March 13, 2015 Coats
Museum News
Each week as you read this “Coats Museum News,” does it ever occur to you that about 95 percent of this material from the Daily Record was read years ago possibly by your parents, grandparents and in some cases by you? I am simply revisiting the events that were recorded in years past. Do you think our current way of obtaining information will hinder or improve our preservation of history?
This I do know. All of the following paragraphs of information were printed in the Feb. 8, 1952 Daily Record. Joe and Sharon Byrd were honored at a Coats party for Joe’s fourth and Sharon’s first birthdays. Those who enjoyed ice cream and cake were June and Gary Powell, Joy and Donna Stalling, Glenn and Harry Denton, Janet and Dewayne Byrd, Billy and Keith Parrish, Fleming and David Parker, Robin Carroll, Sandra Thornton, and Phyllis Williams. You folks from Coats, do you recognize any of those names?
While some of Coats’s youngest were partying, Wilma Barnes was home from East Carolina College. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Seagroves of Coats, Route One, announced the arrival on January 29th of a daughter at Good Hope Hospital. Mrs. Seagroves was the former Martha Garrett Johnson. Another young couple announced the arrival of a daughter at the same hospital in Erwin. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wilbert Parrish of Coats were new parents. Mrs. Parrish was the former Margaret Elliott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Elliott. You recently read about her brother, Taylor Elliott, saving the life of a fellow serviceman whose parachute had failed to open.
With all the birth announcements from the Coats area, what year will these babies graduate from high school? Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Woodrow Stancil of near Coats announced the arrival of a bundle of joy, a son, on January 26th at Good Hope. Mrs. Stancil was the former Margaret Juanita Stewart. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Hudson of Coats added their boy to the lists of newborns. He was born on February 3rd.
Mrs. Inez Jernigan Hawley went to Biloxi, Mississippi to visit her husband at Keisler Air Base. Mr. and Mrs. Luke Barefoot attended the Golden Anniversary of Mrs. Barefoot’s uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Brown of Durham. The Fellowship Club had met at the school cafeteria (in the basement) to hear Mr. R. Hal Smith’s request for help to raise more money for bleachers for the “soon to be finished” gymnasium. The club agreed to sponsor the project.
The news continued that Reggie Parrish, who had been hurt seriously when he fell from a light pole while doing electrical work, was improving. Mr. Kenneth Keene was a student at Louisburg College. Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Langdon and Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Langdon were dinner guests of the W.E. Nichols. The paper printed that Dr. Langdon, a Coats School graduate, was a neurologist. Was he a neurologist or an urologist? The paper did share that Mr. and Mrs. Edward Nichols and children of Winston Salem were weekend guests of the W.E. Nichols. Wonder if any of those children are alive and know the impact their grandparents had on the Coats community.
The basketball season was coming to an end but not before the Coats boy’s team had met Anderson Creek in the Erwin School gym. Hoover Johnson had shot 16 points to his credit and Tommy Pope and Dennis Pope were recorded for playing good defense (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1952).
Over in Benson, one of my father’s closest friends, Dr. C.W. Sanders, had suggested that the town consider adding fluoride to the town’s water supply (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1952).
Coats, along with other schools in Harnett County, had participated in the March of Dimes Drive. The primary grades collected $134.41; the elementary grades raised $424.70 and the high school garnered $70.89. What was the total? How was the March of Dimes money used in 1952?
Wonder if any of the basketball players worked to raise money for the drive. I do know that the Coats boys easily defeated Dunn. Tommy Pope and McRae Turlington were outstanding. Josephine Johnson and Ann Pleasant were impressive on the court for the Coats girls. In the game against Anderson Creek, the boys defeated them with Dennis Pope, Tommy Pope, and Hoover Johnson as high performers. Josephine Johnson and Sue Langdon had played a great game but did not defeat the opposing girls (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1952).
Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hedgepeth announced the birth of a son, on January 2, in Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Ellen Dale Dupree. Was this Danny or Randy? Another boy was born to Coats parents, Mr. and Mrs. Erwin Holder. Mrs. Holder was the former Iola Mason. Was this son-James?
In the Oakdale area, the HD Club had held a meeting and they welcomed Mrs. Junior Norris and Mrs. Arthur Capps as members. Mrs. Kirkland Ennis gave the program on “Home Beautification”. Back in town, the Wellons Mercantile of Dunn and Coats had a contest for a $125.00 Bulova watch. To win the watch, the winner would have to guess the number of kernels of corn that the “Bonus Space” freezer would hold. That sounds like fun! Wonder if a person was limited to the number of times that could be entered.
Basketball games continued to be in the news. The Coats boys defeated the Lillington team. Tall Rudolph Miller was the Coats’ team leading scorer. Hoover Johnson, Mac Turlington, Dennis Pope, and Tommy Pope had helped bring about the victory. The Coats girls lost but Dorothy Stewart, Josephine Johnson and Sue Johnson were high scorers. Sue Langdon was the defensive leader (Daily Record Feb. 14, 1952).
Mrs. Howard Penny and Mrs. Chess Johnson had visited Mr. Chess Johnson, a patient at the Wilson County Sanitarium near Wilson. The regular Teenage Club dance of the week was held at the Community House. The Hillbilly Band of Buies Creek provided the music. Coyte Lanier, a Coats faculty member, was doing a great job in sponsoring entertainment for the teenage boys and girls of the community (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1952).
How old were you when you married? Benny Stephenson, 18, of Coats and Ruby Neal Upchurch, 16, of Route One, Coats, were issued a marriage license. The Harnett County Basketball Tournament came to a close. The Coats girls committed too many fouls. Dorothy Stewart scored 17 points. Grace Turlington had the top shooting percentage with 3 out of 6. Grace’s hustle and fine passing stood out. Coats held the lead of 23 to 15 at halftime, but the Buies Creek girls came back to win. What was the final score?
A Coats girl headed the Korean aid drive. Student members of the Future Teachers of America and the Baptist Student Union at ECC were ready to ship 176 pounds of clothes collected on campus. Mary Jo Johnson, FTA president, spearheaded the project (Daily Record Feb. 19, 1952). Many of you know that she would later be known as Mary Jo Mann.
We really enjoyed our seventeen visitors from Holly Springs last Friday. Most of them moved to that area from all over the country and are really enjoying learning about the museums in Harnett. A special thank you goes to Ralph Denning from Raleigh who gave the museum a hardback book containing the genealogy of the Jernigan family which contains countless other surnames in our area. He and his son also enlarged many pictures from the 1955 county centennial so we can identify spectators at the parade. Awesome! A big thank you goes to Craig and Denise Matthews for honoring the memory of Mary Stevens with a donation to the museum. The town and museum are so fortunate to have folks who love Coats.
Each week as you read this “Coats Museum News,” does it ever occur to you that about 95 percent of this material from the Daily Record was read years ago possibly by your parents, grandparents and in some cases by you? I am simply revisiting the events that were recorded in years past. Do you think our current way of obtaining information will hinder or improve our preservation of history?
This I do know. All of the following paragraphs of information were printed in the Feb. 8, 1952 Daily Record. Joe and Sharon Byrd were honored at a Coats party for Joe’s fourth and Sharon’s first birthdays. Those who enjoyed ice cream and cake were June and Gary Powell, Joy and Donna Stalling, Glenn and Harry Denton, Janet and Dewayne Byrd, Billy and Keith Parrish, Fleming and David Parker, Robin Carroll, Sandra Thornton, and Phyllis Williams. You folks from Coats, do you recognize any of those names?
While some of Coats’s youngest were partying, Wilma Barnes was home from East Carolina College. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Seagroves of Coats, Route One, announced the arrival on January 29th of a daughter at Good Hope Hospital. Mrs. Seagroves was the former Martha Garrett Johnson. Another young couple announced the arrival of a daughter at the same hospital in Erwin. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wilbert Parrish of Coats were new parents. Mrs. Parrish was the former Margaret Elliott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Elliott. You recently read about her brother, Taylor Elliott, saving the life of a fellow serviceman whose parachute had failed to open.
With all the birth announcements from the Coats area, what year will these babies graduate from high school? Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Woodrow Stancil of near Coats announced the arrival of a bundle of joy, a son, on January 26th at Good Hope. Mrs. Stancil was the former Margaret Juanita Stewart. Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Hudson of Coats added their boy to the lists of newborns. He was born on February 3rd.
Mrs. Inez Jernigan Hawley went to Biloxi, Mississippi to visit her husband at Keisler Air Base. Mr. and Mrs. Luke Barefoot attended the Golden Anniversary of Mrs. Barefoot’s uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Brown of Durham. The Fellowship Club had met at the school cafeteria (in the basement) to hear Mr. R. Hal Smith’s request for help to raise more money for bleachers for the “soon to be finished” gymnasium. The club agreed to sponsor the project.
The news continued that Reggie Parrish, who had been hurt seriously when he fell from a light pole while doing electrical work, was improving. Mr. Kenneth Keene was a student at Louisburg College. Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Langdon and Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Langdon were dinner guests of the W.E. Nichols. The paper printed that Dr. Langdon, a Coats School graduate, was a neurologist. Was he a neurologist or an urologist? The paper did share that Mr. and Mrs. Edward Nichols and children of Winston Salem were weekend guests of the W.E. Nichols. Wonder if any of those children are alive and know the impact their grandparents had on the Coats community.
The basketball season was coming to an end but not before the Coats boy’s team had met Anderson Creek in the Erwin School gym. Hoover Johnson had shot 16 points to his credit and Tommy Pope and Dennis Pope were recorded for playing good defense (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1952).
Over in Benson, one of my father’s closest friends, Dr. C.W. Sanders, had suggested that the town consider adding fluoride to the town’s water supply (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1952).
Coats, along with other schools in Harnett County, had participated in the March of Dimes Drive. The primary grades collected $134.41; the elementary grades raised $424.70 and the high school garnered $70.89. What was the total? How was the March of Dimes money used in 1952?
Wonder if any of the basketball players worked to raise money for the drive. I do know that the Coats boys easily defeated Dunn. Tommy Pope and McRae Turlington were outstanding. Josephine Johnson and Ann Pleasant were impressive on the court for the Coats girls. In the game against Anderson Creek, the boys defeated them with Dennis Pope, Tommy Pope, and Hoover Johnson as high performers. Josephine Johnson and Sue Langdon had played a great game but did not defeat the opposing girls (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1952).
Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hedgepeth announced the birth of a son, on January 2, in Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Ellen Dale Dupree. Was this Danny or Randy? Another boy was born to Coats parents, Mr. and Mrs. Erwin Holder. Mrs. Holder was the former Iola Mason. Was this son-James?
In the Oakdale area, the HD Club had held a meeting and they welcomed Mrs. Junior Norris and Mrs. Arthur Capps as members. Mrs. Kirkland Ennis gave the program on “Home Beautification”. Back in town, the Wellons Mercantile of Dunn and Coats had a contest for a $125.00 Bulova watch. To win the watch, the winner would have to guess the number of kernels of corn that the “Bonus Space” freezer would hold. That sounds like fun! Wonder if a person was limited to the number of times that could be entered.
Basketball games continued to be in the news. The Coats boys defeated the Lillington team. Tall Rudolph Miller was the Coats’ team leading scorer. Hoover Johnson, Mac Turlington, Dennis Pope, and Tommy Pope had helped bring about the victory. The Coats girls lost but Dorothy Stewart, Josephine Johnson and Sue Johnson were high scorers. Sue Langdon was the defensive leader (Daily Record Feb. 14, 1952).
Mrs. Howard Penny and Mrs. Chess Johnson had visited Mr. Chess Johnson, a patient at the Wilson County Sanitarium near Wilson. The regular Teenage Club dance of the week was held at the Community House. The Hillbilly Band of Buies Creek provided the music. Coyte Lanier, a Coats faculty member, was doing a great job in sponsoring entertainment for the teenage boys and girls of the community (Daily Record Feb. 15, 1952).
How old were you when you married? Benny Stephenson, 18, of Coats and Ruby Neal Upchurch, 16, of Route One, Coats, were issued a marriage license. The Harnett County Basketball Tournament came to a close. The Coats girls committed too many fouls. Dorothy Stewart scored 17 points. Grace Turlington had the top shooting percentage with 3 out of 6. Grace’s hustle and fine passing stood out. Coats held the lead of 23 to 15 at halftime, but the Buies Creek girls came back to win. What was the final score?
A Coats girl headed the Korean aid drive. Student members of the Future Teachers of America and the Baptist Student Union at ECC were ready to ship 176 pounds of clothes collected on campus. Mary Jo Johnson, FTA president, spearheaded the project (Daily Record Feb. 19, 1952). Many of you know that she would later be known as Mary Jo Mann.
We really enjoyed our seventeen visitors from Holly Springs last Friday. Most of them moved to that area from all over the country and are really enjoying learning about the museums in Harnett. A special thank you goes to Ralph Denning from Raleigh who gave the museum a hardback book containing the genealogy of the Jernigan family which contains countless other surnames in our area. He and his son also enlarged many pictures from the 1955 county centennial so we can identify spectators at the parade. Awesome! A big thank you goes to Craig and Denise Matthews for honoring the memory of Mary Stevens with a donation to the museum. The town and museum are so fortunate to have folks who love Coats.