February 9, 2018 Coats Museum News
It was June of 1968 and the nation was horrified to hear that Senator Robert F. Kennedy was critically injured in an assassination attempt and was praying for his recovery. In Coats, news had come that death had come to the home of Melvin Stewart Denning, 63, in Richmond, VA. He was formerly of Coats and was the son of James K. and Flora Stewart Denning. Mrs. Willie Allen was one of his siblings (Daily Record June 5, 1968).Was he also kin to Ralph Denning, Peggie D. Pope and Carolyn D. Barnes?
I do know that Coats did not have a complete city-wide sewer system in 1968. The June 13, 1968 edition of the Daily Record reported that the Coats Town Council was working “Toward a complete city-wide sewer system for the first time in the town’s history.”
What kind of system did they have? Were there outhouses or private septic tanks at each house? How did the family dispose of dish and wash water? Explain to me how that would have worked in relation to sanitation. Was there a water system in Coats in 1968 or were many drinking wastewater from wells in their yards.
We have enlarged pictures on the back wall of our exhibit hall and one shows the garage and outhouse on the Bent Harmon farm. On the door of the outhouse is a cutout of a crescent moon. Some outhouses had a star. Why would families use different cutouts on the toilet doors and why use cutouts at all?
Harnett County was no longer allowed to have dual school systems for Negroes and whites. Harnett County was ordered to end that dual system before the 1969 term since Harnett County Freedom of Choice’s plan had not produced enough integration to satisfy the federal government (Daily Record June14, 1968).
The marriage of Miss Phyllis Diane Woodall and Jerry A. Benson was solemnized at Pleasant Hill Church neat Benson by Rev. Carl Dixon of Zebulon. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Woodall and Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Benson were parents of the groom. Randall Jackson and Charles Hardee were ushers (Daily Record June 17, 1968).
June was also the date for the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. James D. Jones. The bride was the former Brenda Sorrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Sorrell of Dunn, Route 3. Both were Campbell graduates. Elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis A. Betts of Coats announced the birth of a daughter on June 15 in Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Laura Thomas (Daily Record June 18, 1968).
Students, friends and families had to have been excited that the wedding had arrived for Sondra Lynn Ennis and Michael Smith, formerly of Elizabethtown. The candlelight service was held in the Coats Baptist Church. Sondra’s sister, Gale Ennis, attended her sister. Mrs. Beverly (Cecil) Stephenson, Miss Deborah Ennis, Mrs. Sue Benner and Miss Cathy Penny were honor attendants also. Michael, the son of Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Smith, was a graduate of Campbell and was doing graduate work at East Carolina University. Sondra was a graduate of Campbell and was to be associated with the Harnett County School System. Mr. Smith was a coach and Social Studies teacher in Junior High School at Coats (Daily Record June 20, 1968).
Another Coats graduate had married during June. Marcia Dorman had married Sgt. Jeffrey Russ Foster at the Antioch Baptist Church. Marcia had graduated from Coats High School, attended the NC Governor’s School in 1964 and had attended NC State for two years prior to working at the US Air Force at Pope Air Force Base. Her husband was from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was stationed at Pope Air Force Base. Carol Franklin and Shelia Matthews were part of the wedding party (Daily Record June 21, 1968).
The surname Beasley has been popular in the Coats area for generations. The death of William Edgar Beasley, 63, of Coats had died on Thursday at Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital after a week of illness. He was a retired a farmer and textile worker. He was the son of the late Ransom and Susan Hall Beasley. His services were at the Coats Baptist Church by Rev. Howard Beard with burial in the Hargrove Cemetery on Angier Route 2. He was survived by his sons- Weldon, Delton, George, Earl, Edward and James of the US Air Force in Vietnam. Mrs. Catherine Ray and Mrs. Mary Lee were his two daughters (Daily Record June 28, 1968).
Sgt. George W. “Billy” Ennis, 24, member of a well-known family with Coats roots had been wounded in Vietnam. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Ennis (Daily Record July 14, 1968).
Death had found its way to the area again. Elder Shepard Stephenson and Elder Durle McGee officiated at the funeral services of Mrs. Rena Mitchell, 84, of Route 1, Coats who had died on Monday. The Wednesday services were at the Gift Primitive Church and the Coats City Cemetery. Her two children were Dalmer Mitchell and Mrs. Laptie Weaver (Daily Record July 11, 1968).
Al Woodall, son of Dr. and Leah Woodall of Erwin, was a rising senior at Duke and was elected captain of the Duke’s 1968 football squad. His mom taught at Coats as teacher of the gifted and talented (Daily Record July 11. 1968).
Dana Patterson and Dr. Harold Dixon were married in the Community Methodist Church in Butner. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Vance Patterson of Butner. Dr. Dixon was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Dixon of Durham. Betty Ellen Dixon was a bridesmaid. Kenneth Ennis and Dunbar Stewart were ushers. The bride was a graduate of the Dental Assistant Training Program of the School of Dentistry at UNC Chapel Hill. The bridegroom was a graduate of Wake Forest and the UNC School of Dentistry. He was a member of Xi Psi Phi Dental Fraternity (Daily Record July 11, 1968).
Judge Butler ruled out the present school system in Harnett County. The court ordered Harnett County to submit a school integration plan by August 5th.
Wonder if Sharon Gail Butler was kin to the judge. I do know that she and Roy Wood Denning of Benson were married in the Grove Presbyterian Church. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Butler and Roy Wood was son of Roy and Iris Denning of Benson (Daily Record July 26, 1968).
Death had again come to the Coats area and took the life of Mrs. Florence Wiggins Byrd, 61, of Coats who had died on an early Saturday morning in UNC Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. Her services were at the Coats Methodist Church. She was survived by her husband, Alton Byrd and three sons-J.D., Wade, and Jackie. Mrs. Shirley Byrd Womble was her only daughter. Harvey and Lee Wiggins were brothers and Mrs. Lunie Bowden and Mrs. Daisy Stevens were sisters (Daily Record July 30, 1968).
Thank you goes to Dana Coats Byrd for her memorial donation to the Coats Museum in honor of Larry Jones. Dana is a Coats High graduate and descendant of the town’s founder, James Thomas Coats.
Surely hope you have marked your calendar to join the Coats Museum Board of Directors and volunteers tomorrow (Feb.10) for the “Defenders of the Red, White and Blue Open House.” The event begins at 1:00 pm where the visitor can see a new exhibit containing some reenactment uniforms and clothes from the Revolution to the Civil War. A reproduction mourning dress from the Victorian era and the authentic mourning dress of Mrs. Tom Coats will be in our glass tunnel along with a war camp followers section. Andy Cole’s 1846 2/3 cannon will be in the museum. We are also excited to have the paintings of Diane Allen, Myrtle Bridges and Sandra Denning in the tunnel and hope you will make a point to speak to the talented local artists.
We also invite you to purchase a copy of The Defenders of the Red, White and Blue, a 400 page book containing military pictures, records, stories and more of our defenders for $20.00. When our limited available copies are sold out, you can prepay for a copy that will be mailed to at no cost. The book can also be purchased through amazon.com. Vietnam veteran Charles Malone and Dr. Michael Potts have been invited to sign their books. Desi Campbell will be in the community building with a Genealogy Festival. Hope to see you at the Heritage Square between 1-4PM.
Many folks will remember Marvin and Lib Johnson who were active in most of the town events. Marvin’s son, Larry Wilson Johnson, graduated from Coats High in 1956. His wife is planning a big 80th birthday party for him in Front Royal, VA. Sondra reached out to the Coats Museum for pictures of Larry from his high school days where he was very involved in all the clubs and sports. We were delighted to scan lots of pictures from the Echoing Memories of all his high school days. She responded with a nice donation to the museum. Larry plans to attend the Open House wearing his Liberty Manman uniform that he uses as he travels the country sharing the story of his ancestor Abel Johnson. Larry’s classmate, Barbara Whittington Denning, was remembered with a memorial donation sent to the museum by Virginia Norris Holden of the Class of 1956. This class of 1956 is a remarkable supporter of the museum and the museum volunteers sincerely thank those who make it happen.
Stacy and Patsy Avery donated a memorial for Jerry Williams who is a cousin of Stacy’s. Jerry was a classmate of mine and one could not ask for a nicer friend than Jerry. Thank you, Patsy and Stacy, for caring and sharing, too.
When we opened our new addition in 2013, Mike and Claudia Tocci from Sparks, NV came into our lives. Mike’s grandmother had lived on Ebenezer Church Road near Coats. Mike’s mother was an army nurse during WWII and met Mike’s dad who was in the Army Air Corps. The couple married in Italy where Mike’s dad had Italian seamstresses make her wedding and night gown from parachute material. Our visitors are always so impressed with the handiwork on the gowns. We always enjoy annual visits from Mike and Claudia and really appreciate their donations to help operate the museum.
It was June of 1968 and the nation was horrified to hear that Senator Robert F. Kennedy was critically injured in an assassination attempt and was praying for his recovery. In Coats, news had come that death had come to the home of Melvin Stewart Denning, 63, in Richmond, VA. He was formerly of Coats and was the son of James K. and Flora Stewart Denning. Mrs. Willie Allen was one of his siblings (Daily Record June 5, 1968).Was he also kin to Ralph Denning, Peggie D. Pope and Carolyn D. Barnes?
I do know that Coats did not have a complete city-wide sewer system in 1968. The June 13, 1968 edition of the Daily Record reported that the Coats Town Council was working “Toward a complete city-wide sewer system for the first time in the town’s history.”
What kind of system did they have? Were there outhouses or private septic tanks at each house? How did the family dispose of dish and wash water? Explain to me how that would have worked in relation to sanitation. Was there a water system in Coats in 1968 or were many drinking wastewater from wells in their yards.
We have enlarged pictures on the back wall of our exhibit hall and one shows the garage and outhouse on the Bent Harmon farm. On the door of the outhouse is a cutout of a crescent moon. Some outhouses had a star. Why would families use different cutouts on the toilet doors and why use cutouts at all?
Harnett County was no longer allowed to have dual school systems for Negroes and whites. Harnett County was ordered to end that dual system before the 1969 term since Harnett County Freedom of Choice’s plan had not produced enough integration to satisfy the federal government (Daily Record June14, 1968).
The marriage of Miss Phyllis Diane Woodall and Jerry A. Benson was solemnized at Pleasant Hill Church neat Benson by Rev. Carl Dixon of Zebulon. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Woodall and Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Benson were parents of the groom. Randall Jackson and Charles Hardee were ushers (Daily Record June 17, 1968).
June was also the date for the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. James D. Jones. The bride was the former Brenda Sorrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Sorrell of Dunn, Route 3. Both were Campbell graduates. Elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis A. Betts of Coats announced the birth of a daughter on June 15 in Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Laura Thomas (Daily Record June 18, 1968).
Students, friends and families had to have been excited that the wedding had arrived for Sondra Lynn Ennis and Michael Smith, formerly of Elizabethtown. The candlelight service was held in the Coats Baptist Church. Sondra’s sister, Gale Ennis, attended her sister. Mrs. Beverly (Cecil) Stephenson, Miss Deborah Ennis, Mrs. Sue Benner and Miss Cathy Penny were honor attendants also. Michael, the son of Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Smith, was a graduate of Campbell and was doing graduate work at East Carolina University. Sondra was a graduate of Campbell and was to be associated with the Harnett County School System. Mr. Smith was a coach and Social Studies teacher in Junior High School at Coats (Daily Record June 20, 1968).
Another Coats graduate had married during June. Marcia Dorman had married Sgt. Jeffrey Russ Foster at the Antioch Baptist Church. Marcia had graduated from Coats High School, attended the NC Governor’s School in 1964 and had attended NC State for two years prior to working at the US Air Force at Pope Air Force Base. Her husband was from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was stationed at Pope Air Force Base. Carol Franklin and Shelia Matthews were part of the wedding party (Daily Record June 21, 1968).
The surname Beasley has been popular in the Coats area for generations. The death of William Edgar Beasley, 63, of Coats had died on Thursday at Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital after a week of illness. He was a retired a farmer and textile worker. He was the son of the late Ransom and Susan Hall Beasley. His services were at the Coats Baptist Church by Rev. Howard Beard with burial in the Hargrove Cemetery on Angier Route 2. He was survived by his sons- Weldon, Delton, George, Earl, Edward and James of the US Air Force in Vietnam. Mrs. Catherine Ray and Mrs. Mary Lee were his two daughters (Daily Record June 28, 1968).
Sgt. George W. “Billy” Ennis, 24, member of a well-known family with Coats roots had been wounded in Vietnam. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Ennis (Daily Record July 14, 1968).
Death had found its way to the area again. Elder Shepard Stephenson and Elder Durle McGee officiated at the funeral services of Mrs. Rena Mitchell, 84, of Route 1, Coats who had died on Monday. The Wednesday services were at the Gift Primitive Church and the Coats City Cemetery. Her two children were Dalmer Mitchell and Mrs. Laptie Weaver (Daily Record July 11, 1968).
Al Woodall, son of Dr. and Leah Woodall of Erwin, was a rising senior at Duke and was elected captain of the Duke’s 1968 football squad. His mom taught at Coats as teacher of the gifted and talented (Daily Record July 11. 1968).
Dana Patterson and Dr. Harold Dixon were married in the Community Methodist Church in Butner. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Vance Patterson of Butner. Dr. Dixon was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Dixon of Durham. Betty Ellen Dixon was a bridesmaid. Kenneth Ennis and Dunbar Stewart were ushers. The bride was a graduate of the Dental Assistant Training Program of the School of Dentistry at UNC Chapel Hill. The bridegroom was a graduate of Wake Forest and the UNC School of Dentistry. He was a member of Xi Psi Phi Dental Fraternity (Daily Record July 11, 1968).
Judge Butler ruled out the present school system in Harnett County. The court ordered Harnett County to submit a school integration plan by August 5th.
Wonder if Sharon Gail Butler was kin to the judge. I do know that she and Roy Wood Denning of Benson were married in the Grove Presbyterian Church. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Butler and Roy Wood was son of Roy and Iris Denning of Benson (Daily Record July 26, 1968).
Death had again come to the Coats area and took the life of Mrs. Florence Wiggins Byrd, 61, of Coats who had died on an early Saturday morning in UNC Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. Her services were at the Coats Methodist Church. She was survived by her husband, Alton Byrd and three sons-J.D., Wade, and Jackie. Mrs. Shirley Byrd Womble was her only daughter. Harvey and Lee Wiggins were brothers and Mrs. Lunie Bowden and Mrs. Daisy Stevens were sisters (Daily Record July 30, 1968).
Thank you goes to Dana Coats Byrd for her memorial donation to the Coats Museum in honor of Larry Jones. Dana is a Coats High graduate and descendant of the town’s founder, James Thomas Coats.
Surely hope you have marked your calendar to join the Coats Museum Board of Directors and volunteers tomorrow (Feb.10) for the “Defenders of the Red, White and Blue Open House.” The event begins at 1:00 pm where the visitor can see a new exhibit containing some reenactment uniforms and clothes from the Revolution to the Civil War. A reproduction mourning dress from the Victorian era and the authentic mourning dress of Mrs. Tom Coats will be in our glass tunnel along with a war camp followers section. Andy Cole’s 1846 2/3 cannon will be in the museum. We are also excited to have the paintings of Diane Allen, Myrtle Bridges and Sandra Denning in the tunnel and hope you will make a point to speak to the talented local artists.
We also invite you to purchase a copy of The Defenders of the Red, White and Blue, a 400 page book containing military pictures, records, stories and more of our defenders for $20.00. When our limited available copies are sold out, you can prepay for a copy that will be mailed to at no cost. The book can also be purchased through amazon.com. Vietnam veteran Charles Malone and Dr. Michael Potts have been invited to sign their books. Desi Campbell will be in the community building with a Genealogy Festival. Hope to see you at the Heritage Square between 1-4PM.
Many folks will remember Marvin and Lib Johnson who were active in most of the town events. Marvin’s son, Larry Wilson Johnson, graduated from Coats High in 1956. His wife is planning a big 80th birthday party for him in Front Royal, VA. Sondra reached out to the Coats Museum for pictures of Larry from his high school days where he was very involved in all the clubs and sports. We were delighted to scan lots of pictures from the Echoing Memories of all his high school days. She responded with a nice donation to the museum. Larry plans to attend the Open House wearing his Liberty Manman uniform that he uses as he travels the country sharing the story of his ancestor Abel Johnson. Larry’s classmate, Barbara Whittington Denning, was remembered with a memorial donation sent to the museum by Virginia Norris Holden of the Class of 1956. This class of 1956 is a remarkable supporter of the museum and the museum volunteers sincerely thank those who make it happen.
Stacy and Patsy Avery donated a memorial for Jerry Williams who is a cousin of Stacy’s. Jerry was a classmate of mine and one could not ask for a nicer friend than Jerry. Thank you, Patsy and Stacy, for caring and sharing, too.
When we opened our new addition in 2013, Mike and Claudia Tocci from Sparks, NV came into our lives. Mike’s grandmother had lived on Ebenezer Church Road near Coats. Mike’s mother was an army nurse during WWII and met Mike’s dad who was in the Army Air Corps. The couple married in Italy where Mike’s dad had Italian seamstresses make her wedding and night gown from parachute material. Our visitors are always so impressed with the handiwork on the gowns. We always enjoy annual visits from Mike and Claudia and really appreciate their donations to help operate the museum.