January 22, 2021 Coats Museum News (2)
Who remembers when there was no cablevision in Harnett County? Do you recall when Southern Cablevision shared plans to offer cable service to eleven specific areas of Harnett County? How did they determine which area would be one of the eleven? Did these plans move forward—that was in August of 1986.
Death visited Coats and took Mrs. Elda Gregory Miller of Route One. The seventy-five year old woman was survived by a son- Edward Earl Miller and two daughters- Helen M. Butts and Edna M. Phipps (Daily Record Aug. 8, 1986). (No this was not the Ed Miller who served as a principal of a couple of Harnett County Schools.)
Does the name Helen Miller Butts sound familiar? Did Helen work as a clerk in several of the Coats retail stores? Was she recognized by the CACC for an award at one of its annual banquets?
I do know that another death was published in the paper. Mrs. Pearl Ennis Stephenson, 69, of Coats had died and was buried in the Coats City Cemetery. She was survived by two daughters-Mrs. Barbara Stewart and Mrs. Brenda S. Pope. Her sons were Ethridge, Carl, and Ricky Stephenson. Mrs. Lucille Stephenson, Rudolph and Garner Rose Ennis were siblings.
Many of those names are familiar to folks in the area. Two that my dad had much respect for were Garner Rose and Rudolph Ennis. Dad’s older sister, Nolie Johnson, was mother to Marvin Johnson and Maude Johnson Avery. Marvin and Maude had day jobs. When Aunt Nolie decided she wanted to do something, she wanted to do it immediately so when this little lady who had never acquired a driver’s license decided that she wanted to visit her brothers, Joe and Jonah Johnson, she would reach out to Rudolph or Garner Rose Ennis to drive her over Black River to visit either Joe or Jonah. We enjoyed those frequent visits made possible by the generosity of the two Ennis brothers. Years later, I would teach the children of these two men and I must note that the old saying that an apple does not fall far from the tree proved true with their children.
The Daily Record August 11, 1986 reported news about another man who earned much respect in the county. The news was reported that Mack Reid Hudson was the official choice to fulfill the commissioner’s seat left vacate by the death of late Jack Brock. Mr. Hudson lived on the family farm (that was purchased on March 22, 1868 from James B. Stewart by Mack’s great-grandfather Alfred L. Bailey. The price of the 614.5 acres was $1,097.50. Alfred L. Bailey built a house on the farm in 1870: The Heritage of Coats, NC Volume 1 “Alfred L. Bailey” p.223).
Where is this farm? Many of you are familiar with Bailey’s Crossroads and Ebenezer Presbyterian Church., right? The family actually gave the land for the church and cemetery site near the Johnston-Harnett County line. The farm was a former site of a cotton gin, sawmill and country store. Today the farm has been transformed from a tobacco farm into pecan groves with endless white fences that enclose horses and cattle grazing on pastures. The massive green- roofed buildings catch the eyes as one travels toward the crossroads. The family is rightly proud of the generational -owned farm.
I would be shortchanging the family if I did not share that Mack’s wife was Juanita Ogburn Hudson. The beloved lady was a former state president of the Extension Homemakers Association and was a member of the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She later transformed the old Alfred L. Bailey 1870 house into the Crossroads Interiors where she and Wynona Godwin Ennis made curtains and decorated houses and businesses throughout and beyond Harnett County.
The Grove Rural Fire Department saved many homes and barns during its days. If they had had more accessible water and better equipment, many more properties would not be mere memories. These members gave selflessly of their time to volunteer to save lives and properties. In the Daily Record Aug. 14, 1986 copy of that paper, it was shared the Grove Rural Fire Department had elected officers who were President James Grimes, Vice President Ricky Tart, Secretary Kent Langdon and Treasurer Tom Meece. Board Chairman was Bickett Turlington and Ricky Ennis, Jim Pollard, Larry Byrd and Gail Pope were board members.
Hazel Strickland of BB&T in Coats met with other business leaders at Howard Johnson’s Restaurant to hear from the Credit Bureau of NC Inc. (Daily Record August 15, 1986). Hazel was one of those 29,000 professional women who outnumbered professional men in 1986. (Hazel was a CHS 1960 graduate. I wrote about two of her classmates last week who had earned their Doctorate of Divinity degrees. Tommy Ennis called and shared that another classmate was also a pastor. Vinson (Vin) Whittington is a retired Southern Baptist preacher who resides in Alabama and currently evangelizes via radio. Thanks –Tommy!)
Jesse Alphin, Chairman of the Harnett County Board of Commissioners, was presented with the highest honor of the NC Association of County Commissioners. His award was the “1986 Outstanding County Commissioner” (Daily Record Aug. 16, 1986).
The Coats Baptist Church called Dr. Mark White and his wife, Dianne White, to pastor the church. Dr. White had previously served the Thanksgiving Baptist Church near Selma and the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church just prior to coming to Coats Baptist. He stated that in making his decision to pastor the Coats Church he recognized that the church had been true to the “historic roots” in mission work locally and around the world. Another factor influencing his decision was the long tenure of Rev. Howard Beard who had served the church for 25 years (Daily Record Aug. 17, 1986).
Death continues to take many who are so dear to us at the museum. H.L. and I have given memorials to honor Helen Sorrell Stephenson and Peggy Senter. Both touched our lives in so many ways and through the memorials to the Coats Museum, we hope that they can touch those unknown to them.
Do you have leisure time during the pandemic? Go to coatsmuseum.com and read more about the museum and read some of the past Coats Museum columns where the earlier the date –the older the local history.
Who remembers when there was no cablevision in Harnett County? Do you recall when Southern Cablevision shared plans to offer cable service to eleven specific areas of Harnett County? How did they determine which area would be one of the eleven? Did these plans move forward—that was in August of 1986.
Death visited Coats and took Mrs. Elda Gregory Miller of Route One. The seventy-five year old woman was survived by a son- Edward Earl Miller and two daughters- Helen M. Butts and Edna M. Phipps (Daily Record Aug. 8, 1986). (No this was not the Ed Miller who served as a principal of a couple of Harnett County Schools.)
Does the name Helen Miller Butts sound familiar? Did Helen work as a clerk in several of the Coats retail stores? Was she recognized by the CACC for an award at one of its annual banquets?
I do know that another death was published in the paper. Mrs. Pearl Ennis Stephenson, 69, of Coats had died and was buried in the Coats City Cemetery. She was survived by two daughters-Mrs. Barbara Stewart and Mrs. Brenda S. Pope. Her sons were Ethridge, Carl, and Ricky Stephenson. Mrs. Lucille Stephenson, Rudolph and Garner Rose Ennis were siblings.
Many of those names are familiar to folks in the area. Two that my dad had much respect for were Garner Rose and Rudolph Ennis. Dad’s older sister, Nolie Johnson, was mother to Marvin Johnson and Maude Johnson Avery. Marvin and Maude had day jobs. When Aunt Nolie decided she wanted to do something, she wanted to do it immediately so when this little lady who had never acquired a driver’s license decided that she wanted to visit her brothers, Joe and Jonah Johnson, she would reach out to Rudolph or Garner Rose Ennis to drive her over Black River to visit either Joe or Jonah. We enjoyed those frequent visits made possible by the generosity of the two Ennis brothers. Years later, I would teach the children of these two men and I must note that the old saying that an apple does not fall far from the tree proved true with their children.
The Daily Record August 11, 1986 reported news about another man who earned much respect in the county. The news was reported that Mack Reid Hudson was the official choice to fulfill the commissioner’s seat left vacate by the death of late Jack Brock. Mr. Hudson lived on the family farm (that was purchased on March 22, 1868 from James B. Stewart by Mack’s great-grandfather Alfred L. Bailey. The price of the 614.5 acres was $1,097.50. Alfred L. Bailey built a house on the farm in 1870: The Heritage of Coats, NC Volume 1 “Alfred L. Bailey” p.223).
Where is this farm? Many of you are familiar with Bailey’s Crossroads and Ebenezer Presbyterian Church., right? The family actually gave the land for the church and cemetery site near the Johnston-Harnett County line. The farm was a former site of a cotton gin, sawmill and country store. Today the farm has been transformed from a tobacco farm into pecan groves with endless white fences that enclose horses and cattle grazing on pastures. The massive green- roofed buildings catch the eyes as one travels toward the crossroads. The family is rightly proud of the generational -owned farm.
I would be shortchanging the family if I did not share that Mack’s wife was Juanita Ogburn Hudson. The beloved lady was a former state president of the Extension Homemakers Association and was a member of the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She later transformed the old Alfred L. Bailey 1870 house into the Crossroads Interiors where she and Wynona Godwin Ennis made curtains and decorated houses and businesses throughout and beyond Harnett County.
The Grove Rural Fire Department saved many homes and barns during its days. If they had had more accessible water and better equipment, many more properties would not be mere memories. These members gave selflessly of their time to volunteer to save lives and properties. In the Daily Record Aug. 14, 1986 copy of that paper, it was shared the Grove Rural Fire Department had elected officers who were President James Grimes, Vice President Ricky Tart, Secretary Kent Langdon and Treasurer Tom Meece. Board Chairman was Bickett Turlington and Ricky Ennis, Jim Pollard, Larry Byrd and Gail Pope were board members.
Hazel Strickland of BB&T in Coats met with other business leaders at Howard Johnson’s Restaurant to hear from the Credit Bureau of NC Inc. (Daily Record August 15, 1986). Hazel was one of those 29,000 professional women who outnumbered professional men in 1986. (Hazel was a CHS 1960 graduate. I wrote about two of her classmates last week who had earned their Doctorate of Divinity degrees. Tommy Ennis called and shared that another classmate was also a pastor. Vinson (Vin) Whittington is a retired Southern Baptist preacher who resides in Alabama and currently evangelizes via radio. Thanks –Tommy!)
Jesse Alphin, Chairman of the Harnett County Board of Commissioners, was presented with the highest honor of the NC Association of County Commissioners. His award was the “1986 Outstanding County Commissioner” (Daily Record Aug. 16, 1986).
The Coats Baptist Church called Dr. Mark White and his wife, Dianne White, to pastor the church. Dr. White had previously served the Thanksgiving Baptist Church near Selma and the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church just prior to coming to Coats Baptist. He stated that in making his decision to pastor the Coats Church he recognized that the church had been true to the “historic roots” in mission work locally and around the world. Another factor influencing his decision was the long tenure of Rev. Howard Beard who had served the church for 25 years (Daily Record Aug. 17, 1986).
Death continues to take many who are so dear to us at the museum. H.L. and I have given memorials to honor Helen Sorrell Stephenson and Peggy Senter. Both touched our lives in so many ways and through the memorials to the Coats Museum, we hope that they can touch those unknown to them.
Do you have leisure time during the pandemic? Go to coatsmuseum.com and read more about the museum and read some of the past Coats Museum columns where the earlier the date –the older the local history.