January 3, 2014 Coats Museum News
Do you know what the property tax rate is in Harnett County in 2014? Is it higher than it was in 1947? The tax rate was $1.35 according to the July 3, 1947 edition of the Dunn Dispatch. Wonder if the folks who attended the Ennis family reunion at the Primitive Zion Church talked about taxes. I do know that the family was one of the most prominent of the area and held a reunion annually in July. Paul Strickland, Dunn businessman, was president of the reunion association. M.E. Ennis and Thurman Ennis served on the committee. A special memorial service was dedicated to J.B. Ennis who had served as chairman of the HCBOC. Clyde Sorrell was home from Norfolk for the weekend (Dunn Dispatch July 17, 1947). Was he connected to the Ennis Clan?
In 1947, 12,544 students attended Harnett County Schools. Seventy-three buses were used to transport the students. Promoted students were 9,783 and not promoted were 1, 229 in number. The libraries in the white schools had 51,410 volumes and there were 7, 375 volumes in colored schools. Sexton Jones of Coats, Route One, lost his wife Lubia Bea Jones (44) to death on Friday. She was mother to the following six children: Darnell, Lacy Lawrence, Sandy, Louise and Ruby Jones, all of Coats. The cafes and markets, which were inspected by a safety inspector, were Coats Café, Byrd’s Grocery, City Market, E.H. Honeycutt Market, Johnson’s Market, Keene Grocery and Market and Ryals Market (Harnett County News July 17, 1947).
Does anyone remember Gertrude Byrd? I remember when we were researching the newspapers at the Daily Record, Christine Parrish shared with us that Gertrude was a beautiful girl. She must have had skills at sewing as well. She was a member of the senior 4-H Club and won the county’s dress review (Dunn Dispatch July 28, 1947).
There were two weddings in July and many of you will recognize the names. Delores Stewart married J.C. Tart on July 4th. She was the daughter of Mrs. Ester Turlington Stewart Dixon of Benson and the late Zeb Stewart of Coats (Dunn Dispatch July 28, 1947). Are they James and Charlotte Tart‘s parents?
Another couple to marry was Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cleo Hawley on July 26th. Mrs. Hawley was the former Ora Pond Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eason Smith. The groom’s parents were Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Hawley (Dunn Dispatch August 4, 1947). That couple was loved by many people in Coats where they both worked in the Coats School. Mr. Hawley was principal and Mrs. Hawley worked as a classroom assistant.
Did most of the homes in Coats have telephones in 1947? The rates were increased from $2.00 to $2.50 for a private residence? A two-party increased from $1.50 to $2.00. Did some folks say they could visit cheaper than they could make monthly phones bills? I do know that a ride on the Trailways bus from Dunn to Smithfield cost 45 cents; to Raleigh was 90 cents and to New York it was $7.50 while a trip to the nation’s capital was $5.00 (Dunn Dispatch August 7, 1947).
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON JAN.3, 2014.
Dr. Clarence Roberts, Coats native, opened his dental office in Dunn. He was a graduate of Southern Dental College in Atlanta. Also news in the Dunn paper indicated that Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Currin were among the guests who attended a surprise birthday party honoring Mr. W. A. Coats by his wife (Dunn Dispatch August 14, 1947).
Mrs. Vara Stewart Hardee and Mrs. Jeff Turlington were teachers at Oakdale School and had opened the school on September 2, 1947 which was the same date that Coats School also opened (Dunn Dispatch August 14, 1947).
The farm students were likely excited that school was opening. Cotton picking time was at hand. Even their dads were likely excited to learn that cotton was selling for 40 cents per pound. If a bale of cotton weighed 501 pounds, how much did it bring if the farmers decided to sell it rather than hold it? Was there a fee to sell cotton and tobacco?
Mrs. Ruby Rowland, a teacher, was injured when getting off the Greyhound bus at Coats. Mrs. Rowland was violently thrown to the ground. She sued the bus line for $10,000 because she had lost summer employment. Was she a relative of Eloise, Buster and Hubert Rowland? Nice people! I do know that it has been a while since we have heard about road petitioning. We now have one in September of 1947.
A petition was filed for the section of road off the Averasboro and Smithfield Road near Parlia Wood’s place via G.C. Langdon and M.E. Ennis farms for a distance of 4 miles (Dunn Dispatch September 1, 1947). Is this the current Cane Mill Road?
One knows that school bus transportation safety is a must. Gone are the days when students rode in buses with center seats in which a sudden stop could send the students sliding down the seat toward the driver. Some of you are not going to believe what you are about to read. The county office required each school to have a bus safety patrol. The principal was responsible for organizing a patrol on each bus. You say, ”That’s not surprising.” Wait, each bus was to have two students with red flags. One was to check to make sure any student was safe who had to cross the road in front of the bus. The second student had to ride in the back of the bus and wave a red flag out the back window on the left side of the bus (Dunn Dispatch September 1, 1947). That needs some clarification. Is there anyone who knows about this safety patrol on school buses? Were there no stop signs on the buses in 1947?
What about the students who were not allowed to ride the bus regularly? The State Board of Education ruled that walking distance to a bus route or to the school was one mile. Any child living 1 and one half miles from the school building had to walk. If a bus was not loaded, the driver could pick up the walker (Dunn Dispatch September 1, 1947). That sounds contradictory- was it a mile or a mile and one half to walk?
Thank you to our friend Jerry Tart for calling to share that the old Coats cannery was located down the hill from the cafeteria which was built in 1957. He said that he and some of his classmates helped tear down the old cement block building. Wonder if the old blocks were recycled?
A thank you is sent to Peggie and Billy Pope, Bobby and Geraldine Byrd, and Stewart Akerman for joining the list of donors on the wall plaques for the museum expansion project. We are also excited that someone came forth and has added to a wall plaque in memory of Lottie Surles Lamm. Thank you to Dr. Bryan and Liz Sorrell and J.B. and Lenee Smith for adding the names of their young children-Ethan and Austin Sorrell and Blair and Edwin Smith- to the plaques. Thank you to Linda Cobb for remembering her friends, Mack and Juanita Hudson, with a Christmas donation to the museum. Several memorial donations have come in to honor two other outstanding Coats natives- Nelson Currin and Allene Honeycutt. Both will be long remembered for their ability to make their listeners feel important.
Do you know what the property tax rate is in Harnett County in 2014? Is it higher than it was in 1947? The tax rate was $1.35 according to the July 3, 1947 edition of the Dunn Dispatch. Wonder if the folks who attended the Ennis family reunion at the Primitive Zion Church talked about taxes. I do know that the family was one of the most prominent of the area and held a reunion annually in July. Paul Strickland, Dunn businessman, was president of the reunion association. M.E. Ennis and Thurman Ennis served on the committee. A special memorial service was dedicated to J.B. Ennis who had served as chairman of the HCBOC. Clyde Sorrell was home from Norfolk for the weekend (Dunn Dispatch July 17, 1947). Was he connected to the Ennis Clan?
In 1947, 12,544 students attended Harnett County Schools. Seventy-three buses were used to transport the students. Promoted students were 9,783 and not promoted were 1, 229 in number. The libraries in the white schools had 51,410 volumes and there were 7, 375 volumes in colored schools. Sexton Jones of Coats, Route One, lost his wife Lubia Bea Jones (44) to death on Friday. She was mother to the following six children: Darnell, Lacy Lawrence, Sandy, Louise and Ruby Jones, all of Coats. The cafes and markets, which were inspected by a safety inspector, were Coats Café, Byrd’s Grocery, City Market, E.H. Honeycutt Market, Johnson’s Market, Keene Grocery and Market and Ryals Market (Harnett County News July 17, 1947).
Does anyone remember Gertrude Byrd? I remember when we were researching the newspapers at the Daily Record, Christine Parrish shared with us that Gertrude was a beautiful girl. She must have had skills at sewing as well. She was a member of the senior 4-H Club and won the county’s dress review (Dunn Dispatch July 28, 1947).
There were two weddings in July and many of you will recognize the names. Delores Stewart married J.C. Tart on July 4th. She was the daughter of Mrs. Ester Turlington Stewart Dixon of Benson and the late Zeb Stewart of Coats (Dunn Dispatch July 28, 1947). Are they James and Charlotte Tart‘s parents?
Another couple to marry was Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cleo Hawley on July 26th. Mrs. Hawley was the former Ora Pond Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eason Smith. The groom’s parents were Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Hawley (Dunn Dispatch August 4, 1947). That couple was loved by many people in Coats where they both worked in the Coats School. Mr. Hawley was principal and Mrs. Hawley worked as a classroom assistant.
Did most of the homes in Coats have telephones in 1947? The rates were increased from $2.00 to $2.50 for a private residence? A two-party increased from $1.50 to $2.00. Did some folks say they could visit cheaper than they could make monthly phones bills? I do know that a ride on the Trailways bus from Dunn to Smithfield cost 45 cents; to Raleigh was 90 cents and to New York it was $7.50 while a trip to the nation’s capital was $5.00 (Dunn Dispatch August 7, 1947).
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON JAN.3, 2014.
Dr. Clarence Roberts, Coats native, opened his dental office in Dunn. He was a graduate of Southern Dental College in Atlanta. Also news in the Dunn paper indicated that Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Currin were among the guests who attended a surprise birthday party honoring Mr. W. A. Coats by his wife (Dunn Dispatch August 14, 1947).
Mrs. Vara Stewart Hardee and Mrs. Jeff Turlington were teachers at Oakdale School and had opened the school on September 2, 1947 which was the same date that Coats School also opened (Dunn Dispatch August 14, 1947).
The farm students were likely excited that school was opening. Cotton picking time was at hand. Even their dads were likely excited to learn that cotton was selling for 40 cents per pound. If a bale of cotton weighed 501 pounds, how much did it bring if the farmers decided to sell it rather than hold it? Was there a fee to sell cotton and tobacco?
Mrs. Ruby Rowland, a teacher, was injured when getting off the Greyhound bus at Coats. Mrs. Rowland was violently thrown to the ground. She sued the bus line for $10,000 because she had lost summer employment. Was she a relative of Eloise, Buster and Hubert Rowland? Nice people! I do know that it has been a while since we have heard about road petitioning. We now have one in September of 1947.
A petition was filed for the section of road off the Averasboro and Smithfield Road near Parlia Wood’s place via G.C. Langdon and M.E. Ennis farms for a distance of 4 miles (Dunn Dispatch September 1, 1947). Is this the current Cane Mill Road?
One knows that school bus transportation safety is a must. Gone are the days when students rode in buses with center seats in which a sudden stop could send the students sliding down the seat toward the driver. Some of you are not going to believe what you are about to read. The county office required each school to have a bus safety patrol. The principal was responsible for organizing a patrol on each bus. You say, ”That’s not surprising.” Wait, each bus was to have two students with red flags. One was to check to make sure any student was safe who had to cross the road in front of the bus. The second student had to ride in the back of the bus and wave a red flag out the back window on the left side of the bus (Dunn Dispatch September 1, 1947). That needs some clarification. Is there anyone who knows about this safety patrol on school buses? Were there no stop signs on the buses in 1947?
What about the students who were not allowed to ride the bus regularly? The State Board of Education ruled that walking distance to a bus route or to the school was one mile. Any child living 1 and one half miles from the school building had to walk. If a bus was not loaded, the driver could pick up the walker (Dunn Dispatch September 1, 1947). That sounds contradictory- was it a mile or a mile and one half to walk?
Thank you to our friend Jerry Tart for calling to share that the old Coats cannery was located down the hill from the cafeteria which was built in 1957. He said that he and some of his classmates helped tear down the old cement block building. Wonder if the old blocks were recycled?
A thank you is sent to Peggie and Billy Pope, Bobby and Geraldine Byrd, and Stewart Akerman for joining the list of donors on the wall plaques for the museum expansion project. We are also excited that someone came forth and has added to a wall plaque in memory of Lottie Surles Lamm. Thank you to Dr. Bryan and Liz Sorrell and J.B. and Lenee Smith for adding the names of their young children-Ethan and Austin Sorrell and Blair and Edwin Smith- to the plaques. Thank you to Linda Cobb for remembering her friends, Mack and Juanita Hudson, with a Christmas donation to the museum. Several memorial donations have come in to honor two other outstanding Coats natives- Nelson Currin and Allene Honeycutt. Both will be long remembered for their ability to make their listeners feel important.