January 24, 2020 Coats Museum News
She could walk anywhere she chose even though her legs weren’t as good as they once were. She could see well enough to drive to visit in the neighborhood. She did her own housework, cooking and crocheting. Who was this remarkable lady? She was Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Sr. and she had just celebrated her 90th birthday (Daily Record Mar. 16, 1982).
Certainly as we have read this Coats Museum News articles for the past ten years, we have noticed that people over the years have lived longer than the previous generations. Another bit of proof of longevity can be found by reading death notices. Take for example that Mrs. Ellen Stewart, who had died on Tuesday in the Adams Kinton Nursing Home, was 94 years old. That age meant she was born in 1888, long before cars mired in the muddy ruts in the roads in and around Coats. The Stewart family was at the home of Mrs. Tally Stewart on East Lemon Street in Coats. Dafford Funeral Home handled the services held at Mt. Pisgah FWB Church where she was buried in the church cemetery (Daily Record Mar. 19, 1982).
Dafford Funeral Home received friends of Mrs. Joseph Lee who had died on Sunday. Her services were held at Mt. Pisgah FWB Church and cemetery. Mrs. Lee was 72 years old and was survived by her husband, Jesse Howard Lee, and a daughter, Mrs. Linda McKoy, of Coats. Howard Lee, Jr. and Shelton Lee were her two sons. Mrs. Fannie Lee, Mrs. Hattie Murray, Mrs. Nettie White, Paul Guy McNeill and James McNeill were siblings (Daily Record Mar. 23, 1982).
Mrs. Pamela Stephenson Collier, of Coats, had joined the Coats town board staff as deputy clerk and deputy tax collector. She was married to Haywood Collier and they attended the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church where Pam was a Sunday school teacher. They had two daughters-Amy and Crystal (Daily Record Mar.29, 1982).
Mrs. Ruby Matthews, 80, of Coats, had died on Saturday. Rose Funeral Home was the site of the funeral and Bethsaida PB Church cemetery was the burial site. Her two daughters were Mrs. William “Doc” Jackson and Mrs. Jessie R. Beasley. Grimes Matthews was her son (Daily Record Apr. 5, 1982).
Little Vanessa Parrish celebrated her 9th birthday with a party. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Parrish and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Parrish of Coats. She had an older brother Kevin and the family lived in Buies Creek (Daily Record Apr. 5, 1982).
Lucas Hairstyling of Erwin had hired Frank Dorman, Jr. He had studied hairstyling for men and was fully accredited in precision shear and scissor cutting techniques (Daily Record Apr. 4, 1982).
The Full Gospel Tabernacle Church Choir of Coats presented “His Last Days” written by Dallas Holmes. Vernon Potter, Jr. directed the Easter Cantata and various soloists of the church were featured. Rev. Willie Jones was pastor (Daily Record Apr. 5, 1982).
Coats planned to organize a Chamber of Commerce. Prospective members had gathered to appoint temporary officers for the organization. Nine interested merchants and businessmen from the Coats community met and appointed Wade Stephenson as president. Other appointed officers included Fred Temper, temporary vice president; Earl Jones, temporary secretary-treasurer; M.T. Strickland, M.O. Phillips, Tim Brown, Nelson Currin, Marvin Johnson and Gene Stewart as temporary directors (Daily Record Apr. 6, 1982).
Was there lots of excitement about having a CACC in Coats? How many of these men are alive today. I do know that Fred Temper with the bank at that time recently died. Were there others who were instrumental in organizing the chamber who were not named? Thanks to Jenny Stephenson, the Coats Museum has the scrapbook with the early history of the chamber in Coats. Out of curiosity, did you notice that no women were mentioned in that news release?
Coats hosted the Harnett County Softball Classic with teams from Erwin, Dunn and Western Harnett (Daily Record Apr. 6, 1982). Who remembers some of the players on the Coats team? When a team from a town league won a trophy, where did the trophy go? We have many of the athletic trophies from Coats High School in storage at the museum.
Donald Johnson of Coats, Scoutmaster of Troop 779, had agreed to accept the position EXPO Chief for the 1982 EXPO-REE (Daily Record Apr. 6, 1982). Was he called “Cotton”?
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bruckner, Jr. of Fayetteville announced the birth of Sarah Louise Bruckner. Mrs. Bruckner was manager of the Dunn Employment Security office. The mother was the former Annie Louise Jernigan, daughter of Y.T. Jernigan of Coats (Daily Record Apr. 9, 1982).
Many folks remember going into the Y.T. Jernigan store. The family actually placed the scales in the museum that were used to weigh items from the store. Did you have to pay a deposit on the soft drink bottles there? Remember those days?
I do know that Mr. and Mrs. George William Moore of Coats announced the arrival of George William Moore, Jr. at Johnston Memorial Hospital. The sibling of the newborn was Bobbie Jean Moore. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hardison of Coats also announced the birth of a son, William Jessie Hardison, at Cape Fear Valley Hospital. Mrs. Hardison was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Moore (Daily Record Apr. 14, 1982).
Scottie Adair Phillips, 15, student at Benson Elementary died. Surviving him was his mother and stepfather, Charles West and Vera McLamb West, of Route One, Coats. Dee Phillips was a sister and Garland Adair Phillips was the father (Daily Record Apr. 14, 1982).
Mr. and Mrs. Danny Y. Faircloth of Coats announced the birth of a daughter, Amy Louise Faircloth. Mrs. Lura Flowers was the grandmother (Daily Record Apr. 15, 1982).
The next edition of the Daily Record Apr. 16, 1982 announced another birth to a Coats couple. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Peede announced the birth of a daughter, Amy Catherine. Mrs. Verda Grimes and Mr. and Mrs. Fleming Peede were grandparents of the newborn.
Who remembers Donna Ennis? Donna was a real athlete. She won trophies for the highest batting average and the Most Valuable Player in the Harnett County Softball Classic (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1982).
Have you noticed that April news in 1982 consisted mainly of deaths and births? Mrs. Ella Reaves Wood, 86, had died on Sunday in South Carolina Baptist Hospital. She was the daughter of James L. Sorrell and Louise Anna Denning Sorrell. Surviving were two daughter-Margaret Reaves Tew and Mrs. Anna Reaves Schults, and a son, Robert E. Reaves (Daily Record Apr. 19, 1982).
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Jernigan announced the marriage of their daughter, Karen Jernigan, to Scott Lee, son of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Lee of Coats (Daily Record Apr. 22, 1982).
How many of you know where Bailey’s Crossroads is? For some of the children in that neighborhood, it was never the same after Edgar Vance Creech died. He loved teasing them as they walked from one candy jar to another trying to make a choice to buy. Mr. Ed was 70 when he died. He lived on Route One, Benson and his services were held at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. Surviving him were his wife, Ruby Weeks Creech and one son, Donald Ray Creech. He had four brothers- Jesse, Luther, George Melvin and J.C. Creech. His two sisters were Mrs. Cornelia Johnson and Mrs. Cody Byrd (Daily Record Apr. 22, 1982).
Mrs. Juanita Hudson was guest speaker at the Creative Homemakers Club. She spoke on decorating, antiques, trends, crafts colors and fabrics (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1982).
Wayne Grimes, 54, of Coats, had died on Saturday. Funeral services were held at the Rose Funeral Home Chapel and Coats City Cemetery. Surviving him were two sons-Douglas Wayne and Michael Dale Grimes and one daughter, Mrs. Janet Grimes Jones. His mother was Mrs. Florence Grimes and his two sisters were Mrs. Hilda G. Hedrick and Mrs. Jenny Stephenson (Daily Record Apr. 26, 1982).
Sandra Byrd became the bride of Barry Joe Butts. Sandra was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Byrd and Mrs .Helen Avery was the mother of the groom. The couple were teachers (Daily Record Apr. 30, 1982).
The Arts Council of Harnett Council presented Mrs. Jeanine Ennis Kluttz in a recital at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Kluttz began her singing debut in a Coats High musical when she was in the second grade and had been singing ever since. She taught music, played and sang all around the world as she followed Lt. Col. John Kluttz in his 20 years Air Force career. Jeanine was a soprano soloist for “Tripoli Modrigol Society, an international Chorus in Tripoli, Libya, singing in concert halls, at embassy parties for British Elizabethan evenings around the round table, and providing entertainment in the castle of the British Lord” (Daily Record Apr. 30, 1982).
Did you say “Wow”? Not only did she have a beautiful voice but she was such a lovely, down to earth lady. We were fortunate to have her grow up in our church and to have her brother Don Ennis play his saxophone at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. I even wrote in earlier Coats Museum News columns about their mother, Mrs. Beulah Barbour Ennis, playing the piano at parties in the Turlington Crossroads area.
Out of town visitors often ask- “What was the museum building before it became the Coats Museum.?” The volunteers share that it was originally a two room school serving students in the second grade from 1914 to 1922. [The three story brick building was in use in September of 1921 because a spelling bee was held in the school auditorium at 8:00 PM on Friday (Heritage of Coats, NC page 63).] I wonder if anyone is living that can verify exactly when the building was moved down the hill and converted into a residential building. Several students who were students in that building were alive in 1995 and shared stories at the Coats Museum dedication in October of 1995. The building was formerly located in the general area of Noah’s restaurant. Billy and Peggie Pope gave the building to a group of Coats citizens who wanted to restore it and make it a town museum to showcase items that displayed the story of life in Coats in earlier days. After dozens of fundraisers and hours of hard labor, that group of volunteers was able to realize their goal of converting the small green house into a museum. Thank you goes to Peggie and Billy Pope who continue to support the museum. Their Coats Museum financial memorial for Joe Giles is an example of their continuing generosity and love of the Coats community.
She could walk anywhere she chose even though her legs weren’t as good as they once were. She could see well enough to drive to visit in the neighborhood. She did her own housework, cooking and crocheting. Who was this remarkable lady? She was Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Sr. and she had just celebrated her 90th birthday (Daily Record Mar. 16, 1982).
Certainly as we have read this Coats Museum News articles for the past ten years, we have noticed that people over the years have lived longer than the previous generations. Another bit of proof of longevity can be found by reading death notices. Take for example that Mrs. Ellen Stewart, who had died on Tuesday in the Adams Kinton Nursing Home, was 94 years old. That age meant she was born in 1888, long before cars mired in the muddy ruts in the roads in and around Coats. The Stewart family was at the home of Mrs. Tally Stewart on East Lemon Street in Coats. Dafford Funeral Home handled the services held at Mt. Pisgah FWB Church where she was buried in the church cemetery (Daily Record Mar. 19, 1982).
Dafford Funeral Home received friends of Mrs. Joseph Lee who had died on Sunday. Her services were held at Mt. Pisgah FWB Church and cemetery. Mrs. Lee was 72 years old and was survived by her husband, Jesse Howard Lee, and a daughter, Mrs. Linda McKoy, of Coats. Howard Lee, Jr. and Shelton Lee were her two sons. Mrs. Fannie Lee, Mrs. Hattie Murray, Mrs. Nettie White, Paul Guy McNeill and James McNeill were siblings (Daily Record Mar. 23, 1982).
Mrs. Pamela Stephenson Collier, of Coats, had joined the Coats town board staff as deputy clerk and deputy tax collector. She was married to Haywood Collier and they attended the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church where Pam was a Sunday school teacher. They had two daughters-Amy and Crystal (Daily Record Mar.29, 1982).
Mrs. Ruby Matthews, 80, of Coats, had died on Saturday. Rose Funeral Home was the site of the funeral and Bethsaida PB Church cemetery was the burial site. Her two daughters were Mrs. William “Doc” Jackson and Mrs. Jessie R. Beasley. Grimes Matthews was her son (Daily Record Apr. 5, 1982).
Little Vanessa Parrish celebrated her 9th birthday with a party. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Parrish and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Parrish of Coats. She had an older brother Kevin and the family lived in Buies Creek (Daily Record Apr. 5, 1982).
Lucas Hairstyling of Erwin had hired Frank Dorman, Jr. He had studied hairstyling for men and was fully accredited in precision shear and scissor cutting techniques (Daily Record Apr. 4, 1982).
The Full Gospel Tabernacle Church Choir of Coats presented “His Last Days” written by Dallas Holmes. Vernon Potter, Jr. directed the Easter Cantata and various soloists of the church were featured. Rev. Willie Jones was pastor (Daily Record Apr. 5, 1982).
Coats planned to organize a Chamber of Commerce. Prospective members had gathered to appoint temporary officers for the organization. Nine interested merchants and businessmen from the Coats community met and appointed Wade Stephenson as president. Other appointed officers included Fred Temper, temporary vice president; Earl Jones, temporary secretary-treasurer; M.T. Strickland, M.O. Phillips, Tim Brown, Nelson Currin, Marvin Johnson and Gene Stewart as temporary directors (Daily Record Apr. 6, 1982).
Was there lots of excitement about having a CACC in Coats? How many of these men are alive today. I do know that Fred Temper with the bank at that time recently died. Were there others who were instrumental in organizing the chamber who were not named? Thanks to Jenny Stephenson, the Coats Museum has the scrapbook with the early history of the chamber in Coats. Out of curiosity, did you notice that no women were mentioned in that news release?
Coats hosted the Harnett County Softball Classic with teams from Erwin, Dunn and Western Harnett (Daily Record Apr. 6, 1982). Who remembers some of the players on the Coats team? When a team from a town league won a trophy, where did the trophy go? We have many of the athletic trophies from Coats High School in storage at the museum.
Donald Johnson of Coats, Scoutmaster of Troop 779, had agreed to accept the position EXPO Chief for the 1982 EXPO-REE (Daily Record Apr. 6, 1982). Was he called “Cotton”?
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bruckner, Jr. of Fayetteville announced the birth of Sarah Louise Bruckner. Mrs. Bruckner was manager of the Dunn Employment Security office. The mother was the former Annie Louise Jernigan, daughter of Y.T. Jernigan of Coats (Daily Record Apr. 9, 1982).
Many folks remember going into the Y.T. Jernigan store. The family actually placed the scales in the museum that were used to weigh items from the store. Did you have to pay a deposit on the soft drink bottles there? Remember those days?
I do know that Mr. and Mrs. George William Moore of Coats announced the arrival of George William Moore, Jr. at Johnston Memorial Hospital. The sibling of the newborn was Bobbie Jean Moore. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hardison of Coats also announced the birth of a son, William Jessie Hardison, at Cape Fear Valley Hospital. Mrs. Hardison was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Moore (Daily Record Apr. 14, 1982).
Scottie Adair Phillips, 15, student at Benson Elementary died. Surviving him was his mother and stepfather, Charles West and Vera McLamb West, of Route One, Coats. Dee Phillips was a sister and Garland Adair Phillips was the father (Daily Record Apr. 14, 1982).
Mr. and Mrs. Danny Y. Faircloth of Coats announced the birth of a daughter, Amy Louise Faircloth. Mrs. Lura Flowers was the grandmother (Daily Record Apr. 15, 1982).
The next edition of the Daily Record Apr. 16, 1982 announced another birth to a Coats couple. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Peede announced the birth of a daughter, Amy Catherine. Mrs. Verda Grimes and Mr. and Mrs. Fleming Peede were grandparents of the newborn.
Who remembers Donna Ennis? Donna was a real athlete. She won trophies for the highest batting average and the Most Valuable Player in the Harnett County Softball Classic (Daily Record Apr. 16, 1982).
Have you noticed that April news in 1982 consisted mainly of deaths and births? Mrs. Ella Reaves Wood, 86, had died on Sunday in South Carolina Baptist Hospital. She was the daughter of James L. Sorrell and Louise Anna Denning Sorrell. Surviving were two daughter-Margaret Reaves Tew and Mrs. Anna Reaves Schults, and a son, Robert E. Reaves (Daily Record Apr. 19, 1982).
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Jernigan announced the marriage of their daughter, Karen Jernigan, to Scott Lee, son of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Lee of Coats (Daily Record Apr. 22, 1982).
How many of you know where Bailey’s Crossroads is? For some of the children in that neighborhood, it was never the same after Edgar Vance Creech died. He loved teasing them as they walked from one candy jar to another trying to make a choice to buy. Mr. Ed was 70 when he died. He lived on Route One, Benson and his services were held at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. Surviving him were his wife, Ruby Weeks Creech and one son, Donald Ray Creech. He had four brothers- Jesse, Luther, George Melvin and J.C. Creech. His two sisters were Mrs. Cornelia Johnson and Mrs. Cody Byrd (Daily Record Apr. 22, 1982).
Mrs. Juanita Hudson was guest speaker at the Creative Homemakers Club. She spoke on decorating, antiques, trends, crafts colors and fabrics (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1982).
Wayne Grimes, 54, of Coats, had died on Saturday. Funeral services were held at the Rose Funeral Home Chapel and Coats City Cemetery. Surviving him were two sons-Douglas Wayne and Michael Dale Grimes and one daughter, Mrs. Janet Grimes Jones. His mother was Mrs. Florence Grimes and his two sisters were Mrs. Hilda G. Hedrick and Mrs. Jenny Stephenson (Daily Record Apr. 26, 1982).
Sandra Byrd became the bride of Barry Joe Butts. Sandra was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Byrd and Mrs .Helen Avery was the mother of the groom. The couple were teachers (Daily Record Apr. 30, 1982).
The Arts Council of Harnett Council presented Mrs. Jeanine Ennis Kluttz in a recital at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Kluttz began her singing debut in a Coats High musical when she was in the second grade and had been singing ever since. She taught music, played and sang all around the world as she followed Lt. Col. John Kluttz in his 20 years Air Force career. Jeanine was a soprano soloist for “Tripoli Modrigol Society, an international Chorus in Tripoli, Libya, singing in concert halls, at embassy parties for British Elizabethan evenings around the round table, and providing entertainment in the castle of the British Lord” (Daily Record Apr. 30, 1982).
Did you say “Wow”? Not only did she have a beautiful voice but she was such a lovely, down to earth lady. We were fortunate to have her grow up in our church and to have her brother Don Ennis play his saxophone at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. I even wrote in earlier Coats Museum News columns about their mother, Mrs. Beulah Barbour Ennis, playing the piano at parties in the Turlington Crossroads area.
Out of town visitors often ask- “What was the museum building before it became the Coats Museum.?” The volunteers share that it was originally a two room school serving students in the second grade from 1914 to 1922. [The three story brick building was in use in September of 1921 because a spelling bee was held in the school auditorium at 8:00 PM on Friday (Heritage of Coats, NC page 63).] I wonder if anyone is living that can verify exactly when the building was moved down the hill and converted into a residential building. Several students who were students in that building were alive in 1995 and shared stories at the Coats Museum dedication in October of 1995. The building was formerly located in the general area of Noah’s restaurant. Billy and Peggie Pope gave the building to a group of Coats citizens who wanted to restore it and make it a town museum to showcase items that displayed the story of life in Coats in earlier days. After dozens of fundraisers and hours of hard labor, that group of volunteers was able to realize their goal of converting the small green house into a museum. Thank you goes to Peggie and Billy Pope who continue to support the museum. Their Coats Museum financial memorial for Joe Giles is an example of their continuing generosity and love of the Coats community.