June 23, 2017 Coats Museum News
The year was 1963 and John F. Kennedy was president. He was the youngest man ever elected as president, was the first Roman Catholic president and was the first president born in the twentieth century.
He was one of nine children and his nickname was “Jack”. As with all his siblings, he had received one million dollars when he celebrated his twenty-first birthday. All his siblings loved sports and while playing football, Jack injured his back and was plagued by back pain for the rest of his life. He often sat in a rocking chair because it eased the pain. Earlier on he was an average student but later graduated from Harvard with honors, mainly because of his writing skills.
In 1941, he tried to enlist in the Army but was rejected because of his back injury. He did exercises to strengthen his back and enlisted in the Navy. He was given command of a patrol torpedo (PT) boat in the South Pacific. A Japanese destroyer rammed his PT boat 109 and cut it in half. The men were in the water for fifteen hours and Kennedy saved the life of one injured man by holding the man’s life jacket strap in his teeth and they finally reached a small island where they were rescued a few days later- Kennedy was given a medal for his action. (Bumann, Joan and John Patterson- 40 Presidents Facts and Fun, Willowisp Press, Inc. 1981, pp.128-130).
In Coats, the PTA had heard J.C. Hawley talk about school dropouts and the eighth grade students showed skits from the play “Life with Father”. The PTA president made a brief talk on the scholarship that the PTA gave each year. The president also announced that school lights would burn on Feb. 19th in observance of Education Week. Did that mean the 19th was a weekend or were they to burn at night?
This I do know. The Coats Woman’s Club had met at the home of Mrs. Ray Highfill with Mrs. Mary Jo Mann as co-hostess and Mrs. Ora Pond Hawley as president. Mrs. Ted Malone had charge of the program and Norma Lee Johnson presented the program on the sixth-grade class she taught in Dunn. Club members present were Mrs. Clyde Grimes, Mrs. S.R. Moore, Miss Katie Yates, Mrs. Lucy Kelly, Mrs. H.O. Connell, Mrs. Ted Malone, Mrs. Herbert Johnson, Mrs. Haywood Roberts, Mrs. Edna Butler, Mrs. J.C. Hawley and Mrs. Curtis Guy. Out in the country on Harvell Road, Julia Stewart feted her daughter Ann with a celebration for her 13th birthday party (Daily Record Feb. 1, 1963).
Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Barnes of Route 2, Angier, announced the birth of Scott Barnes in Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Barnes was the former Nina Ruth Miller (Daily Record Feb. 5, 1963).
Joseph William Ivey, 90, of Garland, brother of John Ivey of Coats, had died on Wednesday (Daily Record Feb. 8, 1963).
Another Ivey family lost a member to death. Funeral services were held at Hodges Chapel Church for Mrs. Mary Ellen Ivey, 77, of Benson, Route One. She was the widow of J.B. Ivey and was a member of Red Hill FWB Church. She was survived by four daughters-Mrs. Martha Barbarossa, Mrs. Rachel Balsoma and Mrs. Pauline Disalvo and two sons-Walter Ivey and John Ivey (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1963). Question-Who was the fourth daughter?
Death was hanging out for a while in February of 1963 in the Coats community. H.R. “Hughie” Byrd, 81, a retired farmer of Coats, Route 1, had died in Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital on Tuesday. He had been hospitalized for almost one and a half years and was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Lewis Byrd. He was survived by two sons-Lester and Curtis Byrd and three daughters-Mrs. Willie Ammons, Mrs Pearl Gaskin and Mrs. J.B. Dupree. Mrs. Carson Gregory was a stepdaughter and stepsons were Joseph Byrd, Alton Byrd, Lundy Byrd and Oscar Byrd (Daily Record Feb. 12, 1963).
Question—was it unusual for someone to be in the Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital for a year and a half? I do know that Mrs. Minnie Johnson Capps, 72, of Route 2, Angier, had died on Tuesday. Burial was in Johnson Cemetery on Route 2, Angier. She was survived by her husband, John Capps; one son, William R. Capps, and one brother, Walter Johnson (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1963).
One of the brightest events of the Harnett County sports program was played in the Coats High School gymnasium between the local town men and woman and the Coats School faculty. The female teachers who played were Loretta Whitehead, Peggy Richardson, Margaret Andrews, Mary Cole, Betty Frazier, Jane Recktenwald, Marie Salmon and Elaine O’Quinn with her stepladder.
The town’s worthy opponents were Sue Ennis Benner, Joyce Williams Stewart, Beanie Langdon Ennis, Jane Stewart Langdon, Helen Sears Pope, Barbara Byrd Powell, Rachel Stephenson Ennis and Eloise Pope Lee who was also the coach. Were all of these ladies former high school basketball standouts?
Following the hour of displayed talent of the women’s game, the men showed their “stuff”. Men from the faculty were Donald O’Quinn, Norfleet Gardner, Tallie Dupree, Cecil Fuquay, H.L. Sorrell, Jr., (the Wilt Chamberlain of the Coats High School faculty), Benny Hampton, and C.H. Cannady. Kenneth O’Neal Charles Recktenwald and William H. Frazier served as coaches. Gardner and Dupree were fast playmakers fresh out of Wake Forest College.
The town competitors were “Bobo” Godwin, Charles Ennis, Tommy Pope, Jimmy Benner, “Goat” Pleasant- the Coats softball batting champion, Coach Junior Lee, Jimmy Jones, Howard Penny, Daywood Langdon, Dr. H.C. Connell, Haywood Roberts, and Rev,. Howard Beard.
The referees in the black and white striped shirts were Kenneth Ennis and Bobby Pope. Do you have any idea what the admission fee to the game was? The cost to enter the gym to watch the antics was 25 and 50 cents (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1963). Who won???
I have no idea but I do know that we meet these words again—“Cradle Shower”. Mrs. Floyd Stewart was honored with a cradle shower at the Goodwill Community Building. Mrs. Katie Mabry, Mrs. Annie Belle Jones and Mrs. Malissa Johnson served as hostesses.
Mrs. Fay Stewart and Mrs. Jane Langdon attended a Hairdresser’s Convention. The Coats Woman’s Club had met at the home of Mrs. Howard Beard with Mrs. Carl Hough as co-hostesses. Mrs. Godfrey Beasley and her husband presented a slide presentation on an European trip taken by the couple. Members who attended were Mrs. Mattie Highfill, Miss Mattie Bain, Mrs. Haywood Roberts, Mrs. Lucy Kelly, Mrs. Percy Parrish, Mrs. Vic Lee, Mrs. Clyde Grimes, Mrs. Ora Parrish, President Ora Pond Hawley, Mrs. Charlie Williams, Mrs. Curtis Guy, Mrs. Herbert Johnson, Mrs. M.O. Phillips, Mrs. Jesse Mann, and Mrs. Gerald Langdon (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1963).
The stork made two deliveries to the Good Hope Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. George Oliver Ferrell announced the birth of a son. The mother was the former Dorothy Pope. Also announcing the birth of a daughter was Mr. and Mrs. Billy Lee Hilliard of Route One, Coats. Wilma Gray Tew was the new mother (Daily Record Feb. 18, 1963).
Death had not left Coats. T.C. “Good” Bayles had died on Sunday at age 54. He was the son of Daniel Bayles and Joe Emma Denning Bayles. He was survived by his wife, Estelle Lucas Bayles; one son, Jerry Bayles; one daughter, Mrs. Jack Kelly Matthews; one brother, Jesse Caswell Bayles and four sisters-Mrs. Bernice Page, Mrs. Herbert Cutts, Miss Bernice Bayles and Mrs. Bill Dixon (Daily Record Feb. 18, 1963). Is there an error in this obituary—were there two with the same name? Did his brother also have a nickname? I surely hope it was not “Bad”. Maybe it was “Little”.
The Coats Museum Committee and Board of Directors met last Saturday morning and saluted the members rotating off the board. They were Teresa Honeycutt, Sandra Kay Howard, David Barnes and Kent Langdon. They have been very supportive of the museum in so many ways and they are so appreciated by the museum volunteers. The Class of 2020 was welcomed aboard and they are Myrtle Bridges, Lynda Butler, Tim L. Penny and Kathy Weeks. This group also brings many talents to the board. H. L. Sorrell was reelected as president and chairman of the executive board; Andy Cole as vice chairman; Becky Adams as secretary; Robie Butler as treasurer and Ted Penny as past president.
We were very saddened by the death of Juanita Hudson, one of our faithful volunteers and former board members. She was the hard working force behind the construction of our Cotton Museum, memorial wall and fountain, believing that all could be built while others looked upon the possibility with skepticism. Mack Reid and Juanita were always so willing to gift and loan countless items for display in the exhibit hall. The deaths of Mack and Juanita leave an empty spot in our hearts, but we are aware of their presence as we look around the Heritage Square and in the museums and see what they have left behind for the benefit of others.
A big thank you goes to both Hilda Pope who has given a memorial to the museum in Juanita’s honor and to H.L. Sorrell for remembering her with a donation to the Coats Museum Endowment.
The year was 1963 and John F. Kennedy was president. He was the youngest man ever elected as president, was the first Roman Catholic president and was the first president born in the twentieth century.
He was one of nine children and his nickname was “Jack”. As with all his siblings, he had received one million dollars when he celebrated his twenty-first birthday. All his siblings loved sports and while playing football, Jack injured his back and was plagued by back pain for the rest of his life. He often sat in a rocking chair because it eased the pain. Earlier on he was an average student but later graduated from Harvard with honors, mainly because of his writing skills.
In 1941, he tried to enlist in the Army but was rejected because of his back injury. He did exercises to strengthen his back and enlisted in the Navy. He was given command of a patrol torpedo (PT) boat in the South Pacific. A Japanese destroyer rammed his PT boat 109 and cut it in half. The men were in the water for fifteen hours and Kennedy saved the life of one injured man by holding the man’s life jacket strap in his teeth and they finally reached a small island where they were rescued a few days later- Kennedy was given a medal for his action. (Bumann, Joan and John Patterson- 40 Presidents Facts and Fun, Willowisp Press, Inc. 1981, pp.128-130).
In Coats, the PTA had heard J.C. Hawley talk about school dropouts and the eighth grade students showed skits from the play “Life with Father”. The PTA president made a brief talk on the scholarship that the PTA gave each year. The president also announced that school lights would burn on Feb. 19th in observance of Education Week. Did that mean the 19th was a weekend or were they to burn at night?
This I do know. The Coats Woman’s Club had met at the home of Mrs. Ray Highfill with Mrs. Mary Jo Mann as co-hostess and Mrs. Ora Pond Hawley as president. Mrs. Ted Malone had charge of the program and Norma Lee Johnson presented the program on the sixth-grade class she taught in Dunn. Club members present were Mrs. Clyde Grimes, Mrs. S.R. Moore, Miss Katie Yates, Mrs. Lucy Kelly, Mrs. H.O. Connell, Mrs. Ted Malone, Mrs. Herbert Johnson, Mrs. Haywood Roberts, Mrs. Edna Butler, Mrs. J.C. Hawley and Mrs. Curtis Guy. Out in the country on Harvell Road, Julia Stewart feted her daughter Ann with a celebration for her 13th birthday party (Daily Record Feb. 1, 1963).
Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Barnes of Route 2, Angier, announced the birth of Scott Barnes in Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Barnes was the former Nina Ruth Miller (Daily Record Feb. 5, 1963).
Joseph William Ivey, 90, of Garland, brother of John Ivey of Coats, had died on Wednesday (Daily Record Feb. 8, 1963).
Another Ivey family lost a member to death. Funeral services were held at Hodges Chapel Church for Mrs. Mary Ellen Ivey, 77, of Benson, Route One. She was the widow of J.B. Ivey and was a member of Red Hill FWB Church. She was survived by four daughters-Mrs. Martha Barbarossa, Mrs. Rachel Balsoma and Mrs. Pauline Disalvo and two sons-Walter Ivey and John Ivey (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1963). Question-Who was the fourth daughter?
Death was hanging out for a while in February of 1963 in the Coats community. H.R. “Hughie” Byrd, 81, a retired farmer of Coats, Route 1, had died in Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital on Tuesday. He had been hospitalized for almost one and a half years and was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Lewis Byrd. He was survived by two sons-Lester and Curtis Byrd and three daughters-Mrs. Willie Ammons, Mrs Pearl Gaskin and Mrs. J.B. Dupree. Mrs. Carson Gregory was a stepdaughter and stepsons were Joseph Byrd, Alton Byrd, Lundy Byrd and Oscar Byrd (Daily Record Feb. 12, 1963).
Question—was it unusual for someone to be in the Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital for a year and a half? I do know that Mrs. Minnie Johnson Capps, 72, of Route 2, Angier, had died on Tuesday. Burial was in Johnson Cemetery on Route 2, Angier. She was survived by her husband, John Capps; one son, William R. Capps, and one brother, Walter Johnson (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1963).
One of the brightest events of the Harnett County sports program was played in the Coats High School gymnasium between the local town men and woman and the Coats School faculty. The female teachers who played were Loretta Whitehead, Peggy Richardson, Margaret Andrews, Mary Cole, Betty Frazier, Jane Recktenwald, Marie Salmon and Elaine O’Quinn with her stepladder.
The town’s worthy opponents were Sue Ennis Benner, Joyce Williams Stewart, Beanie Langdon Ennis, Jane Stewart Langdon, Helen Sears Pope, Barbara Byrd Powell, Rachel Stephenson Ennis and Eloise Pope Lee who was also the coach. Were all of these ladies former high school basketball standouts?
Following the hour of displayed talent of the women’s game, the men showed their “stuff”. Men from the faculty were Donald O’Quinn, Norfleet Gardner, Tallie Dupree, Cecil Fuquay, H.L. Sorrell, Jr., (the Wilt Chamberlain of the Coats High School faculty), Benny Hampton, and C.H. Cannady. Kenneth O’Neal Charles Recktenwald and William H. Frazier served as coaches. Gardner and Dupree were fast playmakers fresh out of Wake Forest College.
The town competitors were “Bobo” Godwin, Charles Ennis, Tommy Pope, Jimmy Benner, “Goat” Pleasant- the Coats softball batting champion, Coach Junior Lee, Jimmy Jones, Howard Penny, Daywood Langdon, Dr. H.C. Connell, Haywood Roberts, and Rev,. Howard Beard.
The referees in the black and white striped shirts were Kenneth Ennis and Bobby Pope. Do you have any idea what the admission fee to the game was? The cost to enter the gym to watch the antics was 25 and 50 cents (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1963). Who won???
I have no idea but I do know that we meet these words again—“Cradle Shower”. Mrs. Floyd Stewart was honored with a cradle shower at the Goodwill Community Building. Mrs. Katie Mabry, Mrs. Annie Belle Jones and Mrs. Malissa Johnson served as hostesses.
Mrs. Fay Stewart and Mrs. Jane Langdon attended a Hairdresser’s Convention. The Coats Woman’s Club had met at the home of Mrs. Howard Beard with Mrs. Carl Hough as co-hostesses. Mrs. Godfrey Beasley and her husband presented a slide presentation on an European trip taken by the couple. Members who attended were Mrs. Mattie Highfill, Miss Mattie Bain, Mrs. Haywood Roberts, Mrs. Lucy Kelly, Mrs. Percy Parrish, Mrs. Vic Lee, Mrs. Clyde Grimes, Mrs. Ora Parrish, President Ora Pond Hawley, Mrs. Charlie Williams, Mrs. Curtis Guy, Mrs. Herbert Johnson, Mrs. M.O. Phillips, Mrs. Jesse Mann, and Mrs. Gerald Langdon (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1963).
The stork made two deliveries to the Good Hope Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. George Oliver Ferrell announced the birth of a son. The mother was the former Dorothy Pope. Also announcing the birth of a daughter was Mr. and Mrs. Billy Lee Hilliard of Route One, Coats. Wilma Gray Tew was the new mother (Daily Record Feb. 18, 1963).
Death had not left Coats. T.C. “Good” Bayles had died on Sunday at age 54. He was the son of Daniel Bayles and Joe Emma Denning Bayles. He was survived by his wife, Estelle Lucas Bayles; one son, Jerry Bayles; one daughter, Mrs. Jack Kelly Matthews; one brother, Jesse Caswell Bayles and four sisters-Mrs. Bernice Page, Mrs. Herbert Cutts, Miss Bernice Bayles and Mrs. Bill Dixon (Daily Record Feb. 18, 1963). Is there an error in this obituary—were there two with the same name? Did his brother also have a nickname? I surely hope it was not “Bad”. Maybe it was “Little”.
The Coats Museum Committee and Board of Directors met last Saturday morning and saluted the members rotating off the board. They were Teresa Honeycutt, Sandra Kay Howard, David Barnes and Kent Langdon. They have been very supportive of the museum in so many ways and they are so appreciated by the museum volunteers. The Class of 2020 was welcomed aboard and they are Myrtle Bridges, Lynda Butler, Tim L. Penny and Kathy Weeks. This group also brings many talents to the board. H. L. Sorrell was reelected as president and chairman of the executive board; Andy Cole as vice chairman; Becky Adams as secretary; Robie Butler as treasurer and Ted Penny as past president.
We were very saddened by the death of Juanita Hudson, one of our faithful volunteers and former board members. She was the hard working force behind the construction of our Cotton Museum, memorial wall and fountain, believing that all could be built while others looked upon the possibility with skepticism. Mack Reid and Juanita were always so willing to gift and loan countless items for display in the exhibit hall. The deaths of Mack and Juanita leave an empty spot in our hearts, but we are aware of their presence as we look around the Heritage Square and in the museums and see what they have left behind for the benefit of others.
A big thank you goes to both Hilda Pope who has given a memorial to the museum in Juanita’s honor and to H.L. Sorrell for remembering her with a donation to the Coats Museum Endowment.
