July 26, 2024 Coats Museum News
I recently saw a video made by someone who goes around the state and videos main streets of the towns. He had come to Coats to picture our Main Street and I was somewhat taken back on how it made Coats appear. The video itself was not poorly done but it was so not all of the Coats that you and I see and know. Of course if one could come back who had lived in Coats in the earlier days, they too would see a different place than what is stored in their memories of their hometown from years past. Wouldn’t that be true of numerous small towns that were left behind for countless reasons while some towns grew and earned a more prominent spot on the maps. Many are perfectly content with that and have remained in Coats making it a friendly place to live.
Regardless of which side you prefer- grow or not grow- one has to be proud of the hundreds of highly successful individuals who call Coats their native town. For a town the size of Coats, we likely have more licensed pilots than any other small town in the state. The number working in medical fields coming out of Coats is unbelievable. Those individuals who earned outstanding records in the military is beyond amazing. The lists of those who left the town for places that better improved their chances of using their education is likely known only by their families.
Some of those students who graduated in the late 1970’s and 1980’s surely remember the talented Sonya Barbour. Her mom and dad operated the Doyle Barbour Grocery Store and Service Station on Main Street where the Mexican restaurant is in 2024. She had earned her Master of Science from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. On her diploma the words summa cum laude were printed. You know what that means-right (Daily Record Sept. 9, 1994)?
Another student from Coats High who had a very successful career was Wanda Kay Pollard who had married Robert Sherrill Denning. Robert Sherrill was a Benson High graduate who had fought in the Viet Nam War. In this December 12, 1994 edition of the Daily Record, they had made the news because of their daughter Ashley Lynn Denning’s engagement to Scott Edward Herring, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold E. Herring was announced. Ashley was a graduate of Campbell University with a degree in computer science. Scott was an employee of Morganite in Dunn.
Why do we remember some people and not others from our days in high school? For example, do the names Norma Lee Johnson, Patsy Byrd, Joy Dan Clayton and Jo Carol Penny sound familiar to those of you who graduated in the late 1950’s? Were all these girls cheerleaders and outstanding students? Were they optimistic and always laughing and having a good time?
When we talk to museum visitors about various students who were in their classes in high school, this is how they remember their classmates—playing sports, being shy, fun-loving, super intelligent and the list could go on. Jo Carol Penny Dorman will be remembered for her happy disposition by her classmates but in the beauty pageant world she will be remembered for her talent on the sewing machine as she made or altered the dresses for many Miss North Carolina beauty queens. The September 15, 1994 edition of the Daily Record shared that Jo Carol Dorman and Sally Dorman (her sister-in-law) were going to Atlantic City to the Miss America pageant. Jo Carol did all her fittings for “Miss North Carolina” who had represented Garner.
Congratulations were extended to Brian Lischin and K-9 Rex who had received a Hero Award for Saving Officers’ Lives. The pair was selected as Top Patrol Dog Case of the Quarter for Region Two. Second congratulations were extended to Jewel and Garland Whittington who had just celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Birthday wishes had been given to Megan Johnson who had celebrated her 3rd birthday. Megan was the daughter of Jenny and Van Johnson (Daily Record Sept. 15, 1994).
The Coats Museum is so blessed to have individuals who share their generosity to support its growth. The late Bobby G. Byrd was a quiet, gentle man who was so loved and respected throughout Harnett County. As with some couples, it is hard to think of one spouse without thinking of the other. That was the case with Geraldine and Bobby. Geraldine, thank you for sharing another memorial for Bobby to the Coats Museum Building Fund. Your act of love brings us another step closer to building another exhibit hall on the Coats Heritage Square.
I recently saw a video made by someone who goes around the state and videos main streets of the towns. He had come to Coats to picture our Main Street and I was somewhat taken back on how it made Coats appear. The video itself was not poorly done but it was so not all of the Coats that you and I see and know. Of course if one could come back who had lived in Coats in the earlier days, they too would see a different place than what is stored in their memories of their hometown from years past. Wouldn’t that be true of numerous small towns that were left behind for countless reasons while some towns grew and earned a more prominent spot on the maps. Many are perfectly content with that and have remained in Coats making it a friendly place to live.
Regardless of which side you prefer- grow or not grow- one has to be proud of the hundreds of highly successful individuals who call Coats their native town. For a town the size of Coats, we likely have more licensed pilots than any other small town in the state. The number working in medical fields coming out of Coats is unbelievable. Those individuals who earned outstanding records in the military is beyond amazing. The lists of those who left the town for places that better improved their chances of using their education is likely known only by their families.
Some of those students who graduated in the late 1970’s and 1980’s surely remember the talented Sonya Barbour. Her mom and dad operated the Doyle Barbour Grocery Store and Service Station on Main Street where the Mexican restaurant is in 2024. She had earned her Master of Science from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. On her diploma the words summa cum laude were printed. You know what that means-right (Daily Record Sept. 9, 1994)?
Another student from Coats High who had a very successful career was Wanda Kay Pollard who had married Robert Sherrill Denning. Robert Sherrill was a Benson High graduate who had fought in the Viet Nam War. In this December 12, 1994 edition of the Daily Record, they had made the news because of their daughter Ashley Lynn Denning’s engagement to Scott Edward Herring, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold E. Herring was announced. Ashley was a graduate of Campbell University with a degree in computer science. Scott was an employee of Morganite in Dunn.
Why do we remember some people and not others from our days in high school? For example, do the names Norma Lee Johnson, Patsy Byrd, Joy Dan Clayton and Jo Carol Penny sound familiar to those of you who graduated in the late 1950’s? Were all these girls cheerleaders and outstanding students? Were they optimistic and always laughing and having a good time?
When we talk to museum visitors about various students who were in their classes in high school, this is how they remember their classmates—playing sports, being shy, fun-loving, super intelligent and the list could go on. Jo Carol Penny Dorman will be remembered for her happy disposition by her classmates but in the beauty pageant world she will be remembered for her talent on the sewing machine as she made or altered the dresses for many Miss North Carolina beauty queens. The September 15, 1994 edition of the Daily Record shared that Jo Carol Dorman and Sally Dorman (her sister-in-law) were going to Atlantic City to the Miss America pageant. Jo Carol did all her fittings for “Miss North Carolina” who had represented Garner.
Congratulations were extended to Brian Lischin and K-9 Rex who had received a Hero Award for Saving Officers’ Lives. The pair was selected as Top Patrol Dog Case of the Quarter for Region Two. Second congratulations were extended to Jewel and Garland Whittington who had just celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Birthday wishes had been given to Megan Johnson who had celebrated her 3rd birthday. Megan was the daughter of Jenny and Van Johnson (Daily Record Sept. 15, 1994).
The Coats Museum is so blessed to have individuals who share their generosity to support its growth. The late Bobby G. Byrd was a quiet, gentle man who was so loved and respected throughout Harnett County. As with some couples, it is hard to think of one spouse without thinking of the other. That was the case with Geraldine and Bobby. Geraldine, thank you for sharing another memorial for Bobby to the Coats Museum Building Fund. Your act of love brings us another step closer to building another exhibit hall on the Coats Heritage Square.