July 4, 2011 Coats
Museum News
The “Harnett County News” Vol.2 No.39 shared that the Coats Masonic Lodge had met at regular session on Thursday night and Third Degree work was done. The edition also recorded that Mr. W.H. Pool had died last Tuesday at noon. He had been picking cotton all morning on his place outside of Coats, came home to eat lunch and had taken one or two mouthfuls when he suddenly fell over dead. He had left a large number of grown children to mourn him.
Does anyone know if he was kin to J.H. Pool whose name has been recorded into the educational history of the Grove Township Moon Light School. Several people had gone to the Harnett County Board of Education made up of T.W. Harrington, J.M. Hodges, and O. Bradley requesting a means to get an education. The older citizens wanted to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic (Sorrell, “Together We Leave”, p.X). Mr. P.F. Pope from Coats was a Harnett County commissioner at this time according to the “1913 N.C. Business Directory –Harnett”.
Do you think Pool talked to Pope about the Moon Light School? The request was granted. J.D. Ezzell, Superintendent of the Harnett public schools, then requested that Ralvin McLeod, principal of the Turlington School, head up the school. McLeod then invited older adults(with no age limit) to attend school at the newly erected 1913 Turlington School (the third building). This school had just taken in students from the one room Wiggins School. Hence, a large area of adults would be familiar with what was being offered for adult education in the form of a night school. Thirty-eight mothers, fathers, and grandparents were eager and willing to sign up and learn simple numbers, writing, and reading from the “Progressive Farmer” magazine. The oldest student was 65 years of age (Sorrell, “Together We Leave”, p. X).
It had been six years since those older citizens of Grove had attended the Moon Light School so wonder if they were able to read the “Harnett County News” Vol. 2 No. 39. If so, in that edition they could have read that Mr. Ralph Langdon had left on Tuesday for Chapel Hill where he would attend college. Mr. B.L. Langdon who had been the general manager of Ideal Brick Co. of Slocumb had moved back to Coats. Messers. D.K. Grimes and T.H. Grimes had left Sunday for Columbia, S.C. where they would attend the reunion of the 81st Division. Miss Bernice Collier had returned to her home in Buies Creek after visiting her sister, Mrs. C.G. Stewart. Mr. P.F. Pope of Maysville, N.C. had spent the day in Coats. Messers. W.H. Adams and Herbert Grimes and Misses Callie Stewart and Glenna Johnson had spent a few hours in Fuquay on Sunday. Mrs. L.W. Jones had spent last week with her daughter, Mrs. Alton Stewart. Does that name sound familiar? Messers. J.E. Lynk and J.L. Johnson had been visitors in Raleigh. Mr. Oscar Young and his family had spent Sunday in Angier.
The folks from town were on the road. Allene Honeycutt wrote in her book, ”Remembering the Past”, that farming took place on the W.H. Turlington farm on the weekdays and on Saturdays, time was spent cleaning and cooking in preparation for Sunday. She recalled that the Turlington house was filled with folks such as the preacher and his family, friends, and family members who were always welcomed for Sunday dinners. Allene said that they prepared a couple of cakes or a cake and four or five pies. Chickens were dressed on Saturday. “Dressed” definitely has more than one meaning-right? They dressed chickens (Yes-there is an “s”.) and put them in a bucket and lowered it into the well and kept it just above the water. Recall there is no electricity so food was kept cool in the well to prevent spoilage. Better yet, recollect from many columns back that this 25 foot deep well had a cave inside it large enough to turn around a two-horse wagon according to her two brothers, Bill and Randall. Story was that valuables of the family were hidden there during the Civil War to prevent the Yankees from taking them.
Allene wrote that she loved playing with the little goslings that were soft and sweet. They liked the water under the Turlington water tank that sometimes overflowed when water was being pumped into it from the well. Playing with maypops in the summer resulted in making all kinds of trinkets. She said they cut them into different shapes for little toys- even made little chairs. Her brother Hilton created a little wagon and somehow had made wheels so they could pull the little wagon. Kids always found things to play with because they received no store bought toys except at Christmas. Her playmates were Janie and Alice Massey who were black friends who lived in the edge of the yard and their mother was Florence. Allene recalled that Florence was the most wonderful person who was always there to help when needed. Allene wrote that her sister Hilma, Alice, Janie and she pretended to go to preaching services. All the girls would take turns preaching before the others. What a time they had before toys were marked Made in Japan or Made in China.
A very special thank you goes to Kenneth Keene and Peggy Robinson. Peggy presented, from the Archives Committee of Mount Pisgah Harnett Original Free Will Baptist Church and herself, copies of the “Mount Pisgah Harnett Original Free Will Baptist Church, Inc. Sesquicentennial Edition (1860-2010)”-and “Mt. Pisgah Original Free Will Baptist Church-Founded 1860”. Both contain priceless black history. Kenneth Keene donated to the museum a pearl pocketbook that had belonged to his mother, Billie Black Keene, who was the wife of Oker Keene who was the recipient of a Purple Heart in WWI.
Please be mindful that this article was published in the Daily Record in July of 2011.
The “Harnett County News” Vol.2 No.39 shared that the Coats Masonic Lodge had met at regular session on Thursday night and Third Degree work was done. The edition also recorded that Mr. W.H. Pool had died last Tuesday at noon. He had been picking cotton all morning on his place outside of Coats, came home to eat lunch and had taken one or two mouthfuls when he suddenly fell over dead. He had left a large number of grown children to mourn him.
Does anyone know if he was kin to J.H. Pool whose name has been recorded into the educational history of the Grove Township Moon Light School. Several people had gone to the Harnett County Board of Education made up of T.W. Harrington, J.M. Hodges, and O. Bradley requesting a means to get an education. The older citizens wanted to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic (Sorrell, “Together We Leave”, p.X). Mr. P.F. Pope from Coats was a Harnett County commissioner at this time according to the “1913 N.C. Business Directory –Harnett”.
Do you think Pool talked to Pope about the Moon Light School? The request was granted. J.D. Ezzell, Superintendent of the Harnett public schools, then requested that Ralvin McLeod, principal of the Turlington School, head up the school. McLeod then invited older adults(with no age limit) to attend school at the newly erected 1913 Turlington School (the third building). This school had just taken in students from the one room Wiggins School. Hence, a large area of adults would be familiar with what was being offered for adult education in the form of a night school. Thirty-eight mothers, fathers, and grandparents were eager and willing to sign up and learn simple numbers, writing, and reading from the “Progressive Farmer” magazine. The oldest student was 65 years of age (Sorrell, “Together We Leave”, p. X).
It had been six years since those older citizens of Grove had attended the Moon Light School so wonder if they were able to read the “Harnett County News” Vol. 2 No. 39. If so, in that edition they could have read that Mr. Ralph Langdon had left on Tuesday for Chapel Hill where he would attend college. Mr. B.L. Langdon who had been the general manager of Ideal Brick Co. of Slocumb had moved back to Coats. Messers. D.K. Grimes and T.H. Grimes had left Sunday for Columbia, S.C. where they would attend the reunion of the 81st Division. Miss Bernice Collier had returned to her home in Buies Creek after visiting her sister, Mrs. C.G. Stewart. Mr. P.F. Pope of Maysville, N.C. had spent the day in Coats. Messers. W.H. Adams and Herbert Grimes and Misses Callie Stewart and Glenna Johnson had spent a few hours in Fuquay on Sunday. Mrs. L.W. Jones had spent last week with her daughter, Mrs. Alton Stewart. Does that name sound familiar? Messers. J.E. Lynk and J.L. Johnson had been visitors in Raleigh. Mr. Oscar Young and his family had spent Sunday in Angier.
The folks from town were on the road. Allene Honeycutt wrote in her book, ”Remembering the Past”, that farming took place on the W.H. Turlington farm on the weekdays and on Saturdays, time was spent cleaning and cooking in preparation for Sunday. She recalled that the Turlington house was filled with folks such as the preacher and his family, friends, and family members who were always welcomed for Sunday dinners. Allene said that they prepared a couple of cakes or a cake and four or five pies. Chickens were dressed on Saturday. “Dressed” definitely has more than one meaning-right? They dressed chickens (Yes-there is an “s”.) and put them in a bucket and lowered it into the well and kept it just above the water. Recall there is no electricity so food was kept cool in the well to prevent spoilage. Better yet, recollect from many columns back that this 25 foot deep well had a cave inside it large enough to turn around a two-horse wagon according to her two brothers, Bill and Randall. Story was that valuables of the family were hidden there during the Civil War to prevent the Yankees from taking them.
Allene wrote that she loved playing with the little goslings that were soft and sweet. They liked the water under the Turlington water tank that sometimes overflowed when water was being pumped into it from the well. Playing with maypops in the summer resulted in making all kinds of trinkets. She said they cut them into different shapes for little toys- even made little chairs. Her brother Hilton created a little wagon and somehow had made wheels so they could pull the little wagon. Kids always found things to play with because they received no store bought toys except at Christmas. Her playmates were Janie and Alice Massey who were black friends who lived in the edge of the yard and their mother was Florence. Allene recalled that Florence was the most wonderful person who was always there to help when needed. Allene wrote that her sister Hilma, Alice, Janie and she pretended to go to preaching services. All the girls would take turns preaching before the others. What a time they had before toys were marked Made in Japan or Made in China.
A very special thank you goes to Kenneth Keene and Peggy Robinson. Peggy presented, from the Archives Committee of Mount Pisgah Harnett Original Free Will Baptist Church and herself, copies of the “Mount Pisgah Harnett Original Free Will Baptist Church, Inc. Sesquicentennial Edition (1860-2010)”-and “Mt. Pisgah Original Free Will Baptist Church-Founded 1860”. Both contain priceless black history. Kenneth Keene donated to the museum a pearl pocketbook that had belonged to his mother, Billie Black Keene, who was the wife of Oker Keene who was the recipient of a Purple Heart in WWI.
Please be mindful that this article was published in the Daily Record in July of 2011.
