March 29, 2019 Coats Museum News
There was a time when stagecoaches pulled by horses made their way through the piney woods of our Grove area headed between Fayetteville and Raleigh. The road- most times rutted, sandy or muddy- was hard on both animal and stagecoach. History recorded that the stagecoaches rumbled through Barclaysville, Troyville and Turlington located in Grove Townships.
Later, Troyville would be replaced by Coats as the center of mercantile activity when the Northern and Cape Fear Railroad rumbled through the area in 1903. Preacher Tom Coats owned much of the land in Coats upon which the tracks were laid for the railroad. Coats had his cousin Rom Lambert survey the town into lots marking most of the streets with family names, fruit trees or family connections. Railroad Street parallels with the train tracks. However, the one street that could have been the stage road bears the name of McKinley.
Question-was the street named for William McKinley, the Republican President from 1897-1901? He was serving his second term when he was assassinated on September 6, 1901. McKinley was a stout 5’6’’ gentle man of great kindness. He liked to wear a white vest and a red carnation in his buttonhole. He served 76 million people, one of them being Casey Jones, the famous engineer who was killed in a train wreck.
I do know that Preacher Tom Coats was a very tall man, a very kind man and a Republican. I also know that a Coats Public Hearing was scheduled by the NC Department of Transportation to discuss the proposed widening of McKinley St. from Main Street to NC 27. The purpose of the December, 1975 hearing was to provide an explanation of the proposed design and right-of-way requirements (Daily Record Dec. 3, 1975). This proposal would have affected the street between the two stoplights.
December was marked with numerous deaths and weddings in the Coats area. Edgar J. Faircloth, 66, of Coats, a retired textile worker, had died on Saturday. His services were held at the Red Hill Church and burial was in the Williams family cemetery. He was survived by one son, Edgar T. Faircloth (Buddy) Faircloth of Route 2, Angier (Daily Record Dec. 8, 1975).
Mrs. Maude Parrish Ennis, 77, died in Raleigh. Ted Parrish of Benson was her brother. Elsewhere, Carson Gregory was reelected President of the N.C. Spot Breeders Association. The Tri-Tones of Coats presented a gospel concert at the Collier’s Chapel (Daily Record Dec. 10, 1975).
Miss Bethany Langdon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daywood Langdon, had been selected to play basketball at Meredith College. The senior psychology major was one of the twelve on the team (Daily Record Dec.22, 1975).
The Bloodmobile had been on a drive to Coats to collect blood. There were 57 productive donors that day of which 20 were first time donors (Daily Record Dec. 24, 1975).
Hugh E. Turlington, 48, formerly of Coats, had died in Richmond, VA. He was survived by his wife, Rebecca Tippett Turlington; one daughter, Miss Martha Turlington; one brother, Charles Turlington of Benson; and one sister, Mrs. Arlene Turlington Forbes (Daily Record Dec. 30, 1975). Hugh was the son of longtime Mayor Charlie Turlington and grandson of Preacher Tom Coats.
John Mack Weaver, a retired Coats farmer, had died on Tuesday. His services were held at the Rose Funeral Chapel in Coats. Mr. Weaver was buried in the Harnett Memorial Park. He was survived by one daughter, Joanne Tripp and four sons-Woodrow, Mack, J.D. and Charles-all of Coats. Paul Weaver was his brother. Mr. Weaver was a native of Coats and the son of the late Jim and Hester Woodell Weaver (Daily Record Dec. 31, 1975).
Mr. and Mrs. Kent Hudson were honeymooning following their December 28th wedding at the St. United Methodist Church in Durham (Daily Record Dec.28, 1975).
It was a new year-1976-the year in which Jimmy Carter was elected president and the country celebrated the bicentennial. The Concorde Super Sonic Transport began regular commercial operation. The Senate subcommittee reported that Lockheed Aircraft had paid $22 million in overseas bribes to sell its planes.
In 1976, the logo of the bicentennial was everywhere. Red, blue and white showed up on everything from garbage cans to airplanes. The CB-for citizens band-radio- appeared in the family car. The short hairstyle for Dorothy Hamill, the gold medal Olympic skater, displaced long hair on women. Personal ads started showing up in a variety of periodicals. The tasteless Gong Show made the airways. The first drive-in window funeral home opened in New Roads, Louisiana.
At the time of the bicentennial, the average American was 28.7 years of age, had completed 12.4 years of school, had 2.3 children and owned a house with 5.3 rooms. Three-quarters of all Americans lived on 1.5 percent of the country’s land mass. There were thirty-three metropolitan areas with a population of over a million. The American suburbs were 95 percent white.
At about the same time, the Tandy Corporation and a fledging outfit called Apple marketed the first personal computer and the sales were not great the first year. In 1976, the average American consumed 128.5 pounds of beef-up from 85.1 in 1960. Howard Hughes had died on April 5 and was worth $1.5 billion. Almost half of all American babies wore disposable diapers.
Some phrases and words were new in 1976. “Adultery in my heart” was a phrase made by candidate Jimmy Carter. “PC” was used in reference to the two machines-TRS 80 and Apple 1.Another phrase was “Legionnaire’s Disease” which had killed twenty-seven American Legionnaires in Philadelphia. “Yo” was made popular from the movie Rocky (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Massachusetts: Federal Street Press 1999, pp. 221-225).
The Daily Record shared that a Coats couple, Peggy Ruth Denton and Leonard Parker, had been married at Hilltop FWB Church on December 13th. She was the daughter of Don and Ruth Moore Denton and Leonard was the son of Leonard Curtis Parker and the late Mrs. Parker (Daily Record Jan. 2, 1976).
Ronald Peters, Chief of Police at Coats, was a former booking agent for musical groups. When he came to the Coats job two and a half years ago, the police force was made up of two officers and one police cruiser. In January of 1976, the force consisted of five officers plus a “reserve” force of thirteen fully trained volunteer officers (Daily Record Jan. 5, 1976).
The public bookmobile stopped at the Langdon home, Bowden home, O.K. Keene Store, Alonzo Coats home, and the Coats Library. All were visited in two hour and forty-five time frames (Daily Record Jan. 6, 1976).
Death visited the home of Mrs. Bevie Bayles Dixon, 69, on Tuesday. Her funeral was in the Rose Funeral Home Chapel and burial was in the Greenwood Cemetery. She was survived by Miss Bernice Bayles, Mrs. Ava Page, Mrs. Iva Cutts and J.C. Bayles (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1976).
Mr. and Mrs. T.J. Turlington, Jr. had purchased the Godwin Feed and Seed Service in Dunn (Daily Record Jan. 16, 1976). Wonder if they sold baby bunnies and little chicks at the store?
I do know that the Coats Woman’s Club had played hostess to the full Executive Board of the Ninth District N.C. Federation of Women’s Club at Heath’s Steakhouse in Dunn. Mrs. Fletcher Flowers was the Coats club president (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1976).
Rhonda Carol Baker was engaged to Linwood Hamilton (Daily Record Jan. 19, 1976).
Nannie Matthews, 80, had died on Friday. The Coats woman was buried in the Coats City Cemetery following a funeral at Roses Funeral Chapel. She was the mother Grady L. Matthews of Coats and mother-in-law of Frances Tart Matthews (Daily Record Jan. 26, 1976). Who remembers that Grady was very instrumental in bringing the Terre Hill Lingerie Factory to Coats? Grady was adopted by “Miss Nannie” and she, Grady and Frances lived in the house next to the current Mexican Restaurant on Main Street. It is also interesting to note that the restaurant was the original site of Andrew Coats’s Store, Woodrow Langdon Store, Berle and Howard Barnes Store and Philco business, Doyle and Ethel Barbour Store, Bumper to Bumper Auto Place and several other restaurants in the past few years. It was in the Matthews house area that the first Coats Post Office was located and mastered by R.O. Stewart.
Bobby Klutz, a first year student at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had made the Dean’s List. Bobby was the son of Dr. and Mrs. John Klutz who made their home in Athens, Greece where Dr. Klutz was a professor. Mrs. Klutz was the former Jeanine Ennis, daughter of Nelson and Beulah Ennis of the Turlington’s Crossroads area (Daily Record Jan. 26. 1976).
Wonder if Jeanine sang and gave music lessons in Athens? I do know she is the brother of Don and Phillip Ennis who also graduated from Coats High School. I think you would agree that the Turlington Crossroads area has been the home site of many successful people over the years and it continues to be the site of learning at the Coats Erwin Middle School which is about the sixth school in that general area since the late 1700’s or early 1800’s.
We enjoyed a visit from Larry Campbell from the Pinehurst area but originally from Newport News, VA. He was interested in the Campbell Genealogy. He has several Coats relatives so we look forward to assisting him in his search. It was interesting to learn that he had Coats connection with the Randall Turlington family and several other prominent Coats ladies.
There was a time when stagecoaches pulled by horses made their way through the piney woods of our Grove area headed between Fayetteville and Raleigh. The road- most times rutted, sandy or muddy- was hard on both animal and stagecoach. History recorded that the stagecoaches rumbled through Barclaysville, Troyville and Turlington located in Grove Townships.
Later, Troyville would be replaced by Coats as the center of mercantile activity when the Northern and Cape Fear Railroad rumbled through the area in 1903. Preacher Tom Coats owned much of the land in Coats upon which the tracks were laid for the railroad. Coats had his cousin Rom Lambert survey the town into lots marking most of the streets with family names, fruit trees or family connections. Railroad Street parallels with the train tracks. However, the one street that could have been the stage road bears the name of McKinley.
Question-was the street named for William McKinley, the Republican President from 1897-1901? He was serving his second term when he was assassinated on September 6, 1901. McKinley was a stout 5’6’’ gentle man of great kindness. He liked to wear a white vest and a red carnation in his buttonhole. He served 76 million people, one of them being Casey Jones, the famous engineer who was killed in a train wreck.
I do know that Preacher Tom Coats was a very tall man, a very kind man and a Republican. I also know that a Coats Public Hearing was scheduled by the NC Department of Transportation to discuss the proposed widening of McKinley St. from Main Street to NC 27. The purpose of the December, 1975 hearing was to provide an explanation of the proposed design and right-of-way requirements (Daily Record Dec. 3, 1975). This proposal would have affected the street between the two stoplights.
December was marked with numerous deaths and weddings in the Coats area. Edgar J. Faircloth, 66, of Coats, a retired textile worker, had died on Saturday. His services were held at the Red Hill Church and burial was in the Williams family cemetery. He was survived by one son, Edgar T. Faircloth (Buddy) Faircloth of Route 2, Angier (Daily Record Dec. 8, 1975).
Mrs. Maude Parrish Ennis, 77, died in Raleigh. Ted Parrish of Benson was her brother. Elsewhere, Carson Gregory was reelected President of the N.C. Spot Breeders Association. The Tri-Tones of Coats presented a gospel concert at the Collier’s Chapel (Daily Record Dec. 10, 1975).
Miss Bethany Langdon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daywood Langdon, had been selected to play basketball at Meredith College. The senior psychology major was one of the twelve on the team (Daily Record Dec.22, 1975).
The Bloodmobile had been on a drive to Coats to collect blood. There were 57 productive donors that day of which 20 were first time donors (Daily Record Dec. 24, 1975).
Hugh E. Turlington, 48, formerly of Coats, had died in Richmond, VA. He was survived by his wife, Rebecca Tippett Turlington; one daughter, Miss Martha Turlington; one brother, Charles Turlington of Benson; and one sister, Mrs. Arlene Turlington Forbes (Daily Record Dec. 30, 1975). Hugh was the son of longtime Mayor Charlie Turlington and grandson of Preacher Tom Coats.
John Mack Weaver, a retired Coats farmer, had died on Tuesday. His services were held at the Rose Funeral Chapel in Coats. Mr. Weaver was buried in the Harnett Memorial Park. He was survived by one daughter, Joanne Tripp and four sons-Woodrow, Mack, J.D. and Charles-all of Coats. Paul Weaver was his brother. Mr. Weaver was a native of Coats and the son of the late Jim and Hester Woodell Weaver (Daily Record Dec. 31, 1975).
Mr. and Mrs. Kent Hudson were honeymooning following their December 28th wedding at the St. United Methodist Church in Durham (Daily Record Dec.28, 1975).
It was a new year-1976-the year in which Jimmy Carter was elected president and the country celebrated the bicentennial. The Concorde Super Sonic Transport began regular commercial operation. The Senate subcommittee reported that Lockheed Aircraft had paid $22 million in overseas bribes to sell its planes.
In 1976, the logo of the bicentennial was everywhere. Red, blue and white showed up on everything from garbage cans to airplanes. The CB-for citizens band-radio- appeared in the family car. The short hairstyle for Dorothy Hamill, the gold medal Olympic skater, displaced long hair on women. Personal ads started showing up in a variety of periodicals. The tasteless Gong Show made the airways. The first drive-in window funeral home opened in New Roads, Louisiana.
At the time of the bicentennial, the average American was 28.7 years of age, had completed 12.4 years of school, had 2.3 children and owned a house with 5.3 rooms. Three-quarters of all Americans lived on 1.5 percent of the country’s land mass. There were thirty-three metropolitan areas with a population of over a million. The American suburbs were 95 percent white.
At about the same time, the Tandy Corporation and a fledging outfit called Apple marketed the first personal computer and the sales were not great the first year. In 1976, the average American consumed 128.5 pounds of beef-up from 85.1 in 1960. Howard Hughes had died on April 5 and was worth $1.5 billion. Almost half of all American babies wore disposable diapers.
Some phrases and words were new in 1976. “Adultery in my heart” was a phrase made by candidate Jimmy Carter. “PC” was used in reference to the two machines-TRS 80 and Apple 1.Another phrase was “Legionnaire’s Disease” which had killed twenty-seven American Legionnaires in Philadelphia. “Yo” was made popular from the movie Rocky (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Massachusetts: Federal Street Press 1999, pp. 221-225).
The Daily Record shared that a Coats couple, Peggy Ruth Denton and Leonard Parker, had been married at Hilltop FWB Church on December 13th. She was the daughter of Don and Ruth Moore Denton and Leonard was the son of Leonard Curtis Parker and the late Mrs. Parker (Daily Record Jan. 2, 1976).
Ronald Peters, Chief of Police at Coats, was a former booking agent for musical groups. When he came to the Coats job two and a half years ago, the police force was made up of two officers and one police cruiser. In January of 1976, the force consisted of five officers plus a “reserve” force of thirteen fully trained volunteer officers (Daily Record Jan. 5, 1976).
The public bookmobile stopped at the Langdon home, Bowden home, O.K. Keene Store, Alonzo Coats home, and the Coats Library. All were visited in two hour and forty-five time frames (Daily Record Jan. 6, 1976).
Death visited the home of Mrs. Bevie Bayles Dixon, 69, on Tuesday. Her funeral was in the Rose Funeral Home Chapel and burial was in the Greenwood Cemetery. She was survived by Miss Bernice Bayles, Mrs. Ava Page, Mrs. Iva Cutts and J.C. Bayles (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1976).
Mr. and Mrs. T.J. Turlington, Jr. had purchased the Godwin Feed and Seed Service in Dunn (Daily Record Jan. 16, 1976). Wonder if they sold baby bunnies and little chicks at the store?
I do know that the Coats Woman’s Club had played hostess to the full Executive Board of the Ninth District N.C. Federation of Women’s Club at Heath’s Steakhouse in Dunn. Mrs. Fletcher Flowers was the Coats club president (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1976).
Rhonda Carol Baker was engaged to Linwood Hamilton (Daily Record Jan. 19, 1976).
Nannie Matthews, 80, had died on Friday. The Coats woman was buried in the Coats City Cemetery following a funeral at Roses Funeral Chapel. She was the mother Grady L. Matthews of Coats and mother-in-law of Frances Tart Matthews (Daily Record Jan. 26, 1976). Who remembers that Grady was very instrumental in bringing the Terre Hill Lingerie Factory to Coats? Grady was adopted by “Miss Nannie” and she, Grady and Frances lived in the house next to the current Mexican Restaurant on Main Street. It is also interesting to note that the restaurant was the original site of Andrew Coats’s Store, Woodrow Langdon Store, Berle and Howard Barnes Store and Philco business, Doyle and Ethel Barbour Store, Bumper to Bumper Auto Place and several other restaurants in the past few years. It was in the Matthews house area that the first Coats Post Office was located and mastered by R.O. Stewart.
Bobby Klutz, a first year student at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had made the Dean’s List. Bobby was the son of Dr. and Mrs. John Klutz who made their home in Athens, Greece where Dr. Klutz was a professor. Mrs. Klutz was the former Jeanine Ennis, daughter of Nelson and Beulah Ennis of the Turlington’s Crossroads area (Daily Record Jan. 26. 1976).
Wonder if Jeanine sang and gave music lessons in Athens? I do know she is the brother of Don and Phillip Ennis who also graduated from Coats High School. I think you would agree that the Turlington Crossroads area has been the home site of many successful people over the years and it continues to be the site of learning at the Coats Erwin Middle School which is about the sixth school in that general area since the late 1700’s or early 1800’s.
We enjoyed a visit from Larry Campbell from the Pinehurst area but originally from Newport News, VA. He was interested in the Campbell Genealogy. He has several Coats relatives so we look forward to assisting him in his search. It was interesting to learn that he had Coats connection with the Randall Turlington family and several other prominent Coats ladies.