January 20, 2017 Coats Museum News
The school year was coming to an end but not before a Coats family experienced the pain of death of their loved one-Hubert Glenn Williams, 50, of Coats. He had died on Monday and was survived by his wife, Mrs. Lina Stewart Williams. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Williams and had three of his six siblings living in the Grove area-Gerald, Waylon and Wade Williams.
The members of the Coats High School Class of 1961 were feted with an event hosted by the parents of the class mascots-Ann McLeod and Derl Drennon. Approximately 49 seniors attended the evening of fun in the Coats Community Building where Harry Roberts showed a film of the trip the seniors had taken to Washington, D.C. (Daily Record May 10, 1961).
Despite the festive atmosphere of class parties, many seniors and parents likely had thoughts that the high school days were only a blink of the eye away from conclusion. There would only be memories of the first 11-man football team and the Junior Varsity Basketball Championship when they were freshmen. Others could recall a few lines from their junior play “Our Town.” The Junior-Senior Banquet-“The Roaring 20’s” and the talent show were scrapbook items never to be repeated.
Who were those seniors of 1961? Nora Etta Avery, William Avery, Faye Jeanette Byrd, Ann Tart Barbour, Judith Carol Byrd, George William Campbell, Patricia Rose Collier, Carl Leonard Cobb, Richard Wayne Daniel, Earl Ray Denning. Lela Ellen Dorman. Judith Rose Elliott, Charles Douglas Ennis, Donald Nelson Ennis, Kenneth Wayne Ennis, Rachel Lee Ennis, Barbara Jean Faircloth, Vernon Lee Fish, Conrey Dale Flowers, Larry Donald Gauldin, Norma Jean Godwin, Linda Carol Harmon, Eloise Annette Johnson, Stacy Franklin Johnson, Susan Carol Johnson, Barbara Ann Langdon, Charles Woodrow Langdon, Jerry David Lee, James C. Lee, Janice Rose Lee, E.T. Malone, Jr., Jerry Lynn Moran, Peggy Marie O’Neal, Michael Lee Norris, Jane Carolyn Page, Clifford Owen Regan, Harry Brock Roberts, James Waylon Stancil, Larry Watts Smith, C.M. Stewart, Marilyn Gray Stone, Owen Ray Stone, James Everett Tart, Jerry Bruce Tart, Edward Stuart Turlington, Tom Edwin Turlington, Clarence Luder Upchurch, Jr., James L. Wade, Bobby Gerald Weeks, Robert Elton West, Billie Jean Wiggs, Lilly Wiggins, Leola Wiggins, Mary Etta Wilmoth and Larry Voight Williams (Coats High School Echoing Memories 1961).
Several locals were hospital patients at Good Hope in Erwin-Michael Norris, Mr. Victor McLeod and Mrs. Wilhelmina Johnson (Daily Record May 11, 1961).
The Turlington HD Club had met at the home of Mrs. Charlie Williams with a demonstration on “Dress for the Occasion.”Plans were made to have an open house with the Goodwill and Oakdale HD Clubs. Special guests were Mrs. O.K. Keene, Mrs. Edward Byrd, and Mrs. Thomas Williams. These clubs were everywhere. Did they have the same demonstrations and were the clubs under a department of government?
I do know that Norma Lee Johnson was a student at East Carolina College and she was home visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert L. Johnson (Daily Record May 12, 1961).
Mrs. Lila Tart, Mr. Joseph Hawley and Master Joey Hawley, Mr. Nathan Collier and Mrs. Gladys Bishop were patients in Good Hope (Daily Record May 15, 1961).
In January of 2005, I questioned Susan Hawley Cannady as to why her dad and younger brother were hospital patients in 1961 and she shared that the two had eaten homemade ice cream with friends in Lillington and became sick with food poisoning.
When he could escape from Raleigh and the steady sessions of the state legislature, Harnett Representative Carson Gregory found plenty to do. A farmer, a dairyman, and businessman, he had put in 20 hours around Coats a week ago Monday and another 18 on Saturday. “I have to make a living,” he grinned (Daily Record May 16, 1961).
Thurman West, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eula Johnson West of rural Coats, had died in Virginia. Mrs. Zola Dupree, 60, of Coats had died on Tuesday night. Mrs. Lilly Taylor remained a patient in GHH in Erwin (Daily Record May 17, 1961).
In May of 1961, there had been a gas war and it had reached Harnett County where the prices dropped to 24.9 per gallon in Dunn. Speaking of gas, allow me to share a story from Louise Jernigan Bruckner, daughter of Yancy Jernigan who leased the service station from Hope and Connie Stewart’s mother. Louise said that when a car pulled up to the gas pumps, it was announced by a bell. If it was a female customer, Yancy would go out and pump the gas for her and Louise said lots of ladies would buy their gas from him because so many gas stations no longer pumped gas for customers.
Do any of you Coats readers remember Mr. Yancy Jernigan? He is described as a” hard-working, friendly and chatty man. There was always a group of men from the community who came by the store to pass the time of day.” Louise said her daddy “had strong opinions which he shared freely, but you knew where you stood with him. The store was much more than a business to him-it was a place where he loved seeing and talking to people. “
Mr. Yancy “always wanted to be competitive when it came to gas prices. If one of the other gas stations had a cheaper gas price, he would call his supplier and insist that he be able to purchase at a comparable price so that he could pass that savings on to his customers.” That may be the reason so many people remember Mr. Jernigan and the store that served his friends more than fair prices (Louise Jernigan Bruckner -Jan. 5, 2017-Coats Museum).
The Campbell Choir had presented a program for the Coats Woman’s Club. The hostesses were Mrs. W.E. Nichols, Mrs. A.C. Parker and Miss Dixie Bryant. A musical program on songs of The South in observance of the Civil War Centennial was the theme. The Campbell Choir, sixteen strong, presented several selections of the most beloved songs of the Stephen Foster and was accompanied by Mrs. Winter (?) Whittington. Seven Dunn ladies attended along with 22 Coats Club members (Daily Record May 18, 1961).
Mrs. Hattie McNeill was sick in Good Hope Hospital. Paul Newman one of the few actors to please both the bobby soxers and the N.Y. film critics, made a choice of his own photos of the girls in Dunn High’s senior class. Judy Stewart, daughter of Edwin and Frances Wood Stewart, was chosen as a Maid of Honor. Does anyone in Dunn know more about this event?
I do know that the Universal Auto Wholesale in Jersey City, N.J. offered to ship a 1960 Ford for $585 and a 1960 Dodge for $685. The wholesaler would ship any place in the U.S. with a bonded driver for $50.00 plus gas (Daily Record May 22, 1961).
Master Fred Scott Fleming and Annie McAllister were in Betsy Johnson Hospital. Elsewhere Highway 421 was being paved to the Lee County line. The paving of the 13.9 miles of the new 421 between Lee and Harnett County line and Lillington had long been awaited and finally finished. Chairman Lofton Tart of the HCBOC said that he was hopeful that the county tax rate could remain at $1.59 during the coming fiscal year. Carlyle Smith of Coats had died on Tuesday night and Wildadean Powell was sick in Good Hope.
Happier news came from the home of Mrs. Alder Pollard whose daughter Linda‘s engagement to Sherrill Cobb, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Brant Cobb, was announced. The daughter of the late Paul Pollard was to marry in the fall. During this time period, new red potatoes sold for only four cents a pound and watermelons were sixty-nine cents each (Daily Record May 24, 1961).
Anita Grimes dropped by the museum to donate some rare items. She gifted pictures of the original Coats School built in 1902 and the 1916 Sorrell School with students in front of each. The museum does not have either of these pictures in our school collection. Anita also gave a picture of Oscar and Virginia Sorrell Turlington and a 1917 picture of the Laura Turner Barbour family. She also presented the black bonnet belonging to Cornelia Williams Turner, a tax receipt of Isaac Williams and a flat iron-Thank you, Anita.
We also had Thomas Jernigan and Louise Jernigan Bruckner come to the museum to donate the scales from the Y.T. Jernigan Service Center. We enjoyed giving them a tour and learning more about their dad-Y.T.’s store.
Museum volunteers not only give hundreds of hours to the museum but also some give hundreds of dollars to the endowment and operations budget. Thank you’s go to Becky Adams for her donation to honor the volunteers who work the museum every Thursday and to Hilda Pope for her memorial for Tony Stewart.
The school year was coming to an end but not before a Coats family experienced the pain of death of their loved one-Hubert Glenn Williams, 50, of Coats. He had died on Monday and was survived by his wife, Mrs. Lina Stewart Williams. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Williams and had three of his six siblings living in the Grove area-Gerald, Waylon and Wade Williams.
The members of the Coats High School Class of 1961 were feted with an event hosted by the parents of the class mascots-Ann McLeod and Derl Drennon. Approximately 49 seniors attended the evening of fun in the Coats Community Building where Harry Roberts showed a film of the trip the seniors had taken to Washington, D.C. (Daily Record May 10, 1961).
Despite the festive atmosphere of class parties, many seniors and parents likely had thoughts that the high school days were only a blink of the eye away from conclusion. There would only be memories of the first 11-man football team and the Junior Varsity Basketball Championship when they were freshmen. Others could recall a few lines from their junior play “Our Town.” The Junior-Senior Banquet-“The Roaring 20’s” and the talent show were scrapbook items never to be repeated.
Who were those seniors of 1961? Nora Etta Avery, William Avery, Faye Jeanette Byrd, Ann Tart Barbour, Judith Carol Byrd, George William Campbell, Patricia Rose Collier, Carl Leonard Cobb, Richard Wayne Daniel, Earl Ray Denning. Lela Ellen Dorman. Judith Rose Elliott, Charles Douglas Ennis, Donald Nelson Ennis, Kenneth Wayne Ennis, Rachel Lee Ennis, Barbara Jean Faircloth, Vernon Lee Fish, Conrey Dale Flowers, Larry Donald Gauldin, Norma Jean Godwin, Linda Carol Harmon, Eloise Annette Johnson, Stacy Franklin Johnson, Susan Carol Johnson, Barbara Ann Langdon, Charles Woodrow Langdon, Jerry David Lee, James C. Lee, Janice Rose Lee, E.T. Malone, Jr., Jerry Lynn Moran, Peggy Marie O’Neal, Michael Lee Norris, Jane Carolyn Page, Clifford Owen Regan, Harry Brock Roberts, James Waylon Stancil, Larry Watts Smith, C.M. Stewart, Marilyn Gray Stone, Owen Ray Stone, James Everett Tart, Jerry Bruce Tart, Edward Stuart Turlington, Tom Edwin Turlington, Clarence Luder Upchurch, Jr., James L. Wade, Bobby Gerald Weeks, Robert Elton West, Billie Jean Wiggs, Lilly Wiggins, Leola Wiggins, Mary Etta Wilmoth and Larry Voight Williams (Coats High School Echoing Memories 1961).
Several locals were hospital patients at Good Hope in Erwin-Michael Norris, Mr. Victor McLeod and Mrs. Wilhelmina Johnson (Daily Record May 11, 1961).
The Turlington HD Club had met at the home of Mrs. Charlie Williams with a demonstration on “Dress for the Occasion.”Plans were made to have an open house with the Goodwill and Oakdale HD Clubs. Special guests were Mrs. O.K. Keene, Mrs. Edward Byrd, and Mrs. Thomas Williams. These clubs were everywhere. Did they have the same demonstrations and were the clubs under a department of government?
I do know that Norma Lee Johnson was a student at East Carolina College and she was home visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert L. Johnson (Daily Record May 12, 1961).
Mrs. Lila Tart, Mr. Joseph Hawley and Master Joey Hawley, Mr. Nathan Collier and Mrs. Gladys Bishop were patients in Good Hope (Daily Record May 15, 1961).
In January of 2005, I questioned Susan Hawley Cannady as to why her dad and younger brother were hospital patients in 1961 and she shared that the two had eaten homemade ice cream with friends in Lillington and became sick with food poisoning.
When he could escape from Raleigh and the steady sessions of the state legislature, Harnett Representative Carson Gregory found plenty to do. A farmer, a dairyman, and businessman, he had put in 20 hours around Coats a week ago Monday and another 18 on Saturday. “I have to make a living,” he grinned (Daily Record May 16, 1961).
Thurman West, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eula Johnson West of rural Coats, had died in Virginia. Mrs. Zola Dupree, 60, of Coats had died on Tuesday night. Mrs. Lilly Taylor remained a patient in GHH in Erwin (Daily Record May 17, 1961).
In May of 1961, there had been a gas war and it had reached Harnett County where the prices dropped to 24.9 per gallon in Dunn. Speaking of gas, allow me to share a story from Louise Jernigan Bruckner, daughter of Yancy Jernigan who leased the service station from Hope and Connie Stewart’s mother. Louise said that when a car pulled up to the gas pumps, it was announced by a bell. If it was a female customer, Yancy would go out and pump the gas for her and Louise said lots of ladies would buy their gas from him because so many gas stations no longer pumped gas for customers.
Do any of you Coats readers remember Mr. Yancy Jernigan? He is described as a” hard-working, friendly and chatty man. There was always a group of men from the community who came by the store to pass the time of day.” Louise said her daddy “had strong opinions which he shared freely, but you knew where you stood with him. The store was much more than a business to him-it was a place where he loved seeing and talking to people. “
Mr. Yancy “always wanted to be competitive when it came to gas prices. If one of the other gas stations had a cheaper gas price, he would call his supplier and insist that he be able to purchase at a comparable price so that he could pass that savings on to his customers.” That may be the reason so many people remember Mr. Jernigan and the store that served his friends more than fair prices (Louise Jernigan Bruckner -Jan. 5, 2017-Coats Museum).
The Campbell Choir had presented a program for the Coats Woman’s Club. The hostesses were Mrs. W.E. Nichols, Mrs. A.C. Parker and Miss Dixie Bryant. A musical program on songs of The South in observance of the Civil War Centennial was the theme. The Campbell Choir, sixteen strong, presented several selections of the most beloved songs of the Stephen Foster and was accompanied by Mrs. Winter (?) Whittington. Seven Dunn ladies attended along with 22 Coats Club members (Daily Record May 18, 1961).
Mrs. Hattie McNeill was sick in Good Hope Hospital. Paul Newman one of the few actors to please both the bobby soxers and the N.Y. film critics, made a choice of his own photos of the girls in Dunn High’s senior class. Judy Stewart, daughter of Edwin and Frances Wood Stewart, was chosen as a Maid of Honor. Does anyone in Dunn know more about this event?
I do know that the Universal Auto Wholesale in Jersey City, N.J. offered to ship a 1960 Ford for $585 and a 1960 Dodge for $685. The wholesaler would ship any place in the U.S. with a bonded driver for $50.00 plus gas (Daily Record May 22, 1961).
Master Fred Scott Fleming and Annie McAllister were in Betsy Johnson Hospital. Elsewhere Highway 421 was being paved to the Lee County line. The paving of the 13.9 miles of the new 421 between Lee and Harnett County line and Lillington had long been awaited and finally finished. Chairman Lofton Tart of the HCBOC said that he was hopeful that the county tax rate could remain at $1.59 during the coming fiscal year. Carlyle Smith of Coats had died on Tuesday night and Wildadean Powell was sick in Good Hope.
Happier news came from the home of Mrs. Alder Pollard whose daughter Linda‘s engagement to Sherrill Cobb, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Brant Cobb, was announced. The daughter of the late Paul Pollard was to marry in the fall. During this time period, new red potatoes sold for only four cents a pound and watermelons were sixty-nine cents each (Daily Record May 24, 1961).
Anita Grimes dropped by the museum to donate some rare items. She gifted pictures of the original Coats School built in 1902 and the 1916 Sorrell School with students in front of each. The museum does not have either of these pictures in our school collection. Anita also gave a picture of Oscar and Virginia Sorrell Turlington and a 1917 picture of the Laura Turner Barbour family. She also presented the black bonnet belonging to Cornelia Williams Turner, a tax receipt of Isaac Williams and a flat iron-Thank you, Anita.
We also had Thomas Jernigan and Louise Jernigan Bruckner come to the museum to donate the scales from the Y.T. Jernigan Service Center. We enjoyed giving them a tour and learning more about their dad-Y.T.’s store.
Museum volunteers not only give hundreds of hours to the museum but also some give hundreds of dollars to the endowment and operations budget. Thank you’s go to Becky Adams for her donation to honor the volunteers who work the museum every Thursday and to Hilda Pope for her memorial for Tony Stewart.