March 30, 2018 Coats Museum News
The date was July 16th, 1969 at 9:32 A.M. Eastern Standard Time and after a twenty-eight –hour countdown, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Florida, atop the 363-foot Saturn 5 rocket. Commander Neill Armstrong, Command pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin were aboard. The craft boosted toward the moon midway through its second Earth orbit. You read a few weeks ago that Armstrong earned $30,054 annually. It might be of interest to know what the other two astronauts earned as their annual salary. Aldrin earned $20,607 while Collins received $18,648. Would you have thought the salaries to be higher?
The date was July 20th that Neill Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the moon. At 10:56 P.M., Neill Armstrong set foot on the moon and states: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant step for mankind”. Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface twenty minutes later. The American flag was planted in the lunar soil. That was forty-seven years ago.
This was the same summer that Senator Ted Kennedy drove off the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts which resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. It was August of that year that Charles Manson and his accomplices murdered five people including actress Sharon Tate. Also a half million people gathered on a 600 acre farm near Woodstock, NY to hear rock music.
Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf of Mexico with winds higher than 170 mph . More than 250 died in that storm after many failed to heed to warnings about the storm (Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-Mail, New York: Federal Street Press 1999, pp173-76).
In the Coats area, Mrs. Mack Reid Hudson was moving on up the ladder in the NC Extension Homemakers Association. Juanita had been elected to the office of Second Vice President of the Council of NC Extension Homemakers Associations. She was currently serving as East Central District President (Daily Record Oct. 29, 1969).
Death came to Robert Jones, 55, of Coats. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Nettie Williams Jones. His three daughters were Mrs. Shirley Jones Smith, Mrs. Joyce Jones Buffaloe, and Mrs. Carolyn Jones Caldwell. Johnny L. Jones was his brother. A point of interest is that Shirley had married Eddie Smith from Coats who died a short while back and is remembered for his musical talents. Does anyone remember where the Jones family lived in Coats?
I do know that Mr. and Mrs. James Lloyd Pollard announced the plans for their daughter’s wedding. Miss Jennifer Pollard was to marry C. Michael Edwards on November the second. Michael was the son of M. and Mrs. Corby Edward of rural Dunn. The wedding took place at the Red Hill FWB Church and her father gave the bride away while Michael’s father was best man. The bride was a Coats High graduate and was employed at Terre Hill and the groom was a graduate of Burlington Mill (Daily Record Oct. 30 and Nov. 3, 1969).
First Lt. Ronald McLamb, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carlie McLamb of Coats, who was stationed in Vietnam, had his picture taken with comedian Martha Ray, whom he thought was one of the nicest people he had ever met. Ronald was in the Special Forces and had been in Vietnam for almost a year. He was hoping to be home in Coats by December (Daily Record Nov.14, 1969). Ronald shared the picture of Martha Ray with the museum for use in the Defenders of the Red, White and Blue.
Randy T. Cook of Coats had accepted a post with CPL CO. in Raleigh as a material handler in CPL’s warehouse. He was a 1969 graduate of Coats High School and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bartley Cook (Daily Record Nov. 20, 1969). Many of you will remember Randy who was such a likeable person and were saddened that he died recently.
Much was going on in the school and in the community according to the December 1, 1969 edition of the Daily Record. The Coats High Student Council had actively observed the statewide proclaimed Student Council Week. Supt. R.A. Gray and State Attorney General Robert Morgan were two of the speakers. Keith Parrish was the Coats president and was also head of the Harnett County Student Council Association.
Death had returned to Coats and taken the life of Mrs. Marie Dorman Smith, 48. Funeral services were in the Chapel of the Rose Funeral Home in Benson with burial in the Devotional Gardens. She was survived by her husband Howard Smith and four daughters-Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, Mrs. Lela Matthews, Mrs. Cheryl Whittington, and Marcia Foster. Her two sons were Frank and James E. Dorman. Her mother was Mrs. E.B. Jernigan and siblings were Mrs. Everett Williams, Mrs. Edward Weaver, Mrs. Basil Hawley, Ralph Jernigan, Linwood Jernigan, and Harold Jernigan (Daily Record Dec. 1, 1969).
Glenn Stevens, a student at Coats High, wrote for the Daily Record that the “Coats Cage Teams Beat Boone Trail”. Glenn stated that the Boone Trail Pioneers stirred up a real nest of Yellow Jackets and had to cope with the painful sting of the Jackets. Mary Ellen Johnson, Gale Ennis and Kay Young pulled out their stings to win the game 43-34. The Pioneers boys were a little more experienced at fighting Yellow Jackets, but Wayne Matthews, Timmy Pollard, Kent Hudson, Donald McKoy, Dale Ennis, and Jerry Gardner had stings too powerful to overcome. The final score was Coats 54 and Boone Trail 47. Thanks to Coaches Mike Smith and Ronald Avery, the Jackets had started off the season with a dual victory (Daily Record Dec. 10, 1969).
The Grand Reaper had made a visit to the household of Harvey B. Godwin, a retired 78 year-old farmer of Benson. His services were held at the Hannah Creek Primitive Baptist Church with Elder D.E. Parker and Harley Langdon officiating. He was buried in the church cemetery. Daughters were Mrs. James Woodruff, Mrs. David Ennis, Mrs. Grant Gray and Mrs. Thomas McKee who survived him. Bronce, Astor J., William J., B.V., and Ray Godwin were his sons. He had six stepchildren-Mrs. Roda Tudor, Mrs. Alma Bullock, Mrs. Ella Mann, Otha Dean, Carlyle Dean and Wiley Dean. Mrs. Myrtle Pierce was his sister (Daily Record Dec. 10, 1969).
Another death touching the Coats area was that of Robert Glenn Morris, 56, of Route One, Coats. He had died on Wednesday. The employee of Burlington Mills services were held at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church with Rev. Bill Kimbrough conducting the services. His wife, Lubie Bunn Morris, and one daughter Billie Joe Faircloth survived him. His sisters were Mrs. Curtis Stephenson, Mrs. J. Dorsey Adams, and Mrs. Lewis Yarborough and his brothers were Ray, Joe, and Clarence Morris (Daily Record Dec. 18, 1969).
Otha Stevens had lost his brother, Junie Stevens, 89, of Coats whose funeral was held at Overby Funeral Home (Daily Record Dec. 26, 1969).
The 1969 year closed out with some happy news. Miss Edith Sorrell, daughter of the late Mr. John L. Sorrell and Mrs. Mae Johnson Sorrell, had married Jettie Bone of near Nashville, N.C. (Daily Record Dec. 29, 1969).
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ted West of Fort hood, TX had announced the birth of a daughter, Amanda Dee West at the base hospital. The mother was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Coats and the father was the son of Brookie West (Daily Record Dec. 31, 1969).
Mark Valsame, the grandson of the late Howard and Iris Langdon Barnes of Coats, has researched family genealogies since 1978, his middle school years. He has researched various Harnett families such as Adams, Barnes, Green, Johnson, Matthews, McLeod and Stewart. Some of his Johnston research has been on the Allen, Carroll, Coats, Johnson, Jones, Langdon, Lassiter, McCoy, Penny, Stephenson, Tomlinson, Whittington and Woodall. He has an amazing picture collection. Since graduation from UNC Chapel Hill in 1988, he obtained his M.A. in Archival Management from NC State University in 1990. Mark has been employed with the NC Archives since 1990. Mark worked with us on the Heritage of Coats, NC and served on our Coats Museum Board of Directors. Hence, we were very sad to learn that his dad, Dr. James Valsame, had died peacefully after many years of declining health. Dr. Valsame was at one time a beloved teacher and coach at Coats. H.L. and I are proud to be a part of this family and have honored James’ memory with a donation to the Coats Museum Endowment.
One of the town’s loveliest ladies dropped by the museum last Thursday for a short visit and tour. Ann Lamm Beasley was part of the museum when the idea was conceived and has donated so many of her husband’s military and civilian items for display. While visiting us at the museum, Ann gave memorials for Elizabeth Guy, Lee Roy Williams and Willa Dean. Thank you, Ann, for always making the volunteers feel appreciated.
Friends of Joe and Hannah Tart and Linda and Wayne Thompson continue to remember Mrs. Hazel Pope Tart with memorials to the museum. Ralph and Lorena Denning, Jerry and Carolyn Tart, Terry and Carolyn Kopen, Patsy Coats and Martha and Keith Parrish have given to the museum to honor Mrs. Hazel Pope Tart. The Coats Museum Board of Directors and museum volunteers really appreciate the generosity of Joe and Hannah and Linda and Wayne’s family and friends. Should you want to honor Mrs. Hazel Tart with a memorial to the Coats Museum, the address is Coats Museum-- PO Box 1294-Coats, NC. The post office is returning letters that do not have the post office number.
The date was July 16th, 1969 at 9:32 A.M. Eastern Standard Time and after a twenty-eight –hour countdown, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Florida, atop the 363-foot Saturn 5 rocket. Commander Neill Armstrong, Command pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin were aboard. The craft boosted toward the moon midway through its second Earth orbit. You read a few weeks ago that Armstrong earned $30,054 annually. It might be of interest to know what the other two astronauts earned as their annual salary. Aldrin earned $20,607 while Collins received $18,648. Would you have thought the salaries to be higher?
The date was July 20th that Neill Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the moon. At 10:56 P.M., Neill Armstrong set foot on the moon and states: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant step for mankind”. Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface twenty minutes later. The American flag was planted in the lunar soil. That was forty-seven years ago.
This was the same summer that Senator Ted Kennedy drove off the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts which resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. It was August of that year that Charles Manson and his accomplices murdered five people including actress Sharon Tate. Also a half million people gathered on a 600 acre farm near Woodstock, NY to hear rock music.
Hurricane Camille slammed into the Gulf of Mexico with winds higher than 170 mph . More than 250 died in that storm after many failed to heed to warnings about the storm (Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-Mail, New York: Federal Street Press 1999, pp173-76).
In the Coats area, Mrs. Mack Reid Hudson was moving on up the ladder in the NC Extension Homemakers Association. Juanita had been elected to the office of Second Vice President of the Council of NC Extension Homemakers Associations. She was currently serving as East Central District President (Daily Record Oct. 29, 1969).
Death came to Robert Jones, 55, of Coats. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Nettie Williams Jones. His three daughters were Mrs. Shirley Jones Smith, Mrs. Joyce Jones Buffaloe, and Mrs. Carolyn Jones Caldwell. Johnny L. Jones was his brother. A point of interest is that Shirley had married Eddie Smith from Coats who died a short while back and is remembered for his musical talents. Does anyone remember where the Jones family lived in Coats?
I do know that Mr. and Mrs. James Lloyd Pollard announced the plans for their daughter’s wedding. Miss Jennifer Pollard was to marry C. Michael Edwards on November the second. Michael was the son of M. and Mrs. Corby Edward of rural Dunn. The wedding took place at the Red Hill FWB Church and her father gave the bride away while Michael’s father was best man. The bride was a Coats High graduate and was employed at Terre Hill and the groom was a graduate of Burlington Mill (Daily Record Oct. 30 and Nov. 3, 1969).
First Lt. Ronald McLamb, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carlie McLamb of Coats, who was stationed in Vietnam, had his picture taken with comedian Martha Ray, whom he thought was one of the nicest people he had ever met. Ronald was in the Special Forces and had been in Vietnam for almost a year. He was hoping to be home in Coats by December (Daily Record Nov.14, 1969). Ronald shared the picture of Martha Ray with the museum for use in the Defenders of the Red, White and Blue.
Randy T. Cook of Coats had accepted a post with CPL CO. in Raleigh as a material handler in CPL’s warehouse. He was a 1969 graduate of Coats High School and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bartley Cook (Daily Record Nov. 20, 1969). Many of you will remember Randy who was such a likeable person and were saddened that he died recently.
Much was going on in the school and in the community according to the December 1, 1969 edition of the Daily Record. The Coats High Student Council had actively observed the statewide proclaimed Student Council Week. Supt. R.A. Gray and State Attorney General Robert Morgan were two of the speakers. Keith Parrish was the Coats president and was also head of the Harnett County Student Council Association.
Death had returned to Coats and taken the life of Mrs. Marie Dorman Smith, 48. Funeral services were in the Chapel of the Rose Funeral Home in Benson with burial in the Devotional Gardens. She was survived by her husband Howard Smith and four daughters-Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, Mrs. Lela Matthews, Mrs. Cheryl Whittington, and Marcia Foster. Her two sons were Frank and James E. Dorman. Her mother was Mrs. E.B. Jernigan and siblings were Mrs. Everett Williams, Mrs. Edward Weaver, Mrs. Basil Hawley, Ralph Jernigan, Linwood Jernigan, and Harold Jernigan (Daily Record Dec. 1, 1969).
Glenn Stevens, a student at Coats High, wrote for the Daily Record that the “Coats Cage Teams Beat Boone Trail”. Glenn stated that the Boone Trail Pioneers stirred up a real nest of Yellow Jackets and had to cope with the painful sting of the Jackets. Mary Ellen Johnson, Gale Ennis and Kay Young pulled out their stings to win the game 43-34. The Pioneers boys were a little more experienced at fighting Yellow Jackets, but Wayne Matthews, Timmy Pollard, Kent Hudson, Donald McKoy, Dale Ennis, and Jerry Gardner had stings too powerful to overcome. The final score was Coats 54 and Boone Trail 47. Thanks to Coaches Mike Smith and Ronald Avery, the Jackets had started off the season with a dual victory (Daily Record Dec. 10, 1969).
The Grand Reaper had made a visit to the household of Harvey B. Godwin, a retired 78 year-old farmer of Benson. His services were held at the Hannah Creek Primitive Baptist Church with Elder D.E. Parker and Harley Langdon officiating. He was buried in the church cemetery. Daughters were Mrs. James Woodruff, Mrs. David Ennis, Mrs. Grant Gray and Mrs. Thomas McKee who survived him. Bronce, Astor J., William J., B.V., and Ray Godwin were his sons. He had six stepchildren-Mrs. Roda Tudor, Mrs. Alma Bullock, Mrs. Ella Mann, Otha Dean, Carlyle Dean and Wiley Dean. Mrs. Myrtle Pierce was his sister (Daily Record Dec. 10, 1969).
Another death touching the Coats area was that of Robert Glenn Morris, 56, of Route One, Coats. He had died on Wednesday. The employee of Burlington Mills services were held at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church with Rev. Bill Kimbrough conducting the services. His wife, Lubie Bunn Morris, and one daughter Billie Joe Faircloth survived him. His sisters were Mrs. Curtis Stephenson, Mrs. J. Dorsey Adams, and Mrs. Lewis Yarborough and his brothers were Ray, Joe, and Clarence Morris (Daily Record Dec. 18, 1969).
Otha Stevens had lost his brother, Junie Stevens, 89, of Coats whose funeral was held at Overby Funeral Home (Daily Record Dec. 26, 1969).
The 1969 year closed out with some happy news. Miss Edith Sorrell, daughter of the late Mr. John L. Sorrell and Mrs. Mae Johnson Sorrell, had married Jettie Bone of near Nashville, N.C. (Daily Record Dec. 29, 1969).
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ted West of Fort hood, TX had announced the birth of a daughter, Amanda Dee West at the base hospital. The mother was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Coats and the father was the son of Brookie West (Daily Record Dec. 31, 1969).
Mark Valsame, the grandson of the late Howard and Iris Langdon Barnes of Coats, has researched family genealogies since 1978, his middle school years. He has researched various Harnett families such as Adams, Barnes, Green, Johnson, Matthews, McLeod and Stewart. Some of his Johnston research has been on the Allen, Carroll, Coats, Johnson, Jones, Langdon, Lassiter, McCoy, Penny, Stephenson, Tomlinson, Whittington and Woodall. He has an amazing picture collection. Since graduation from UNC Chapel Hill in 1988, he obtained his M.A. in Archival Management from NC State University in 1990. Mark has been employed with the NC Archives since 1990. Mark worked with us on the Heritage of Coats, NC and served on our Coats Museum Board of Directors. Hence, we were very sad to learn that his dad, Dr. James Valsame, had died peacefully after many years of declining health. Dr. Valsame was at one time a beloved teacher and coach at Coats. H.L. and I are proud to be a part of this family and have honored James’ memory with a donation to the Coats Museum Endowment.
One of the town’s loveliest ladies dropped by the museum last Thursday for a short visit and tour. Ann Lamm Beasley was part of the museum when the idea was conceived and has donated so many of her husband’s military and civilian items for display. While visiting us at the museum, Ann gave memorials for Elizabeth Guy, Lee Roy Williams and Willa Dean. Thank you, Ann, for always making the volunteers feel appreciated.
Friends of Joe and Hannah Tart and Linda and Wayne Thompson continue to remember Mrs. Hazel Pope Tart with memorials to the museum. Ralph and Lorena Denning, Jerry and Carolyn Tart, Terry and Carolyn Kopen, Patsy Coats and Martha and Keith Parrish have given to the museum to honor Mrs. Hazel Pope Tart. The Coats Museum Board of Directors and museum volunteers really appreciate the generosity of Joe and Hannah and Linda and Wayne’s family and friends. Should you want to honor Mrs. Hazel Tart with a memorial to the Coats Museum, the address is Coats Museum-- PO Box 1294-Coats, NC. The post office is returning letters that do not have the post office number.