July 13, 2018 Coats Museum News
How many of you grew up when many of the rural roads in your area were dirt? Some of you may even remember seeing or hearing about the road gangs who were brought out of the prison to clean the sides of the road with briar knives and sling blades under the watchful eye of an armed prison guard. Others may remember the big yellow road scraper maneuvered by a man who made two trips on the road to level out the ruts on the dirt, country roads. Even that was progress compared to what our ancestors experienced. First of all, there were very few roads because most were just paths between neighbor’s houses. The roads that were traveled by wagons and buggies to local mercantile sites had to be maintained. Men in the community were required to serve on road duty for a year and were expected to maintain the roads and bridges. With the introduction of the car onto the scene, better roads were needed and a different financial and maintenance sources were implemented. One of the most powerful and sought after position was to be on the Road Commission in a township. Do you know why?
I do know that Carl Hough and Albert Ragan were two men who maintained the roads in the 1950’s in the Coats area just before most country roads were being hard surfaced. They scraped the dirt roads with those monstrous yellow machines. I also know that Mrs. Inez Hough Howard, 60, had died on June 25th. She was survived by her husband, D.C. Howard and her brothers-Carl, Bob, Leroy, and Clarence Hough. Mrs. Cortez Williams, Mrs. Odell Hasty and Mrs. Gladys Tyndall were her sisters.
The movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was showing at the Stewart Theater in Dunn. Some of the Coats Republicans likely preferred to go Luke’s Restaurant to meet State GOP Chief Holhouser (Daily Record June 28, 1971).
The same edition of that Daily Record reported that four Grove residents were patients in the local hospitals- Mrs. Phyllis Ann Champion, Mrs. Ernest Parker, Miss Dana Carol Coats, and Mrs. Esco Moore Denning .
Virginia Carolyn Barbour, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Holmes, planned to study secretarial science while Jerry Lee Denning had married Electra Gail Gilbert of Four Oaks. Jerry was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Lee Denning (Daily Record July1, 1971).
Denise Walker, 9, had died in Goldsboro. Denise was the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. B.L. Godwin and Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Walker of Coats (Daily Record July 2, 1971).
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Leroy Lively announced the birth of a son, E. Todd Lively, who was born on July 4th. The former Tommie Jean Barefoot was the new mother (Daily Record July 6, 1971).
Mrs. Doris Stone was on the hospital patient list in the July 6, 1971 edition of the Daily Record.
The July 12, 1971 edition of the Daily Record had many tidbits about local folks. Hewitt A. Brown, Jr. was elected secretary of the Harnett County Historical Society. Mrs. Ray Phillips and William H. McLamb were hospital patients. Robert (Bob) Turner, 67, of Coats had died. He was a retired mill worker. Albert Gregory of Angier, Route 2 was elected president of the Harnett County Association for the Mentally Retarded. Albert had been an active member of the ARC since it began.
Miss Rhonda Jean Graves, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Graves of Erwin and Daniel Boyd Stewart of Coats, had married in Dillon, South Carolina on June 4th. The bride was a 1971 graduate of Erwin and Dan was a 1968 graduate of Coats High (Daily Record July 12, 1971).
Another marriage was announced from a Coats couple. Sherry Johnson and Danny Roberts were married on July 15th. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James D. Roberts of Coats (Daily Record July 17, 1971).
Mrs. Bertie Jackson Godwin of Coats had died on Sunday. She was sixty-one years old. Services were held at the Coats Baptist Church by the Reverends Howard Beard and C.W. Kirby. Burial was in the Harnett Memorial Park. Mrs. Godwin was survived by Jesse Godwin; a son- Donald L. Godwin and three daughters-Mrs. Elizabeth G. Tart, Mrs. Merla G. Wedding and Mrs. Dorothy Godwin (Daily Record July 20, 1971).
John Capps had died on Thursday. The Rev. O.B. Jones of Durham held the services. He was buried in the Johnson Cemetery on Live Oak Road in Harnett County. His only child was Roy Capps of Revere, Massachusetts. Mrs. Willie Glover and Mrs. Otha Stevens (Stephens) were in Good Hope on July 20th; Jose Barefoot on the 21st while Omie Moore and Mamie Godwin were hospitalized on the 24th.
When I encounter readers at the grocery store, pharmacy or restaurants, some will mention with excitement about seeing the name of an ancestor on a hospital list, in an obituary or birth announcement. I have often questioned myself in including that type of news in the article rather than sharing stories of tobacco tyings, cotton picking and suckering tobacco. Since you continue to read about sicknesses, deaths, births, weddings, you know how I feel about preserving all history.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Cecil Smith of Coats announced the birth of a son, Cecil Gary Smith, on July 23rd at Betsy Johnson Hospital. Linda Lucille Hawley was the mother (Daily Record July 27, 1971).
The former Callie McNeill was a patient at BJMH where she gave birth to a daughter. She was the wife of Robert Lee Armstrong of Coats (Daily Record July 28, 1971). The list of hospital patients continued to fill the Daily Record newsprint from July 30th to Aug. 4th. Mr. Joseph Talmadge Mills was in BJMH; Mr. James Willis, Mrs. Wayne Parrish and Mrs. John Blunt were at GHH.
The death angel visited Angier and took Mrs. Emma Johnson Morgan, 84, on Saturday. She was the widow of P. Jasper Morgan. Elder Jackson Hawkins and Rev. Howard Beard held funeral services on Monday at the Hickory Primitive Baptist Church. Burial was in the Johnson Family Cemetery. Surviving Mrs. Morgan were two daughters-Mrs. Johnnie Barnes and Mrs. Gary Cudd while Mrs. Minnie J. Barefoot was a sister. The same edition announced happier news with the birth at Rex Hospital of a son to Mr. and Mrs. Alton Wade Byrd of Coats. The mom was the former Alma E. Parker (Daily Record Aug. 3, 1971).
The women in the Coats Methodist Church were a busy bunch of ladies. The group had met with Marilyn Ennis where Evelyn Ennis gave the program on drugs and addictions which could a very appropriate topic today- 47 years later. Does anyone remember Annie Josephine Tew? She was a patient at BJMH (Daily Record Aug. 6, 1971).
Does anyone know when Boy Scouts were first organized in Coats? Were the Girl Scouts here first? I do know that in 1971, the Girl Scouts of Coats, Dunn, and Erwin had had a successful day camp at the Crusader Youth Camp facilities in the Long Branch Community. Angela Parker, Danette Daniel, Maere Kay Adams, Theresa Parker, Cynthia Hardison, Kathy Huggins and Beverley Barefoot attended (Daily Record Aug. 9, 1971).
Wonder if the hospitals were air conditioned in 1971? Does that sound like a silly question? Most of the classrooms in the schools were not and most of them likely did not even have window or ceiling fans. Would Mrs. Floyd Ryals and Mrs. Bonnie West know since they were patients at GHH? Mrs. Curtis Stephenson was in BJMH between August the 9th and August 13 according to those editions of the Daily Record.
The museum volunteers consider it a compliment when we have return visitors to do research. Lee Honeycutt from Cary continues to research his Honeycutt roots which were in the Pope’s Lake area of Barclaysville. In fact, maps show that the lake was formerly called Honeycutt Pond. How amazing would it be to discover that such a beautiful lake was owned by an ancestor?
For those of us who knew Wynona Godwin Ennis, she will be remembered for her positive outlook on life despite so many heart breaking events that came her way. Her laugh, her beautiful voice and her impeccable taste in fashion will long be remembered. Many of us will think of Wynona and Clara Barbour when we walk through our houses and see the beautiful window dressings that they created to perfection. The donations coming into the museum in Wynona’s memory have shown that she was much loved. This week memorials came in from Randy and Rhonda Stephenson, Miriam Ennis Byrd, James and Brenda Abbott and Keith and Karen Parrish.
Another compliment that can be sent Coats way is the lasting bonds that were developed between students in the small rural school. Recently a former student in the CHS Class of 1969 died. Kay Fish’s career took her hundreds of miles from Coats but her friendship was not forgotten by several friends who remembered her with memorials to the Coats Museum. Thank you, Dana Coats Byrd and Mary Ellen Lauder for remembering your friend and classmate Kay.
Remember to join us at the Coats Museum on Sunday, July 15th to reconnect or meet Baxter Ennis who will share his book When Leadership Mattered and sign copies. From 3-5 should be a fun time seeing your former classmates and locals. Also don’t forget to come by the museum on Saturday, July 21st beginning at 1:00 for the Depression Glass Road Show where Myrtle Bridges will help identify a couple of pieces of your glassware. She has much knowledge and lots of Depression Glass books for you to explore.
How many of you grew up when many of the rural roads in your area were dirt? Some of you may even remember seeing or hearing about the road gangs who were brought out of the prison to clean the sides of the road with briar knives and sling blades under the watchful eye of an armed prison guard. Others may remember the big yellow road scraper maneuvered by a man who made two trips on the road to level out the ruts on the dirt, country roads. Even that was progress compared to what our ancestors experienced. First of all, there were very few roads because most were just paths between neighbor’s houses. The roads that were traveled by wagons and buggies to local mercantile sites had to be maintained. Men in the community were required to serve on road duty for a year and were expected to maintain the roads and bridges. With the introduction of the car onto the scene, better roads were needed and a different financial and maintenance sources were implemented. One of the most powerful and sought after position was to be on the Road Commission in a township. Do you know why?
I do know that Carl Hough and Albert Ragan were two men who maintained the roads in the 1950’s in the Coats area just before most country roads were being hard surfaced. They scraped the dirt roads with those monstrous yellow machines. I also know that Mrs. Inez Hough Howard, 60, had died on June 25th. She was survived by her husband, D.C. Howard and her brothers-Carl, Bob, Leroy, and Clarence Hough. Mrs. Cortez Williams, Mrs. Odell Hasty and Mrs. Gladys Tyndall were her sisters.
The movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was showing at the Stewart Theater in Dunn. Some of the Coats Republicans likely preferred to go Luke’s Restaurant to meet State GOP Chief Holhouser (Daily Record June 28, 1971).
The same edition of that Daily Record reported that four Grove residents were patients in the local hospitals- Mrs. Phyllis Ann Champion, Mrs. Ernest Parker, Miss Dana Carol Coats, and Mrs. Esco Moore Denning .
Virginia Carolyn Barbour, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Holmes, planned to study secretarial science while Jerry Lee Denning had married Electra Gail Gilbert of Four Oaks. Jerry was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Lee Denning (Daily Record July1, 1971).
Denise Walker, 9, had died in Goldsboro. Denise was the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. B.L. Godwin and Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Walker of Coats (Daily Record July 2, 1971).
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Leroy Lively announced the birth of a son, E. Todd Lively, who was born on July 4th. The former Tommie Jean Barefoot was the new mother (Daily Record July 6, 1971).
Mrs. Doris Stone was on the hospital patient list in the July 6, 1971 edition of the Daily Record.
The July 12, 1971 edition of the Daily Record had many tidbits about local folks. Hewitt A. Brown, Jr. was elected secretary of the Harnett County Historical Society. Mrs. Ray Phillips and William H. McLamb were hospital patients. Robert (Bob) Turner, 67, of Coats had died. He was a retired mill worker. Albert Gregory of Angier, Route 2 was elected president of the Harnett County Association for the Mentally Retarded. Albert had been an active member of the ARC since it began.
Miss Rhonda Jean Graves, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Graves of Erwin and Daniel Boyd Stewart of Coats, had married in Dillon, South Carolina on June 4th. The bride was a 1971 graduate of Erwin and Dan was a 1968 graduate of Coats High (Daily Record July 12, 1971).
Another marriage was announced from a Coats couple. Sherry Johnson and Danny Roberts were married on July 15th. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James D. Roberts of Coats (Daily Record July 17, 1971).
Mrs. Bertie Jackson Godwin of Coats had died on Sunday. She was sixty-one years old. Services were held at the Coats Baptist Church by the Reverends Howard Beard and C.W. Kirby. Burial was in the Harnett Memorial Park. Mrs. Godwin was survived by Jesse Godwin; a son- Donald L. Godwin and three daughters-Mrs. Elizabeth G. Tart, Mrs. Merla G. Wedding and Mrs. Dorothy Godwin (Daily Record July 20, 1971).
John Capps had died on Thursday. The Rev. O.B. Jones of Durham held the services. He was buried in the Johnson Cemetery on Live Oak Road in Harnett County. His only child was Roy Capps of Revere, Massachusetts. Mrs. Willie Glover and Mrs. Otha Stevens (Stephens) were in Good Hope on July 20th; Jose Barefoot on the 21st while Omie Moore and Mamie Godwin were hospitalized on the 24th.
When I encounter readers at the grocery store, pharmacy or restaurants, some will mention with excitement about seeing the name of an ancestor on a hospital list, in an obituary or birth announcement. I have often questioned myself in including that type of news in the article rather than sharing stories of tobacco tyings, cotton picking and suckering tobacco. Since you continue to read about sicknesses, deaths, births, weddings, you know how I feel about preserving all history.
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Cecil Smith of Coats announced the birth of a son, Cecil Gary Smith, on July 23rd at Betsy Johnson Hospital. Linda Lucille Hawley was the mother (Daily Record July 27, 1971).
The former Callie McNeill was a patient at BJMH where she gave birth to a daughter. She was the wife of Robert Lee Armstrong of Coats (Daily Record July 28, 1971). The list of hospital patients continued to fill the Daily Record newsprint from July 30th to Aug. 4th. Mr. Joseph Talmadge Mills was in BJMH; Mr. James Willis, Mrs. Wayne Parrish and Mrs. John Blunt were at GHH.
The death angel visited Angier and took Mrs. Emma Johnson Morgan, 84, on Saturday. She was the widow of P. Jasper Morgan. Elder Jackson Hawkins and Rev. Howard Beard held funeral services on Monday at the Hickory Primitive Baptist Church. Burial was in the Johnson Family Cemetery. Surviving Mrs. Morgan were two daughters-Mrs. Johnnie Barnes and Mrs. Gary Cudd while Mrs. Minnie J. Barefoot was a sister. The same edition announced happier news with the birth at Rex Hospital of a son to Mr. and Mrs. Alton Wade Byrd of Coats. The mom was the former Alma E. Parker (Daily Record Aug. 3, 1971).
The women in the Coats Methodist Church were a busy bunch of ladies. The group had met with Marilyn Ennis where Evelyn Ennis gave the program on drugs and addictions which could a very appropriate topic today- 47 years later. Does anyone remember Annie Josephine Tew? She was a patient at BJMH (Daily Record Aug. 6, 1971).
Does anyone know when Boy Scouts were first organized in Coats? Were the Girl Scouts here first? I do know that in 1971, the Girl Scouts of Coats, Dunn, and Erwin had had a successful day camp at the Crusader Youth Camp facilities in the Long Branch Community. Angela Parker, Danette Daniel, Maere Kay Adams, Theresa Parker, Cynthia Hardison, Kathy Huggins and Beverley Barefoot attended (Daily Record Aug. 9, 1971).
Wonder if the hospitals were air conditioned in 1971? Does that sound like a silly question? Most of the classrooms in the schools were not and most of them likely did not even have window or ceiling fans. Would Mrs. Floyd Ryals and Mrs. Bonnie West know since they were patients at GHH? Mrs. Curtis Stephenson was in BJMH between August the 9th and August 13 according to those editions of the Daily Record.
The museum volunteers consider it a compliment when we have return visitors to do research. Lee Honeycutt from Cary continues to research his Honeycutt roots which were in the Pope’s Lake area of Barclaysville. In fact, maps show that the lake was formerly called Honeycutt Pond. How amazing would it be to discover that such a beautiful lake was owned by an ancestor?
For those of us who knew Wynona Godwin Ennis, she will be remembered for her positive outlook on life despite so many heart breaking events that came her way. Her laugh, her beautiful voice and her impeccable taste in fashion will long be remembered. Many of us will think of Wynona and Clara Barbour when we walk through our houses and see the beautiful window dressings that they created to perfection. The donations coming into the museum in Wynona’s memory have shown that she was much loved. This week memorials came in from Randy and Rhonda Stephenson, Miriam Ennis Byrd, James and Brenda Abbott and Keith and Karen Parrish.
Another compliment that can be sent Coats way is the lasting bonds that were developed between students in the small rural school. Recently a former student in the CHS Class of 1969 died. Kay Fish’s career took her hundreds of miles from Coats but her friendship was not forgotten by several friends who remembered her with memorials to the Coats Museum. Thank you, Dana Coats Byrd and Mary Ellen Lauder for remembering your friend and classmate Kay.
Remember to join us at the Coats Museum on Sunday, July 15th to reconnect or meet Baxter Ennis who will share his book When Leadership Mattered and sign copies. From 3-5 should be a fun time seeing your former classmates and locals. Also don’t forget to come by the museum on Saturday, July 21st beginning at 1:00 for the Depression Glass Road Show where Myrtle Bridges will help identify a couple of pieces of your glassware. She has much knowledge and lots of Depression Glass books for you to explore.