January 24, 2014 Coats Museum News
The voters in Averasboro had to decide whether to levy an additional 15 cents tax on themselves for the Dunn School District. Coats Colored School had Katie H. Campbell, Alice Irene Black, Ethel Gilmore, and Mrs. M. Rhoades as teachers in 1947-48. Junius W. Denning, 88, had died. He was the son of the late Andrew W. Denning and Nancy Spence Denning. His daughters were Mrs. Dora Young and Mrs. G.A. Gainey (Dunn Dispatch October 13, 1947).
The Dunn Dispatch reported that the Dunn voters passed the school tax for Averasboro by a large margin (Dunn Dispatch October 15, 1947).
The Coats Fellowship Club had A.R. Byrd as president, Clyde Ennis as vice president, Reverend J.M. Long as secretary and Dwight Odum as treasurer (Dunn Dispatch October 17, 1947
The Coats Chapter of the FFA held its initiation on a Thursday for the Greenhands. Twenty-eight members were given the traditional goat ride plus many other comical acts (Dunn Dispatch October 21, 1947). Wonder what those other comical acts were?
A tragedy occurred in Coats. Lacy Dallas Gaster had drowned in an open well of a neighbor. After a long search, he was found and Bryan E. Eubanks unsuccessfully tried to revive the young child with artificial respiration. The family had lost the father nine months earlier in a horrible house fire. The mother of the child was Wilhelmina Gaster. His grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Barty F. Parrish. (Joyce Turner, a relative of the family, shared that the child’s father met a violent death before being burned in the house that was believed to have been set by the person who hit Mr. Gaster in the head. Mr. Gaster supposedly had a large sum of money in the house which led to the speculation that he was killed for the money.)
The Erwin Mills workers were given a 9 percent pay raise. A second in a series of boxing bouts were scheduled for November 1947. Those in the bouts were Jerry Stewart (100 lbs.) versus Joel Hough (100 lbs.); Bernice Miller (120 lbs.) versus Hoover Johnson (124 lbs.); Max Langdon (195lbs.) versus Marion Balyn (180 lbs.); Marshall McLamb versus Cecil Langdon (135 lbs.); Grady Matthews (247 lbs.) versus Jesse Ray Mann (225 lbs.), Charles Ennis (160 lbs.) versus Melvin Roberts (165 lbs.), and Thomas Floyd (120 lbs.) versus a boxer to be announced. One bout was to be arranged between two colored boxers. Admission for the matches was forty and twenty cents with funds going to the athletic department (Dunn Dispatch November 5, 1947).
The Coats PTA raised $746.25 at the Halloween Carnival. Miss Tilley’s first grade, Mrs. Nell Williams’s fourth grade and Miss Clara Thomas’ eleventh grade were given awards. The Dunn Rotary Chief gave a talk to the Coats Fellowship Club. Mr. Empie D. Hall, president of the Dunn Club, praised the progressive and aggressive work of the Coats Club in procuring of the First Citizens Bank, a cannery, teacherage, hard surfaced road from Benson to Coats, improved mail service to Coats, Boy Scouts, plans for a “Teachers’ Night” and another womanless wedding. Hoover Adams of the Dunn Dispatch was also at the meeting (Dunn Dispatch November 7, 1947). Question-did the paved road to Benson go the route of the current Delma Grimes Road or did it come down the current NC Highway 27 route?
At the Halloween Carnival of the PTA, Leon Stewart, son of J.A. Stewart, and Peggy Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Stewart, were crowned king and queen of the school. Wonder how they were picked. I do know that the Weekly Bridge Club met at the home of Miss Christine Stewart. Coca Colas and candy were served during play (Dunn Dispatch November 10, 1947). Is this the first time you recall reading about Coca Cola or a soft drink?
A group of young ladies of the Coats community met at the home of Mrs. W.M. Keene, Jr. and organized a Jr. Woman’s Club in Coats. There were 23 charter members. Mrs. W.M. Keene was elected president; Mrs. Dwight Odum, treasurer; Mrs. J.D. Lamm, secretary; and Mrs. Elizabeth Beasley, vice president. Mrs. W.E. Nichols, president of the Page Book Club, sponsored the organization. They had membership in the N.C. Federation of Woman’s Clubs (Dunn Dispatch November 12, 1947).
USN Seaman Owen Bennett, son of Mr. and Mrs. G.D. Bennett, attended Campbell High School at Buies Creek. He had completed his recruit training at the US Naval Training Center, San Diego, California with Co. 71. He had entered on July 24, 1947.
Hilda Sorrell, pretty daughter of John Lloyd Sorrell, Sr., underwent surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She had one of the rarest heart operations ever to be performed –coaortation of the aorta. She was given a 50 percent chance of recovery (Dunn Dispatch November 19, 1947).
The Junior Woman’s Club at Coats met at the home of Mrs. Clyde (Mary) Ennis. Miss Mildred Harmon assisted her sister as co-hostess. The Weekly Bridge Club met with Mrs. Mrs. Haywood Roberts. Mrs. Clyde Grimes and daughter, Helen, former residents of Coats, visited from Old Fort, N.C. The Page Book Club met at the home of Mrs. Reggie Parrish. The Harvest Day at Coats Baptist raised from $750 to $1600 for the building fund.
The initiation of the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) was referred to as RAT Day. The purpose was to build and maintain good sportsmanship among the girls. The girls wore sack dresses and plaited pigtails with two different colored ribbons. A black line divided the face where one side was made up and the other side painted with freckles. Any misbehavior that day sent the girls to RAT Court where they were found guilty by a prejudiced jury (Dunn Dispatch November 21, 1947).
Would you like to know who the teacher was of this group of girls? She was Mrs. White, wife of the teacher who brought the boxing bouts to the school. Would you not love to meet and learn more about the two teachers?
Some of our readers were in school with Mable Johnson who graduated from Coats in 1944. She left Harnett County and attended Strayer University in Washington, D.C. and became an Administrative Assistant to Senator Joe McCarthy. Yes-the Joe McCarthy who made headlines on his stance on communism. She married Wm. Marshall Wright who served with the State Department as a foreign diplomat at the Consulates in Port Said, Egypt- Toronto, Canada-Rangoon, Burma- and Bangkok, Thailand. He was an assistant secretary of state and was offered ambassadorships to several countries but opted out to stay in America and become the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Eaton in Cleveland, Ohio. The career officer often came to the Coats area and loved playing golf in Pinehurst and even considered retiring to this area. H.L. and I cared deeply for this man and were very saddened by his recent passing. We are honored to remember my brother-in –law, William Marshall Wright, Sr., with a memorial to the Coats Museum Endowment.
The women in the Coats community have been making a difference since 1921 when they worked to get lights in the first brick school in Coats. That spirit of giving continues to be exemplified in so many current projects such as giving gifts to folks who are confined to care centers. Another worthwhile act they perform is by recognizing a deceased member by giving a memorial to the Coats Museum. Thank you for remembering Julia Stewart, ladies. Thank you also goes to Dan and Teresa Honeycutt for remembering Coma Lee and Nelson Currin with a memorial to the museum.
The voters in Averasboro had to decide whether to levy an additional 15 cents tax on themselves for the Dunn School District. Coats Colored School had Katie H. Campbell, Alice Irene Black, Ethel Gilmore, and Mrs. M. Rhoades as teachers in 1947-48. Junius W. Denning, 88, had died. He was the son of the late Andrew W. Denning and Nancy Spence Denning. His daughters were Mrs. Dora Young and Mrs. G.A. Gainey (Dunn Dispatch October 13, 1947).
The Dunn Dispatch reported that the Dunn voters passed the school tax for Averasboro by a large margin (Dunn Dispatch October 15, 1947).
The Coats Fellowship Club had A.R. Byrd as president, Clyde Ennis as vice president, Reverend J.M. Long as secretary and Dwight Odum as treasurer (Dunn Dispatch October 17, 1947
The Coats Chapter of the FFA held its initiation on a Thursday for the Greenhands. Twenty-eight members were given the traditional goat ride plus many other comical acts (Dunn Dispatch October 21, 1947). Wonder what those other comical acts were?
A tragedy occurred in Coats. Lacy Dallas Gaster had drowned in an open well of a neighbor. After a long search, he was found and Bryan E. Eubanks unsuccessfully tried to revive the young child with artificial respiration. The family had lost the father nine months earlier in a horrible house fire. The mother of the child was Wilhelmina Gaster. His grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Barty F. Parrish. (Joyce Turner, a relative of the family, shared that the child’s father met a violent death before being burned in the house that was believed to have been set by the person who hit Mr. Gaster in the head. Mr. Gaster supposedly had a large sum of money in the house which led to the speculation that he was killed for the money.)
The Erwin Mills workers were given a 9 percent pay raise. A second in a series of boxing bouts were scheduled for November 1947. Those in the bouts were Jerry Stewart (100 lbs.) versus Joel Hough (100 lbs.); Bernice Miller (120 lbs.) versus Hoover Johnson (124 lbs.); Max Langdon (195lbs.) versus Marion Balyn (180 lbs.); Marshall McLamb versus Cecil Langdon (135 lbs.); Grady Matthews (247 lbs.) versus Jesse Ray Mann (225 lbs.), Charles Ennis (160 lbs.) versus Melvin Roberts (165 lbs.), and Thomas Floyd (120 lbs.) versus a boxer to be announced. One bout was to be arranged between two colored boxers. Admission for the matches was forty and twenty cents with funds going to the athletic department (Dunn Dispatch November 5, 1947).
The Coats PTA raised $746.25 at the Halloween Carnival. Miss Tilley’s first grade, Mrs. Nell Williams’s fourth grade and Miss Clara Thomas’ eleventh grade were given awards. The Dunn Rotary Chief gave a talk to the Coats Fellowship Club. Mr. Empie D. Hall, president of the Dunn Club, praised the progressive and aggressive work of the Coats Club in procuring of the First Citizens Bank, a cannery, teacherage, hard surfaced road from Benson to Coats, improved mail service to Coats, Boy Scouts, plans for a “Teachers’ Night” and another womanless wedding. Hoover Adams of the Dunn Dispatch was also at the meeting (Dunn Dispatch November 7, 1947). Question-did the paved road to Benson go the route of the current Delma Grimes Road or did it come down the current NC Highway 27 route?
At the Halloween Carnival of the PTA, Leon Stewart, son of J.A. Stewart, and Peggy Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Stewart, were crowned king and queen of the school. Wonder how they were picked. I do know that the Weekly Bridge Club met at the home of Miss Christine Stewart. Coca Colas and candy were served during play (Dunn Dispatch November 10, 1947). Is this the first time you recall reading about Coca Cola or a soft drink?
A group of young ladies of the Coats community met at the home of Mrs. W.M. Keene, Jr. and organized a Jr. Woman’s Club in Coats. There were 23 charter members. Mrs. W.M. Keene was elected president; Mrs. Dwight Odum, treasurer; Mrs. J.D. Lamm, secretary; and Mrs. Elizabeth Beasley, vice president. Mrs. W.E. Nichols, president of the Page Book Club, sponsored the organization. They had membership in the N.C. Federation of Woman’s Clubs (Dunn Dispatch November 12, 1947).
USN Seaman Owen Bennett, son of Mr. and Mrs. G.D. Bennett, attended Campbell High School at Buies Creek. He had completed his recruit training at the US Naval Training Center, San Diego, California with Co. 71. He had entered on July 24, 1947.
Hilda Sorrell, pretty daughter of John Lloyd Sorrell, Sr., underwent surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She had one of the rarest heart operations ever to be performed –coaortation of the aorta. She was given a 50 percent chance of recovery (Dunn Dispatch November 19, 1947).
The Junior Woman’s Club at Coats met at the home of Mrs. Clyde (Mary) Ennis. Miss Mildred Harmon assisted her sister as co-hostess. The Weekly Bridge Club met with Mrs. Mrs. Haywood Roberts. Mrs. Clyde Grimes and daughter, Helen, former residents of Coats, visited from Old Fort, N.C. The Page Book Club met at the home of Mrs. Reggie Parrish. The Harvest Day at Coats Baptist raised from $750 to $1600 for the building fund.
The initiation of the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) was referred to as RAT Day. The purpose was to build and maintain good sportsmanship among the girls. The girls wore sack dresses and plaited pigtails with two different colored ribbons. A black line divided the face where one side was made up and the other side painted with freckles. Any misbehavior that day sent the girls to RAT Court where they were found guilty by a prejudiced jury (Dunn Dispatch November 21, 1947).
Would you like to know who the teacher was of this group of girls? She was Mrs. White, wife of the teacher who brought the boxing bouts to the school. Would you not love to meet and learn more about the two teachers?
Some of our readers were in school with Mable Johnson who graduated from Coats in 1944. She left Harnett County and attended Strayer University in Washington, D.C. and became an Administrative Assistant to Senator Joe McCarthy. Yes-the Joe McCarthy who made headlines on his stance on communism. She married Wm. Marshall Wright who served with the State Department as a foreign diplomat at the Consulates in Port Said, Egypt- Toronto, Canada-Rangoon, Burma- and Bangkok, Thailand. He was an assistant secretary of state and was offered ambassadorships to several countries but opted out to stay in America and become the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Eaton in Cleveland, Ohio. The career officer often came to the Coats area and loved playing golf in Pinehurst and even considered retiring to this area. H.L. and I cared deeply for this man and were very saddened by his recent passing. We are honored to remember my brother-in –law, William Marshall Wright, Sr., with a memorial to the Coats Museum Endowment.
The women in the Coats community have been making a difference since 1921 when they worked to get lights in the first brick school in Coats. That spirit of giving continues to be exemplified in so many current projects such as giving gifts to folks who are confined to care centers. Another worthwhile act they perform is by recognizing a deceased member by giving a memorial to the Coats Museum. Thank you for remembering Julia Stewart, ladies. Thank you also goes to Dan and Teresa Honeycutt for remembering Coma Lee and Nelson Currin with a memorial to the museum.