January 8, 2016 Coats Museum News
It was May of 1956 and the Clyde Denning and Stewart Bailey families received the news that there was to be a wedding. Stacy Bailey had selected Sue Frances Denning to be his bride in the near future (Daily Record May 31, 1956).
Elsewhere in Coats, the news was about the graduation of Dr. Dewey H. Yarley, MD from UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. His family had owned and operated the Coats Theater in town. Dr. Yarley’s father had served as a town councilman.
Another student had also received a degree from the university. Miss Jean Sorrell was awarded her Dental Hygiene degree from UNC. She was daughter of the late John L. Sorrell, Jr. and Mae Johnson Sorrell of the Dunn area. Mae was a former teacher at the Sorrell School in the 1920’s.
Question-are Dr. Yarley and Jean alive? This I do know. A new John Deere “45 Self–Propelled Combine” was available to harvest all the farmers’ grains. It would pick and shell their corn in one machine. It only took minutes to change the heads. Heads? Johnson Cotton Company had them for sale (Daily Record June 4, 1956).
The evaluation of property in Harnett County in 1955 was $53,000,000. Who knows what it was in 2015? We do know that a Coats girl won the Bus Driving Contest. Faye Catherine Avery had to answer 50 questions on the exam and had to pass a complicated series of tests in order to win the $25 war bond. Dwight Tripp also represented Coats (Daily Record June 6, 1956).
Death visited and took James W. Wilkins, 73, of rural Angier. He had died at Good Hope Hospital on Tuesday. Mr. Wilkins had moved to Harnett County from Person County twelve years earlier. His funeral was at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. He was survived by his widow, Mrs. Ada Wilkins; sons-Rufus, Leamon, Ernest, Spencer, John, Elmo, Thomas, George, and Edward; daughters-Mrs. Wilbern Stephenson, Mrs. Jake Campbell, Mrs. Arthur Stephenson and Mrs. Glenwood Godwin (Daily Record June 7, 1956).
Over 1.5 million dollars was to be spent on Harnett County new school buildings and equipment. Old buildings were budgeted 53,000 dollars and 28,500 dollars was earmarked for new school buses. Coats was to get two new teachers making 31 on the faculty in 1956-57. Sixteen were on the faculty at Gentry and thirty-six on staff at Harnett High.
The folks at the Coats Methodist Church were told to bring a “well-stocked basket” for the picnic during homecoming service (Daily Record June 8, 1956).
White Memorial Presbyterian Church was the scene of the marriage of Miss Jeanne Carolyn Kluttz, formerly of Henderson, to Carl Lee Hough, son of Carl L. Hough of Coats. Stewart Hough, Russell Lamm, Bobby Stewart, and Franklin Stewart were ushers. Mrs. Hough was a student in nursing at Rex School of Nursing and Mr. Hough, a NC State graduate, was employed by GMAC in Raleigh.
From weddings to funerals was common news. Elder J.T. Lewis had held funeral services for Robert Godwin at the Gift Primitive Baptist Church. His wife and three children survived him. Rex, Judy and Norma Jean were children while his parents were Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Godwin. Mrs. A.F. Grimes, Mrs. Huey White, Floyd Godwin and Clem Godwin were his siblings (Daily Record July 11, 1956).
Wonder how upset the folks in the area were over the $1.45 per $100 property valuation for Harnett County property. It was up 10 cents from last year for Harnett. I do know that the paper wrote that the Coats residents were very upset over the prospect of changes in their mail service that would probably have meant a slower delivery. A survey conducted by the post office department had suggested that the 40-mile Coats route be combined with Angier, Dunn, and Lillington. Since the mail would have gone into Dunn, it would have been slower in reaching the Coats destination. Carson Gregory told the Coats people that Senator Kerr Scott would be with Coats residents on opposing the change.
Coats had planned a project per month in the campaign to improve the town and to make a good showing in the Finer Carolina contest. The latest of several barbecue suppers was held at the Coats School cafeteria. There was a chicken stew supper, too. Floodlighting the athletic field, a cleanup and fix up campaign, landscaping at the cemetery and a general improvement of the fire department were among plans being pushed. Mrs. H.T. Roberts was publicity director of the Finer Carolina Program (Daily Record June 14, 1956).
The monthly meeting of the Goodwill Club was held with Mrs. Jarvis Pleasant, Mrs. Gerald Hayes, Mrs. Evit Denning, Mrs. Johnny Barnes, and Mrs. Carson Gregory as participants. Mrs. Vernon Parrish was a guest.
Another family was visited by death. Mrs. Emily Lenora Stewart, 80, from Buies Creek died Thursday night at her home. Rev. E. Weldon Johnson held graveside services at 5:00 PM in the Buies Creek Cemetery. Mrs. Stewart was a native and lifelong resident of Harnett County and the daughter of John W. and Susan Wiggins Kennedy. Leland Stewart and Mrs. Latta Stewart survived her. She was sister of Mrs. Lula Coats of Coats (Daily Record June 15, 1956).
Miss Linda Ruth Byrd of rural Coats had left for Burlington where she was employed for the summer. Her sister, Miss Marie Byrd, of Camp Lejeune School faculty, was home visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Byrd (Daily Record June 18, 1956).
The Daily Record headlines were “Baby Tornado Strikes Coats Area.”A baby tornado took a hedgehopping, witch’s ride through Coats. It knocked a fertilizer warehouse across the railroad tracks, smashed windows in the business district, and collapsed a porch and part of a house and splattered shingles, soot, and dirt here and there before ending its visit. It happened around 9PM. Mayton Upchurch said the twister sounded like an airplane’s roar. Mrs. Donahue Stephenson, whose house was damaged, said it sounded to her like everything was being blown up. The greatest damage was done to Haywood Roberts’s warehouse.
Herbert Johnson who had no damage done to his business reconstructed the path of the twister. It first hit the neon light of Clem Godwin’s City Market. Then it hopped to McKnight’s Drug Store and got the windows and part of the window to Woodall’s dry goods store. It hopped across the street to Vic Lee’s Dry good and took part of his front show window. It leaped over Lee’ s store to Roberts’ warehouse. That’s where the worst damage was done. From there, it skipped over a block and got the shingles off the Clayborn Norris house and his new television antenna. On the opposite corner, it got the roof and porch of a tenant house owned by Oscar Stephenson. Hot wires were down in front of the Carolina Oil Store and were guarded by police.
The twister then headed to Turlington Crossroads and did damage to T.D. Stewart’s garage. A light pole was blown across the road. After the storm, the streets were full of people who flocked to see the damage. Damage was quickly cleaned up as the local children played horsie on the downed trees. “A baby tornado” said Leamon Wilkins, a farmer outside of Coats, “all we got was heavy rain on the farm.”
Who remembers this baby twister? Read next week about the wedding of Rebecca Whittington to Jerry Lamont Splawn. We will also get the results of the post office dispute in Coats.
Did your parents ever say,”Don’t let it go to your head,” after you were recognized for some accomplishment? Were you ever told not to get above your raisings or to remember where you came from? Coats has had many folks who have made a difference beyond our city limits and many of them have not forgotten their hometown. Some have placed extraordinary items for display in the museum while others have made generous donations to it. Larue Stanley Mills of Florida, Baxter Ennis (Retired Lt. Col.) of Chesapeake, VA. , Dr. Bryan Sorrell of Virginia Beach and Lenee Smith are four former Coats students who have generously given again to the museum over the holidays. Thanks go to them.
As 2015 came to a close, several individuals were remembered with donations to the Coats Museum Endowment. These donations build up the endowment where only earnings off the fund can be by the museum. Patsy and Stacy Avery, Becky Adams, Lynda and Robie Butler, Bill and Nell Williams, Jonah and Alice Johnson were remembered.
It was May of 1956 and the Clyde Denning and Stewart Bailey families received the news that there was to be a wedding. Stacy Bailey had selected Sue Frances Denning to be his bride in the near future (Daily Record May 31, 1956).
Elsewhere in Coats, the news was about the graduation of Dr. Dewey H. Yarley, MD from UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. His family had owned and operated the Coats Theater in town. Dr. Yarley’s father had served as a town councilman.
Another student had also received a degree from the university. Miss Jean Sorrell was awarded her Dental Hygiene degree from UNC. She was daughter of the late John L. Sorrell, Jr. and Mae Johnson Sorrell of the Dunn area. Mae was a former teacher at the Sorrell School in the 1920’s.
Question-are Dr. Yarley and Jean alive? This I do know. A new John Deere “45 Self–Propelled Combine” was available to harvest all the farmers’ grains. It would pick and shell their corn in one machine. It only took minutes to change the heads. Heads? Johnson Cotton Company had them for sale (Daily Record June 4, 1956).
The evaluation of property in Harnett County in 1955 was $53,000,000. Who knows what it was in 2015? We do know that a Coats girl won the Bus Driving Contest. Faye Catherine Avery had to answer 50 questions on the exam and had to pass a complicated series of tests in order to win the $25 war bond. Dwight Tripp also represented Coats (Daily Record June 6, 1956).
Death visited and took James W. Wilkins, 73, of rural Angier. He had died at Good Hope Hospital on Tuesday. Mr. Wilkins had moved to Harnett County from Person County twelve years earlier. His funeral was at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. He was survived by his widow, Mrs. Ada Wilkins; sons-Rufus, Leamon, Ernest, Spencer, John, Elmo, Thomas, George, and Edward; daughters-Mrs. Wilbern Stephenson, Mrs. Jake Campbell, Mrs. Arthur Stephenson and Mrs. Glenwood Godwin (Daily Record June 7, 1956).
Over 1.5 million dollars was to be spent on Harnett County new school buildings and equipment. Old buildings were budgeted 53,000 dollars and 28,500 dollars was earmarked for new school buses. Coats was to get two new teachers making 31 on the faculty in 1956-57. Sixteen were on the faculty at Gentry and thirty-six on staff at Harnett High.
The folks at the Coats Methodist Church were told to bring a “well-stocked basket” for the picnic during homecoming service (Daily Record June 8, 1956).
White Memorial Presbyterian Church was the scene of the marriage of Miss Jeanne Carolyn Kluttz, formerly of Henderson, to Carl Lee Hough, son of Carl L. Hough of Coats. Stewart Hough, Russell Lamm, Bobby Stewart, and Franklin Stewart were ushers. Mrs. Hough was a student in nursing at Rex School of Nursing and Mr. Hough, a NC State graduate, was employed by GMAC in Raleigh.
From weddings to funerals was common news. Elder J.T. Lewis had held funeral services for Robert Godwin at the Gift Primitive Baptist Church. His wife and three children survived him. Rex, Judy and Norma Jean were children while his parents were Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Godwin. Mrs. A.F. Grimes, Mrs. Huey White, Floyd Godwin and Clem Godwin were his siblings (Daily Record July 11, 1956).
Wonder how upset the folks in the area were over the $1.45 per $100 property valuation for Harnett County property. It was up 10 cents from last year for Harnett. I do know that the paper wrote that the Coats residents were very upset over the prospect of changes in their mail service that would probably have meant a slower delivery. A survey conducted by the post office department had suggested that the 40-mile Coats route be combined with Angier, Dunn, and Lillington. Since the mail would have gone into Dunn, it would have been slower in reaching the Coats destination. Carson Gregory told the Coats people that Senator Kerr Scott would be with Coats residents on opposing the change.
Coats had planned a project per month in the campaign to improve the town and to make a good showing in the Finer Carolina contest. The latest of several barbecue suppers was held at the Coats School cafeteria. There was a chicken stew supper, too. Floodlighting the athletic field, a cleanup and fix up campaign, landscaping at the cemetery and a general improvement of the fire department were among plans being pushed. Mrs. H.T. Roberts was publicity director of the Finer Carolina Program (Daily Record June 14, 1956).
The monthly meeting of the Goodwill Club was held with Mrs. Jarvis Pleasant, Mrs. Gerald Hayes, Mrs. Evit Denning, Mrs. Johnny Barnes, and Mrs. Carson Gregory as participants. Mrs. Vernon Parrish was a guest.
Another family was visited by death. Mrs. Emily Lenora Stewart, 80, from Buies Creek died Thursday night at her home. Rev. E. Weldon Johnson held graveside services at 5:00 PM in the Buies Creek Cemetery. Mrs. Stewart was a native and lifelong resident of Harnett County and the daughter of John W. and Susan Wiggins Kennedy. Leland Stewart and Mrs. Latta Stewart survived her. She was sister of Mrs. Lula Coats of Coats (Daily Record June 15, 1956).
Miss Linda Ruth Byrd of rural Coats had left for Burlington where she was employed for the summer. Her sister, Miss Marie Byrd, of Camp Lejeune School faculty, was home visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Byrd (Daily Record June 18, 1956).
The Daily Record headlines were “Baby Tornado Strikes Coats Area.”A baby tornado took a hedgehopping, witch’s ride through Coats. It knocked a fertilizer warehouse across the railroad tracks, smashed windows in the business district, and collapsed a porch and part of a house and splattered shingles, soot, and dirt here and there before ending its visit. It happened around 9PM. Mayton Upchurch said the twister sounded like an airplane’s roar. Mrs. Donahue Stephenson, whose house was damaged, said it sounded to her like everything was being blown up. The greatest damage was done to Haywood Roberts’s warehouse.
Herbert Johnson who had no damage done to his business reconstructed the path of the twister. It first hit the neon light of Clem Godwin’s City Market. Then it hopped to McKnight’s Drug Store and got the windows and part of the window to Woodall’s dry goods store. It hopped across the street to Vic Lee’s Dry good and took part of his front show window. It leaped over Lee’ s store to Roberts’ warehouse. That’s where the worst damage was done. From there, it skipped over a block and got the shingles off the Clayborn Norris house and his new television antenna. On the opposite corner, it got the roof and porch of a tenant house owned by Oscar Stephenson. Hot wires were down in front of the Carolina Oil Store and were guarded by police.
The twister then headed to Turlington Crossroads and did damage to T.D. Stewart’s garage. A light pole was blown across the road. After the storm, the streets were full of people who flocked to see the damage. Damage was quickly cleaned up as the local children played horsie on the downed trees. “A baby tornado” said Leamon Wilkins, a farmer outside of Coats, “all we got was heavy rain on the farm.”
Who remembers this baby twister? Read next week about the wedding of Rebecca Whittington to Jerry Lamont Splawn. We will also get the results of the post office dispute in Coats.
Did your parents ever say,”Don’t let it go to your head,” after you were recognized for some accomplishment? Were you ever told not to get above your raisings or to remember where you came from? Coats has had many folks who have made a difference beyond our city limits and many of them have not forgotten their hometown. Some have placed extraordinary items for display in the museum while others have made generous donations to it. Larue Stanley Mills of Florida, Baxter Ennis (Retired Lt. Col.) of Chesapeake, VA. , Dr. Bryan Sorrell of Virginia Beach and Lenee Smith are four former Coats students who have generously given again to the museum over the holidays. Thanks go to them.
As 2015 came to a close, several individuals were remembered with donations to the Coats Museum Endowment. These donations build up the endowment where only earnings off the fund can be by the museum. Patsy and Stacy Avery, Becky Adams, Lynda and Robie Butler, Bill and Nell Williams, Jonah and Alice Johnson were remembered.
