and was selected in the 1947-48 school term. You tell me when black and gold were selected as the school colors.
Hoover Adams wrote in “These Little Things” that a rumor was circulating that Attorney Duncan Wilson would oppose Rep. Carson Gregory. The same edition of paper shared that the Goodwill HD Club had met and Mrs. Joe Stewart presided. The program was about “Buying Coats and Suits”. Mrs. Daywood Langdon won the prize box. Mrs. Julian Mabry and Mrs. Jack Gregory of Alexandria, Virginia were guests.
Mrs. Exie Smith worked at Jean’s in Raleigh was home for a few days. Johnnie Malone’s little first grade friends were surely happy to learn that he did not have polio. He was son of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Malone. The Coats Teacherage had two new boarders who were E.B. Taylor and Gilbert Lewis, students at N.C. State College.
Warrant Officer Godfrey Beasley of the Ordinance Department Medical Corps and Mrs. Beasley, who had been stationed in Hawaii for three years, were on their way to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.O. Beasley. Godfrey was to be stationed at Fort Bragg after their visit to Coats. Godfrey’s younger brother Hayes was stationed in Norfolk and he was due to arrive home for a 10-day break from the Naval Air Force (Daily Record Jan. 11, 1952).
Recall that Mr. Adams said that rumors were that Rep. Gregory might have competition for his legislative seat. The newspaper wrote that Mr. Gregory was now promising that if he were reelected that he would fight for aid in getting pay for the deputies in Harnett County. Were they unpaid or was he going to get help in raising their pay?
Ruth Denning reported from the Coats School that three new students had enrolled-Janie Blunt, a sophomore from Linden; Jimmy Stephenson, a freshman from Cleveland, and Jesse Tart from Deep River. The Rollateers had presented a very interesting and entertaining program. The roller skaters stars were a classic among skating attraction (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1952).
A special thank you goes to the Coats Woman’s Club for remembering Rupert Honeycutt with a memorial donation to the Coats Museum. The Tocci families from Nevada and California have visited our museum several times since 2013. Their mother was a Harnett girl from near Lafayette and their grandmother and Aunt Margaret lived on Ebenezer Church Road NE of Coats. We proudly display in our mini parlor their mom’s wedding dress made from a parachute and their father’s WWII uniform along with several other WWII artifacts. Mike and Claudia Tocci, thank you for adding your name to our donor plaque in the Kress and Nell Penny Williams Exhibit Hall. We also appreciate Ron Avery for putting on loan the police cap of Chief Clarence Moore who served Coats for many, many years.