March 24, 2023 Coats Museum News
Coats had so many celebrations going on in the spring of 1992. You read last week about several couples who had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries while others were celebrating the births of children and grandchildren. We however have not written about a class reunion celebration. The Coats High Class of 1942 had celebrated its 50th class reunion.
Belle in her Notes from Coats did not share where the 1942 class met for the big milestone event. Do you know? I do know that Marty Smith and Jennifer Lucas were married in her parent’s beautiful gardens. The couple honeymooned in the equally beautiful Bahamas.
Do you know how the word honeymoon came into our vocabulary? About 4,000 years ago in Babylon, it was the practice for a month following the wedding that the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead was a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month -which we know today as the honeymoon.
Cape Fear Christian Academy had graduation for the Class of 1992. Two Coats girls were the top students. Kheresa Weddings was valedictorian and Michelle Adams was the co-salutatorian. Kelly Daniel was also a student from Coats (Daily Record May 28, 1992).
Baseball season was in full swing and the Coats team defeated Benson in the Eastern Harnett Junior Tar Heel League baseball opener. Glenn Faircloth struck out 14 batters. Brad Butler had a triple and a double. Richard Beasley, Brandon Norris and Glen had doubles (Daily Record June 2, 1992).
The CACC recognized Applied Computer Technologies (ACT). The company was founded in 1984 to develop software products for schools, colleges and universities to help lower cost of operating their facilities. Co-founders were Kent Hudson and Carsie Denning, Jr. (Daily Record June 3, 1992). The business was located in what is today the Coats Municipal Building on East Main Street.
The Hodges Chapel FWB Church had held a groundbreaking to build a new church after a fire had destroyed their wooden church exactly one year earlier (Daily Record June5, 1992).
The Coats Home Extension Club met at the home of Pete and Joan Patterson. Vickie and James Johnson had the program on “How to Attract Birds into Your Yard.” Members and their husbands present were Frances Fanning, Virginia Pollard, Debbie Grieder, Linda Long and Joan Patterson (Daily Record June 5, 1992).
Pat Godwin, owners of “Hair Designs by Pat,” had moved her shop to her beautiful country home. Bartley and Frances Cook were ill and she needed to be closer to them. C. Roberts Whitman, 63, formerly of Coats, had died at the Duke Medical Center. Burial was in the Stephens’s Chapel Church Cemetery. He was survived by several children; his mother Ada Norris Whitman; sisters-Annie Ruth Pope, Madeline Parnell, Dorothy Whitman, Betty Manning, Shirley Temple, and brothers-Waitus and Shelton Whitman (Daily Record June 11, 1992).
The Class of 1952 had held its class reunion at the Coats Senior Center. The classmates who had died were Johnnie Parrish, Maynard Moran, Howard Miller, Dennis Pope, Clara Mae Stephenson, Millard Lamm, Joel Hough, Ray Godwin and teacher Miss Mabel Lynch (Daily Record June 18, 1992).
The Coats Town Board had trimmed the garbage fee to $5.50 for residential pickup but water rates remained the same. There was a $5.00 per vehicle license tax. The town planned to purchase three new police cars (Daily Record June 19, 1992).
June Powell Wilensky, a registered nurse at Wake Medical Center, gave a program on CPR to the Coats Home Extension Club meeting at the home of Linda Long. Willa Dean Powell, mother of the speaker, Kelly Hargrove and Judy Tart were also guests at the meeting (Daily Record June 22, 1992).
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Clifton Hood, Jr. of Durham, announced the engagement of their daughter, Laura Elizabeth Hood, to Timothy Lane of Charlotte. He was the son of Shirley Johnson Lane and the late Robert Lane. Tim was a 1989 graduate of Campbell University where the bride-elect had also graduated there on May 22, 1992.
Gene and Pauline Baker had announced the engagement of their daughter, Beverly Ann Baker, to Michael Devon Avery, son of Melburn and Pauline Avery. Both were graduates of Triton (Daily Record June 23, 1992).
Those of us who have braved the winds of time will recall that a Coats Woman’s Club has been around since the early 1920's. This particular Woman’s Club always ended their club recognizing the Club Woman of the Year and Family of the Year. President Linda Massengill presided at Sonny’s Café in Coats. Angela Warren and Matthew Denning were the entertainment for the evening. One project of the many for the 1991-92 club year was the giving of a swing set for the Coats Park. The Family of the Year for 1992 was the Joseph and Eloise Lee Family. Their dedication to the Coats Senior Center and the Coats Baptist Church was outstanding. Joe had served in the U.S. Army in the Air Lift. At Coats, he had served as a pharmacist technician at McKnight’s Drug Co. Eloise had worked in the Coats and Fayetteville Post Offices. Debbie Smith and Bonnie Pope are their two daughters.
Sharon Stevens was the club’s Woman of the Year. Sharon was described as being a person who put her heart into whatever she was involved. The first year member was the owner of the Trophy Case in Dunn. Sharon was a very active in Coats School, the Coats Chamber of Commerce and the Coats Baptist Church. Sharon is married to Doug Stevens and they are parents of Charlie and Kandi Stevens (Daily Record June 25, 1989).
We enjoyed visits from Wanda Gregory of Angier and Myrtle Bridges. Wanda donated to the museum a bride doll she was given when she was eight and Myrtle shared two additional pieces of cobalt blue. Both are showstoppers. Thank you -ladies.
We also enjoyed giving a short tour to Pastor David Smithey and his thirteen year old son Richard from Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. It’s so inspiring to see how knowledgeable our young visitors are. In fact, Richard could use our rotary phone.
Coats had so many celebrations going on in the spring of 1992. You read last week about several couples who had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries while others were celebrating the births of children and grandchildren. We however have not written about a class reunion celebration. The Coats High Class of 1942 had celebrated its 50th class reunion.
Belle in her Notes from Coats did not share where the 1942 class met for the big milestone event. Do you know? I do know that Marty Smith and Jennifer Lucas were married in her parent’s beautiful gardens. The couple honeymooned in the equally beautiful Bahamas.
Do you know how the word honeymoon came into our vocabulary? About 4,000 years ago in Babylon, it was the practice for a month following the wedding that the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead was a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month -which we know today as the honeymoon.
Cape Fear Christian Academy had graduation for the Class of 1992. Two Coats girls were the top students. Kheresa Weddings was valedictorian and Michelle Adams was the co-salutatorian. Kelly Daniel was also a student from Coats (Daily Record May 28, 1992).
Baseball season was in full swing and the Coats team defeated Benson in the Eastern Harnett Junior Tar Heel League baseball opener. Glenn Faircloth struck out 14 batters. Brad Butler had a triple and a double. Richard Beasley, Brandon Norris and Glen had doubles (Daily Record June 2, 1992).
The CACC recognized Applied Computer Technologies (ACT). The company was founded in 1984 to develop software products for schools, colleges and universities to help lower cost of operating their facilities. Co-founders were Kent Hudson and Carsie Denning, Jr. (Daily Record June 3, 1992). The business was located in what is today the Coats Municipal Building on East Main Street.
The Hodges Chapel FWB Church had held a groundbreaking to build a new church after a fire had destroyed their wooden church exactly one year earlier (Daily Record June5, 1992).
The Coats Home Extension Club met at the home of Pete and Joan Patterson. Vickie and James Johnson had the program on “How to Attract Birds into Your Yard.” Members and their husbands present were Frances Fanning, Virginia Pollard, Debbie Grieder, Linda Long and Joan Patterson (Daily Record June 5, 1992).
Pat Godwin, owners of “Hair Designs by Pat,” had moved her shop to her beautiful country home. Bartley and Frances Cook were ill and she needed to be closer to them. C. Roberts Whitman, 63, formerly of Coats, had died at the Duke Medical Center. Burial was in the Stephens’s Chapel Church Cemetery. He was survived by several children; his mother Ada Norris Whitman; sisters-Annie Ruth Pope, Madeline Parnell, Dorothy Whitman, Betty Manning, Shirley Temple, and brothers-Waitus and Shelton Whitman (Daily Record June 11, 1992).
The Class of 1952 had held its class reunion at the Coats Senior Center. The classmates who had died were Johnnie Parrish, Maynard Moran, Howard Miller, Dennis Pope, Clara Mae Stephenson, Millard Lamm, Joel Hough, Ray Godwin and teacher Miss Mabel Lynch (Daily Record June 18, 1992).
The Coats Town Board had trimmed the garbage fee to $5.50 for residential pickup but water rates remained the same. There was a $5.00 per vehicle license tax. The town planned to purchase three new police cars (Daily Record June 19, 1992).
June Powell Wilensky, a registered nurse at Wake Medical Center, gave a program on CPR to the Coats Home Extension Club meeting at the home of Linda Long. Willa Dean Powell, mother of the speaker, Kelly Hargrove and Judy Tart were also guests at the meeting (Daily Record June 22, 1992).
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Clifton Hood, Jr. of Durham, announced the engagement of their daughter, Laura Elizabeth Hood, to Timothy Lane of Charlotte. He was the son of Shirley Johnson Lane and the late Robert Lane. Tim was a 1989 graduate of Campbell University where the bride-elect had also graduated there on May 22, 1992.
Gene and Pauline Baker had announced the engagement of their daughter, Beverly Ann Baker, to Michael Devon Avery, son of Melburn and Pauline Avery. Both were graduates of Triton (Daily Record June 23, 1992).
Those of us who have braved the winds of time will recall that a Coats Woman’s Club has been around since the early 1920's. This particular Woman’s Club always ended their club recognizing the Club Woman of the Year and Family of the Year. President Linda Massengill presided at Sonny’s Café in Coats. Angela Warren and Matthew Denning were the entertainment for the evening. One project of the many for the 1991-92 club year was the giving of a swing set for the Coats Park. The Family of the Year for 1992 was the Joseph and Eloise Lee Family. Their dedication to the Coats Senior Center and the Coats Baptist Church was outstanding. Joe had served in the U.S. Army in the Air Lift. At Coats, he had served as a pharmacist technician at McKnight’s Drug Co. Eloise had worked in the Coats and Fayetteville Post Offices. Debbie Smith and Bonnie Pope are their two daughters.
Sharon Stevens was the club’s Woman of the Year. Sharon was described as being a person who put her heart into whatever she was involved. The first year member was the owner of the Trophy Case in Dunn. Sharon was a very active in Coats School, the Coats Chamber of Commerce and the Coats Baptist Church. Sharon is married to Doug Stevens and they are parents of Charlie and Kandi Stevens (Daily Record June 25, 1989).
We enjoyed visits from Wanda Gregory of Angier and Myrtle Bridges. Wanda donated to the museum a bride doll she was given when she was eight and Myrtle shared two additional pieces of cobalt blue. Both are showstoppers. Thank you -ladies.
We also enjoyed giving a short tour to Pastor David Smithey and his thirteen year old son Richard from Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. It’s so inspiring to see how knowledgeable our young visitors are. In fact, Richard could use our rotary phone.