July 6, 2012 Coats Museum News
What would you guess the population of Coats to be in 1930? The town had gained only 36 people since 1920 and the population was now 562. This small number of people did not prevent Coats from being a town with an active social life. The Harnett County News February 13, 1930 copy shared that Miss Mary Avery of Lillington had spent the weekend in Coats visiting Misses Edna and Lillian Johnson. Misses Avery and Edna Johnson motored to Salemburg on Saturday. Did Lillian later become the lunchroom manager of the Coats school cafeteria where she was known as Mrs. Lillian Earp? Mrs. Laura Byrd, wife of B.F. Byrd was very ill. Recall that B.F. Byrd was the builder of the Stewart Hotel back around 1908. Was Laura the daughter of Sheriff Willie Turlington of Turlington? She was the mother of Zelda and Brookie. Mr. and Mrs. Frank McMiller were in Coats to visit her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Pollard. Mrs. Ed Avery of near Erwin was a visitor at Mrs. Florence Johnson’s home on a Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Johnson were hoping to be in their new home soon which they were building. Was this house across the street from what would later become the site of the Coats Theater? Did Mr. Johnson do mechanic work and work in law enforcement? Kenneth Keene shared with me that he recalled that Mr. Johnson had a small shop behind his house where he worked on cars and that he thought that he may have been a Coats policeman. Were policemen sometimes called constables in days past?
The Coats PTA was served supper at the café building on Saturday, February 15 from 3:00 to 9:00. The menu consisted of stewed and fried oysters, chicken salad and pies and coffee. The Ways and Means Committee had put on a supper last month with great success. That supper did not make the county news. The plea was for parents to support the suppers to insure funds for the school needs. Does this plea sound current? Where was the café building?
The last PTA meeting centered around the need for playground equipment at the school. Mrs. Paul Turlington donated juniper poles for making swings. Mrs. Eva Nichols donated a net for volleyball and Mrs. Guy Stewart donated wheels and body for making seesaws (Harnett County News February 13, 1930). Wouldn’t it be interesting to see this playground equipment?
Mesdames C.D. Bain, Leslie Parker, Jessie Warren, and Miss Callie Stewart attended the Fidelis Class of Coats Baptist Church at Mrs. W.E. Nichols’s house. Mrs. C. Garner Fuquay entertained at her home on February 26 with four tables of bridge. The W.E. Nicholses, Carlos Stewarts, O.K. Keenes, Irbin Smiths, Clydes Grimeses, Mrs. Edna Butler, Mrs. J.T. Lewis, and Mrs. Bill Roycroft attended the event. Wonder where this house was located. Recall that the Fuquay house had burned before Christmas last year.
On the following evening, Mrs. Fuquay entertained the Coats faculty with a few other guests at bridge and rook. She served chicken salad with a sweet course and coffee on both occasions. Would you not agree that she was a smart hostess to have back to back events with the same menu? The female readers can appreciate that planning more than you men folks. I’m curious if the ladies had to kill their own chickens in 1930 to make the chicken salad.
Several years ago, Mary Jo Johnson Mann researched that on February 25, 1930, a group of energetic and enthusiastic women gathered at the home of Mrs. O.K. Keene to organize a club known as the “Merry Matrons Club of Coats”. The purpose of the club was “to be of benefit to its members and the community as a whole”. The watchword of the club was “In Love Serving Others”. The membership was limited to twenty charter members. All members joining at the organizational meeting were named charter members and they were Mrs. Owen Odum, Mrs. Charlie Williams, Mrs. T.D. Stewart, Mrs. Owen Beasley, Mrs. Lucy Kelly, Mrs. Edna Roberts, Mrs. W.E. Nichols, Mrs. W.M. Keene, Mrs. C.G. Fuquay, Mrs. Irbin Smith, Mrs. O.K. Keene, and Mrs. Paul Turlington. The first program centered on the lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Mrs. Irbin Smith, Mrs. T.H. Grimes, Mrs. Bernard Hudson, Mrs. O.K. Keene, Mrs. Owen Odum, and Mrs. J.R. Butler were officers in the early years of the club.
Please mark your calendar for July 14 on a Saturday morning from 10-12 noon when the Museum Board of Directors and the volunteers at the Coats Museum invite you to drop by and see the expansion to the Heritage Museum. The floors and walls are bare but the group wanted you to see the building before the exhibits are brought into the hall to give you an idea of the “before and the after”. Since food is being served, you should call 910 897-5611 or 919 894-5017 to confirm that you plan to attend the brunch. The Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Woman’s Club, the ECA, the Tea and Garden Club, the Chamber, the Town Board, the Scouts, 4-H’ers, our merchants and those who believe in preserving our past in a safe place are encouraged to attend. The folks at the museum are volunteers who put in hundreds of hours each month to preserve our local history. Give us a call if you plan to attend. Welcome goes to C.T. Clayton, Linda Cobb, Peggy Robinson and Gayle Sorrell to the Coats Museum Board of Directors and a farewell thank you to Becky Adams, David Barnes, and Joyce Turner who rotated off the board.
Thanks to those who have given to the Museum Building Fund to honor the memory of M.T. Strickland. A big thank you goes to the Hardwood Man (Benny Weaver ) for the work he did on the old floor in the new Theater and Welcome Room in the Heritage Museum and to Adam Raynor of the Angier Paint and Wallpaper in Angier for his donation of carpet to that same room. Thanks to Ed and Mary Ellen Lauder for their contributions of pictures, books, and lots of other materials from the Jesse and Mary Jo Mann collections. Thanks to the person who gave the Exhibit Hall a new refrigerator. The museum is very fortunate to have so many good supporters.
Please be mindful that this Coats Museum News appeared in the Daily Record on July 6, 2012.
What would you guess the population of Coats to be in 1930? The town had gained only 36 people since 1920 and the population was now 562. This small number of people did not prevent Coats from being a town with an active social life. The Harnett County News February 13, 1930 copy shared that Miss Mary Avery of Lillington had spent the weekend in Coats visiting Misses Edna and Lillian Johnson. Misses Avery and Edna Johnson motored to Salemburg on Saturday. Did Lillian later become the lunchroom manager of the Coats school cafeteria where she was known as Mrs. Lillian Earp? Mrs. Laura Byrd, wife of B.F. Byrd was very ill. Recall that B.F. Byrd was the builder of the Stewart Hotel back around 1908. Was Laura the daughter of Sheriff Willie Turlington of Turlington? She was the mother of Zelda and Brookie. Mr. and Mrs. Frank McMiller were in Coats to visit her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Pollard. Mrs. Ed Avery of near Erwin was a visitor at Mrs. Florence Johnson’s home on a Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Johnson were hoping to be in their new home soon which they were building. Was this house across the street from what would later become the site of the Coats Theater? Did Mr. Johnson do mechanic work and work in law enforcement? Kenneth Keene shared with me that he recalled that Mr. Johnson had a small shop behind his house where he worked on cars and that he thought that he may have been a Coats policeman. Were policemen sometimes called constables in days past?
The Coats PTA was served supper at the café building on Saturday, February 15 from 3:00 to 9:00. The menu consisted of stewed and fried oysters, chicken salad and pies and coffee. The Ways and Means Committee had put on a supper last month with great success. That supper did not make the county news. The plea was for parents to support the suppers to insure funds for the school needs. Does this plea sound current? Where was the café building?
The last PTA meeting centered around the need for playground equipment at the school. Mrs. Paul Turlington donated juniper poles for making swings. Mrs. Eva Nichols donated a net for volleyball and Mrs. Guy Stewart donated wheels and body for making seesaws (Harnett County News February 13, 1930). Wouldn’t it be interesting to see this playground equipment?
Mesdames C.D. Bain, Leslie Parker, Jessie Warren, and Miss Callie Stewart attended the Fidelis Class of Coats Baptist Church at Mrs. W.E. Nichols’s house. Mrs. C. Garner Fuquay entertained at her home on February 26 with four tables of bridge. The W.E. Nicholses, Carlos Stewarts, O.K. Keenes, Irbin Smiths, Clydes Grimeses, Mrs. Edna Butler, Mrs. J.T. Lewis, and Mrs. Bill Roycroft attended the event. Wonder where this house was located. Recall that the Fuquay house had burned before Christmas last year.
On the following evening, Mrs. Fuquay entertained the Coats faculty with a few other guests at bridge and rook. She served chicken salad with a sweet course and coffee on both occasions. Would you not agree that she was a smart hostess to have back to back events with the same menu? The female readers can appreciate that planning more than you men folks. I’m curious if the ladies had to kill their own chickens in 1930 to make the chicken salad.
Several years ago, Mary Jo Johnson Mann researched that on February 25, 1930, a group of energetic and enthusiastic women gathered at the home of Mrs. O.K. Keene to organize a club known as the “Merry Matrons Club of Coats”. The purpose of the club was “to be of benefit to its members and the community as a whole”. The watchword of the club was “In Love Serving Others”. The membership was limited to twenty charter members. All members joining at the organizational meeting were named charter members and they were Mrs. Owen Odum, Mrs. Charlie Williams, Mrs. T.D. Stewart, Mrs. Owen Beasley, Mrs. Lucy Kelly, Mrs. Edna Roberts, Mrs. W.E. Nichols, Mrs. W.M. Keene, Mrs. C.G. Fuquay, Mrs. Irbin Smith, Mrs. O.K. Keene, and Mrs. Paul Turlington. The first program centered on the lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Mrs. Irbin Smith, Mrs. T.H. Grimes, Mrs. Bernard Hudson, Mrs. O.K. Keene, Mrs. Owen Odum, and Mrs. J.R. Butler were officers in the early years of the club.
Please mark your calendar for July 14 on a Saturday morning from 10-12 noon when the Museum Board of Directors and the volunteers at the Coats Museum invite you to drop by and see the expansion to the Heritage Museum. The floors and walls are bare but the group wanted you to see the building before the exhibits are brought into the hall to give you an idea of the “before and the after”. Since food is being served, you should call 910 897-5611 or 919 894-5017 to confirm that you plan to attend the brunch. The Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Woman’s Club, the ECA, the Tea and Garden Club, the Chamber, the Town Board, the Scouts, 4-H’ers, our merchants and those who believe in preserving our past in a safe place are encouraged to attend. The folks at the museum are volunteers who put in hundreds of hours each month to preserve our local history. Give us a call if you plan to attend. Welcome goes to C.T. Clayton, Linda Cobb, Peggy Robinson and Gayle Sorrell to the Coats Museum Board of Directors and a farewell thank you to Becky Adams, David Barnes, and Joyce Turner who rotated off the board.
Thanks to those who have given to the Museum Building Fund to honor the memory of M.T. Strickland. A big thank you goes to the Hardwood Man (Benny Weaver ) for the work he did on the old floor in the new Theater and Welcome Room in the Heritage Museum and to Adam Raynor of the Angier Paint and Wallpaper in Angier for his donation of carpet to that same room. Thanks to Ed and Mary Ellen Lauder for their contributions of pictures, books, and lots of other materials from the Jesse and Mary Jo Mann collections. Thanks to the person who gave the Exhibit Hall a new refrigerator. The museum is very fortunate to have so many good supporters.
Please be mindful that this Coats Museum News appeared in the Daily Record on July 6, 2012.
