January 23, 2015
Coats Museum News
The time was fast approaching when the graduates of 1951 would walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. There were 23 of those Coats High Seniors who would make that walk. Max Avery, Wilma Barnes, Stacy Byrd, Barbara Cooper, Phyllis Cooper, Billy Dew, Sally Pat Hawley, Hazel Holder, Leroy Jernigan, Doris Johnson, Kenneth Keene, Graham Norris, Virginia, Norris, Wade Norris, Joyce Devine Parrish, Hazel Pollard, Annie Louise Smith, Benny Ray Stephenson, Rachel Stewart, Betty Sue Willis, Sherrill Willis, and Rebecca Whittington were those pictured in “Together We Leave” 1985-page 48.
Does anyone know when Coats High School adopted the yellow jacket as its mascot and when and by whom was the school song written? Those of you who have the “Together We Leave” book published in 1985 at the closing of the Coats High School for consolidation with the Erwin and Dunn students into the Triton High School, you can find the answers to the questions.
I also know that the newly formed Merchants Bureau in Coats had as its speaker, Thompson Greenwood of Raleigh. He shared how they could build and protect their businesses. Elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. James Raynor had announced the birth of a daughter in Dunn Hospital (Daily Record May 18, 1951).
Mrs. L.E. McKnight’s class at Coats Baptist went on a picnic at Pullen Park in Raleigh. Those who went were Mrs. Ted Malone, Margie Holder, Dorothy Stewart, Mrs. Ted Norris, Glenda Parrish, Marilyn Yarley, Doris Suggs, Peggy Stewart, Joyce Jernigan, and Ann Stewart (Daily Record June 18, 1951).
Coats was to get a livestock market which was to be opened in 30 days according to the paper. The market was secured through the efforts of Mayor J.D. Norris and Herbert L. Johnson (Daily Record June 25, 1951). Question—where was this livestock market to be located?
This I do know. The Harnett County Board of Commissioners set the tax rate at $1.30 cents; the county budget was $1,177,260.00 and 60 county officials received a 10-cent raise. Was that supposed to be a 10 percent raise? Who would have been classified as officials? Did they mean employees?
I can verify that comic strips which were popular in 1951 were “Lil Abner”, “Bringing up Father”, “Blondie”, “Nancy”, and “Dick Tracy”. Wonder if any of those who entered the Wellons Mercantile of Dunn and Coats Hotpoint Hospitality Contest read those comic strips. Gordon Colville of Route One, Coats won that contest and received a Hotpoint Deluxe Refrigerator (Daily Record July 2, 1951).
Was our Mayor Walter Weeks’ dad the manager of the Wellons Store in Coats in 1951? It is for a fact that Harnett County had a new superintendent of schools. G.T. Proffit was sworn in by the Superior Court Clerk. Proffit replaced Reid Ross who had resigned to take charge of the Fayetteville Schools. Also recorded was that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Rosser had visited Mr. Rosser’s Uncle W.W. Rosser who was ill. While in Coats, they had visited other relatives (Daily Record July 4, 1951). For many years, Harnett had a popular Sheriff Rosser-was this the same family? Who were the other relatives that the Rossers visited in Coats?
Do you know who the President of the United States was in 1951? It was recorded that President Harry Truman had sounded a warning to Americans to keep their guard up against new communist aggression even though peace may have been in sight. As cease –fire parley had been set at Kaesong, the war came to a virtual halt (Daily Record July 5, 1951).
Federal deficits are nothing new in our country because news reported that the federal deficit was over one billion dollars. The HCBOC gave the white schools two options as to when to open schools for the 1951-52 school term. The army was using the Shawtown School and it would not be opened until September 10th.
The Goodwill HD Club had been organized 10 years ago and had lived up to its name. Beginning with 10 charter members, they had grown membership to 43 in 1951. They needed a place to meet because going to Coats Community meant traveling 6 to 10 miles. They wanted to be nearer to their homes. At a February meeting, the club members discussed the possibility of building a club community building. A fine gesture resulted in 1,000 square feet of lumber, the building site, and $144.00 in cash.
How did they pay for this for this project? The club sponsored a radio show, at which homemade candy, popcorn and drinks were sold. The members played the Coats High School girls basketball team and auction sales and birthday collections were a means of raising money to build the community building.
After $546.50 was raised, the building was begun. Fletcher Flowers was appointed supervisor and others were to help him when they had spare time from home duties. About 15 men and women cleaned the lot. A bulldozer was hired, which just happened to have been working on the road, to level the land. The building was used as a Goodwill HD Club and community building for activities around Barclaysville (Daily Record July 10, 1951).
Wonder what individual has had the longest tenure at Campbell University? I do know that Dean A.R. Burkot had marked his 21st year at Campbell College in 1951. The members of the Coats High Class of 1957 will remember Delores Harmon, daughter of Mrs. Grace Harmon. Delores had attended the 4H camp at Camp Millstone near Rockingham (Daily Record July 11, 1951).
The members of the Ennis family, one of the largest and most prominent clans in this section, had held their annual reunion at the Primitive Sion Church. Thurman C. Ennis, head of the Thurman C. Ennis public accounting and secretary of the organization announced that Carl Goerch, radio commentator and magazine publisher had been invited. The annual reunion began in 1921 when the members of the family met to honor the late Marshal Ennis. The site of the reunion was moved from the homestead because the members attending outgrew the homestead site. M.E. Ennis of Coats was president and Paul Strickland, Sr. of Dunn was vice-president.
In Coats, the D.S. Market, formerly called the Triangle Service Center, was located in the W.M. Keene building across from the train depot. Owners were Benny Stephenson and Nassie Dorman. Benny was a 1951 graduate of Coats High School; was he kin to Mr. Nassie Dorman?
I do know that A.C. Barefoot of Angier joined Mr. W.E. Nichols on the Harnett County Board of Education which announced that the students would have off two days at Thanksgiving and seven days at Christmas and Monday off at Easter for the 1951-52 school term. The board also announced that a street next to the Coats teacherage would be opened. The Coats Baptist Church had granted the right of way. However, the farmers’ children likely saw their parents worrying about the terrible black shank and wilt that were destroying their tobacco. Failure to plant new varieties was blamed for the diseases (Daily Record July 12, 1951).
Did any of you have Mrs. Barry Doyle from Angier as a teacher? Since she retired from teaching, she has been tireless in working with the Harnett County Retired School Personnel promoting issues that benefit those educators who have spent their lives in the classrooms. You read above about Superintendent Reid Ross leaving Harnett County to go to Fayetteville Schools. Two interesting facts about these two individuals are that Barry was the daughter of HCBOE member A.C. Barefoot and Superintendent Ross organized the retired educators group in Harnett after he retired.
Thank you goes to the Coats High School Class of 1958 for remembering Donnie Dorman with a memorial to the Coats Museum and to Donald Page, Martha Parrish, Billy Matthews, and Willie Ray Dawes for donating or loaning items to the museum which makes the museum a great place to visit.
The time was fast approaching when the graduates of 1951 would walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. There were 23 of those Coats High Seniors who would make that walk. Max Avery, Wilma Barnes, Stacy Byrd, Barbara Cooper, Phyllis Cooper, Billy Dew, Sally Pat Hawley, Hazel Holder, Leroy Jernigan, Doris Johnson, Kenneth Keene, Graham Norris, Virginia, Norris, Wade Norris, Joyce Devine Parrish, Hazel Pollard, Annie Louise Smith, Benny Ray Stephenson, Rachel Stewart, Betty Sue Willis, Sherrill Willis, and Rebecca Whittington were those pictured in “Together We Leave” 1985-page 48.
Does anyone know when Coats High School adopted the yellow jacket as its mascot and when and by whom was the school song written? Those of you who have the “Together We Leave” book published in 1985 at the closing of the Coats High School for consolidation with the Erwin and Dunn students into the Triton High School, you can find the answers to the questions.
I also know that the newly formed Merchants Bureau in Coats had as its speaker, Thompson Greenwood of Raleigh. He shared how they could build and protect their businesses. Elsewhere, Mr. and Mrs. James Raynor had announced the birth of a daughter in Dunn Hospital (Daily Record May 18, 1951).
Mrs. L.E. McKnight’s class at Coats Baptist went on a picnic at Pullen Park in Raleigh. Those who went were Mrs. Ted Malone, Margie Holder, Dorothy Stewart, Mrs. Ted Norris, Glenda Parrish, Marilyn Yarley, Doris Suggs, Peggy Stewart, Joyce Jernigan, and Ann Stewart (Daily Record June 18, 1951).
Coats was to get a livestock market which was to be opened in 30 days according to the paper. The market was secured through the efforts of Mayor J.D. Norris and Herbert L. Johnson (Daily Record June 25, 1951). Question—where was this livestock market to be located?
This I do know. The Harnett County Board of Commissioners set the tax rate at $1.30 cents; the county budget was $1,177,260.00 and 60 county officials received a 10-cent raise. Was that supposed to be a 10 percent raise? Who would have been classified as officials? Did they mean employees?
I can verify that comic strips which were popular in 1951 were “Lil Abner”, “Bringing up Father”, “Blondie”, “Nancy”, and “Dick Tracy”. Wonder if any of those who entered the Wellons Mercantile of Dunn and Coats Hotpoint Hospitality Contest read those comic strips. Gordon Colville of Route One, Coats won that contest and received a Hotpoint Deluxe Refrigerator (Daily Record July 2, 1951).
Was our Mayor Walter Weeks’ dad the manager of the Wellons Store in Coats in 1951? It is for a fact that Harnett County had a new superintendent of schools. G.T. Proffit was sworn in by the Superior Court Clerk. Proffit replaced Reid Ross who had resigned to take charge of the Fayetteville Schools. Also recorded was that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Rosser had visited Mr. Rosser’s Uncle W.W. Rosser who was ill. While in Coats, they had visited other relatives (Daily Record July 4, 1951). For many years, Harnett had a popular Sheriff Rosser-was this the same family? Who were the other relatives that the Rossers visited in Coats?
Do you know who the President of the United States was in 1951? It was recorded that President Harry Truman had sounded a warning to Americans to keep their guard up against new communist aggression even though peace may have been in sight. As cease –fire parley had been set at Kaesong, the war came to a virtual halt (Daily Record July 5, 1951).
Federal deficits are nothing new in our country because news reported that the federal deficit was over one billion dollars. The HCBOC gave the white schools two options as to when to open schools for the 1951-52 school term. The army was using the Shawtown School and it would not be opened until September 10th.
The Goodwill HD Club had been organized 10 years ago and had lived up to its name. Beginning with 10 charter members, they had grown membership to 43 in 1951. They needed a place to meet because going to Coats Community meant traveling 6 to 10 miles. They wanted to be nearer to their homes. At a February meeting, the club members discussed the possibility of building a club community building. A fine gesture resulted in 1,000 square feet of lumber, the building site, and $144.00 in cash.
How did they pay for this for this project? The club sponsored a radio show, at which homemade candy, popcorn and drinks were sold. The members played the Coats High School girls basketball team and auction sales and birthday collections were a means of raising money to build the community building.
After $546.50 was raised, the building was begun. Fletcher Flowers was appointed supervisor and others were to help him when they had spare time from home duties. About 15 men and women cleaned the lot. A bulldozer was hired, which just happened to have been working on the road, to level the land. The building was used as a Goodwill HD Club and community building for activities around Barclaysville (Daily Record July 10, 1951).
Wonder what individual has had the longest tenure at Campbell University? I do know that Dean A.R. Burkot had marked his 21st year at Campbell College in 1951. The members of the Coats High Class of 1957 will remember Delores Harmon, daughter of Mrs. Grace Harmon. Delores had attended the 4H camp at Camp Millstone near Rockingham (Daily Record July 11, 1951).
The members of the Ennis family, one of the largest and most prominent clans in this section, had held their annual reunion at the Primitive Sion Church. Thurman C. Ennis, head of the Thurman C. Ennis public accounting and secretary of the organization announced that Carl Goerch, radio commentator and magazine publisher had been invited. The annual reunion began in 1921 when the members of the family met to honor the late Marshal Ennis. The site of the reunion was moved from the homestead because the members attending outgrew the homestead site. M.E. Ennis of Coats was president and Paul Strickland, Sr. of Dunn was vice-president.
In Coats, the D.S. Market, formerly called the Triangle Service Center, was located in the W.M. Keene building across from the train depot. Owners were Benny Stephenson and Nassie Dorman. Benny was a 1951 graduate of Coats High School; was he kin to Mr. Nassie Dorman?
I do know that A.C. Barefoot of Angier joined Mr. W.E. Nichols on the Harnett County Board of Education which announced that the students would have off two days at Thanksgiving and seven days at Christmas and Monday off at Easter for the 1951-52 school term. The board also announced that a street next to the Coats teacherage would be opened. The Coats Baptist Church had granted the right of way. However, the farmers’ children likely saw their parents worrying about the terrible black shank and wilt that were destroying their tobacco. Failure to plant new varieties was blamed for the diseases (Daily Record July 12, 1951).
Did any of you have Mrs. Barry Doyle from Angier as a teacher? Since she retired from teaching, she has been tireless in working with the Harnett County Retired School Personnel promoting issues that benefit those educators who have spent their lives in the classrooms. You read above about Superintendent Reid Ross leaving Harnett County to go to Fayetteville Schools. Two interesting facts about these two individuals are that Barry was the daughter of HCBOE member A.C. Barefoot and Superintendent Ross organized the retired educators group in Harnett after he retired.
Thank you goes to the Coats High School Class of 1958 for remembering Donnie Dorman with a memorial to the Coats Museum and to Donald Page, Martha Parrish, Billy Matthews, and Willie Ray Dawes for donating or loaning items to the museum which makes the museum a great place to visit.