March 4, 2016 Coats Museum News
We are revisiting the Coats area in the spring of 1957 and discover that death had hovered over Coats like one of our modern day drones. Caro Neighbors, 72, of the Dunn area had died and Mrs. Davie Altman, 68, had suffered a fatal heart attack on a country road three miles above Coats (Daily Record April 22 and 25, 1957).
Southeast of Coats, in the Oakdale area, the Oakdale HD Club had honored the memory of Mrs. W.T. Howard who had been instrumental in the club’s success. Mrs. Howard had loved playing the piano and singing. Her hobby was working with flowers. The Howard family had purchased Oakdale School after it closed in 1950 for consolidation with the Grove #3 School in Coats. The family had converted one room of the building for a special clubroom (Daily Record April 29, 1957). Can anyone tell me what principal in Harnett Schools is her granddaughter?
Many events are always a part of the last month of school and have been for generations. The Coats FHA sponsored an event to honor their mothers with a Mother Daughter Banquet in the basement of the Coats Baptist Church. The theme was “Over the Rainbow” and Joyce Faye Johnson presided. Julia Whittington, Ann Godwin, and Mrs. M.O. Phillips participated. Thirty –one degrees of achievement were conferred and fifteen girls received Junior Degrees and sixteen received Chapter Degrees. New officers for 1957-58 were installed: president- Patsy Byrd, vice-president- Ruth Lewis, secretary- Shelby Stephenson, historian- Janice Pope, treasurer- Nancy Lloyd, parliamentarian- Sybil Beasley, reporter- Jackie Stephenson, and song leader- Ann Beasley. Joyce E. Johnson reported the news of the banquet to the Daily Record, May 1, 1957 edition.
Have you ever witnessed a house being moved from one location to another one? In 1957, one could have seen many houses being moved to make room for Highway 421. Ben H. Barbour, father of the late Charlotte B. Johnson of rural Coats, moved 37 houses to make room for that road. The house movers struggled with the 25 room old Campbell House, a landmark that dated 1891 and was built a year after the founder of Campbell married. The estimated cost to move the house about 50 yards was $10,000 (Daily Record May2, 1957). That sounds like many rooms. Did it have many small rooms and rooms upstairs?
How many of you have been to the Chicora Country Club? Do you remember many columns back that it was mentioned about the need for a golf course around Coats or Erwin? Was the Chicora Country Club what the promoters had in mind? Do you know when Chicora was built? According to the May 3, 1957 edition of the Daily Record, the Chicora Country Club house was targeted to be completed in October of 1957.
No reader shared the reason for so many of the Coats town officials opting not to run for office again or why the police chief resigned. I do know the paper recorded that voters returned former Mayor Charlie Turlington to that position by a write-in vote. Mayton Upchurch and Carlos Dixon had been nominated for that office held by Mayor M.G. Stewart of Stewart Bros. Lumber Company.
“It was a surprise to everyone” stated Town Tax Collector Mary Hough. The town had a completely new administration. Chosen to the town board were J.D. Lamm, Charlie Williams, Albert Regan, and Lester Williams. Unsuccessful candidates were Mrs. Guy Stewart, Clyde Stone, Benny Ray Stephenson and Joel Ennis. The newly-elected Mayor Charlie Turlington was a former Erwin Mills employee but was a justice of peace at the time of his write-in victory. I bet the readers can say some good things about all those candidates.
The Women at Ebenezer likely talked about the unusual situation in the Coats election, but certainly their concern was how to raise money to bring Mrs. Glenard Bailey’s parents to America from Poland (Daily Record May 8, 1957).
The Coats Home Economics Department sponsored a fashion show. It was titled, “It’s Hard to Be Sixteen Right Now.” Sixty-three girls modeled the dresses they had made in class under Evadean Ingram. Elsewhere in town, the Coats YWA’s made candy for Bernie Mack Byrd who had been hurt in the Boone Trail-Coats baseball game. Ethel Jernigan was social chairman and Gwen Dixon was Community Mission Chairman. The seniors at the school had honored Mrs. Mattie Highfill by dedicating their yearbook to her. Miss Helen Adams was yearbook sponsor (Daily Record May 9, 1957). Does anyone know who Miss Adams married from Coats?
Were you hoping to read the names of the girls who had won the fashion contest sponsored by the Home Economics Department? The winners were Carolyn Phillips, Ann Beasley and Carol Pope for one ninth grade class and Connie Regan, Hazeline Baker, and Peggy Stone for the other. The sophomore class winners were Frances Matthews, Ruth Lewis, Patricia Ennis, Josephine Cobb who also won 1st Place in the Sports Division at the FHA Rally, and Sue Noles. Is one winner not listed or were there only five students? I do know that the Third Year student winners were Jo Ann Stephenson who also won 1st Place for Sunday clothes, Joyce E. Johnson, and Betty Moore.
A young lady who was to graduate in a few weeks was engaged to marry Franklin Westbrook, son of Elder and Mrs. M.F. Westbrook (Daily Record May 20, 1957). Does anyone know who she was? Yes, it was Margie Ennis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Delmer Ennis.
There are so many ways to instantly acquire information today, but that was not the case just a few years ago. Wonder how long it was before the 1957 Coats High graduating class heard that their classmate Onest Johnson had been killed in a car accident between Hodges Crossroads and Turlington Crossroads. I do know that the paper stated that the graduation ceremonies sadly began without him.
Janice Lewis was determined to be the class valedictorian and Jo Ann Stephenson was salutatorian. The graduates of 1957 were Phyllis Barnes, Frederick Beasley, Evelyn Blalock, Boyd Clayton, Jeanette Daniel, Gwendolyn Dixon, Donald Ennis, Margie Ennis, Marquita Ennis, Barbara Faircloth, Charlotte Fish, Joseph Fish, Donnie Gregory, Janice Grimes, Bobby Harmon, Delores Harmon, Bobby Howard, Ethel Jernigan, Gail Johnson, Joyce Faye Johnson, Lea Joy Johnson, Onest Johnson, Rebecca Johnson, Elaine Jones, Joyce Jones, Billy Langdon, Janice Lewis, Curtis Mason, , Leverne Matthews, Patricia McGee (Moran), Bennie McLeod, Sue Page, Ted Penny, Becky Pope, Edward Stone, Dorothy Stephenson, Jo Ann Stephenson, Patsy Jo Stewart, Jean Strickland (Byrd), Helen Turlington, James Weaver, Jr., Rosa Wilmoth, Charles Willis, and Jerry Whittington (1957 Coats High Yearbook).
Marshals for graduation were Norma Lee Johnson, Barbara Stewart, Jerry Huff, Sybil Beasley, Ronald Langdon, Ann Beasley and Hartwell Whittington. The Student Council candidates were for president-Barbara Stewart, Jerry Huff, and Billy Weaver; for vice-president –Ronald Langdon, Sybil Beasley and Phillip Nordan. Hartwell Whittington and Ann Beasley competed for the secretary-treasurer slot.
Dunn received $20,000 from the Harnett County Board of Commissioners funds for a William C. Lee Memorial. Representative Carson Gregory introduced legislation calling on the state to appropriate $40,000 toward the building of the memorial.
The General Assembly enacted a law to allocate $24,000 to the General Lee Memorial Building (Daily Record June 11, 1957). Wonder why they did not get the $40,000 that they had wanted. Were they able to build the memorial for the $44,000 from the state and county?
Lynda Butler shared that Donald Roberts did an outstanding interview about his US Navy experiences. She is busy typing stories about veterans for our book, Defenders of the Red, White, and Blue. If you want your military story in our book, contact the museum on any Thursday from 9-3.
How exciting it was to read about the museum plans at Dunn and Erwin in the Daily Record. The volunteers and visitors at those museums are in for an exciting time in their lives as they meet their past. Make your museums “happy places.”
This past weekend was a happy time for our museum as we honored African Americans who have made a difference in the lives of their families and communities. Our theater room was overflowing with enthusiastic individuals on Saturday who were seeking ways to fill in their family trees. Genealogists Desi Campbell from Charlotte and Peggy Robinson led the workshop followed by attendees asking for additional workshops. Linda McNeill, our town’s librarian, shared with me that she could have stayed all day.
A special thank you goes to Terry Johnson at Dragonfly Florist in Coats for donating 36 long stemmed red roses and other items for our African American Memorial Dedication and to Teresa Honeycutt for preparing the site for the memorial monument. It was an amazing Sunday afternoon.
We are revisiting the Coats area in the spring of 1957 and discover that death had hovered over Coats like one of our modern day drones. Caro Neighbors, 72, of the Dunn area had died and Mrs. Davie Altman, 68, had suffered a fatal heart attack on a country road three miles above Coats (Daily Record April 22 and 25, 1957).
Southeast of Coats, in the Oakdale area, the Oakdale HD Club had honored the memory of Mrs. W.T. Howard who had been instrumental in the club’s success. Mrs. Howard had loved playing the piano and singing. Her hobby was working with flowers. The Howard family had purchased Oakdale School after it closed in 1950 for consolidation with the Grove #3 School in Coats. The family had converted one room of the building for a special clubroom (Daily Record April 29, 1957). Can anyone tell me what principal in Harnett Schools is her granddaughter?
Many events are always a part of the last month of school and have been for generations. The Coats FHA sponsored an event to honor their mothers with a Mother Daughter Banquet in the basement of the Coats Baptist Church. The theme was “Over the Rainbow” and Joyce Faye Johnson presided. Julia Whittington, Ann Godwin, and Mrs. M.O. Phillips participated. Thirty –one degrees of achievement were conferred and fifteen girls received Junior Degrees and sixteen received Chapter Degrees. New officers for 1957-58 were installed: president- Patsy Byrd, vice-president- Ruth Lewis, secretary- Shelby Stephenson, historian- Janice Pope, treasurer- Nancy Lloyd, parliamentarian- Sybil Beasley, reporter- Jackie Stephenson, and song leader- Ann Beasley. Joyce E. Johnson reported the news of the banquet to the Daily Record, May 1, 1957 edition.
Have you ever witnessed a house being moved from one location to another one? In 1957, one could have seen many houses being moved to make room for Highway 421. Ben H. Barbour, father of the late Charlotte B. Johnson of rural Coats, moved 37 houses to make room for that road. The house movers struggled with the 25 room old Campbell House, a landmark that dated 1891 and was built a year after the founder of Campbell married. The estimated cost to move the house about 50 yards was $10,000 (Daily Record May2, 1957). That sounds like many rooms. Did it have many small rooms and rooms upstairs?
How many of you have been to the Chicora Country Club? Do you remember many columns back that it was mentioned about the need for a golf course around Coats or Erwin? Was the Chicora Country Club what the promoters had in mind? Do you know when Chicora was built? According to the May 3, 1957 edition of the Daily Record, the Chicora Country Club house was targeted to be completed in October of 1957.
No reader shared the reason for so many of the Coats town officials opting not to run for office again or why the police chief resigned. I do know the paper recorded that voters returned former Mayor Charlie Turlington to that position by a write-in vote. Mayton Upchurch and Carlos Dixon had been nominated for that office held by Mayor M.G. Stewart of Stewart Bros. Lumber Company.
“It was a surprise to everyone” stated Town Tax Collector Mary Hough. The town had a completely new administration. Chosen to the town board were J.D. Lamm, Charlie Williams, Albert Regan, and Lester Williams. Unsuccessful candidates were Mrs. Guy Stewart, Clyde Stone, Benny Ray Stephenson and Joel Ennis. The newly-elected Mayor Charlie Turlington was a former Erwin Mills employee but was a justice of peace at the time of his write-in victory. I bet the readers can say some good things about all those candidates.
The Women at Ebenezer likely talked about the unusual situation in the Coats election, but certainly their concern was how to raise money to bring Mrs. Glenard Bailey’s parents to America from Poland (Daily Record May 8, 1957).
The Coats Home Economics Department sponsored a fashion show. It was titled, “It’s Hard to Be Sixteen Right Now.” Sixty-three girls modeled the dresses they had made in class under Evadean Ingram. Elsewhere in town, the Coats YWA’s made candy for Bernie Mack Byrd who had been hurt in the Boone Trail-Coats baseball game. Ethel Jernigan was social chairman and Gwen Dixon was Community Mission Chairman. The seniors at the school had honored Mrs. Mattie Highfill by dedicating their yearbook to her. Miss Helen Adams was yearbook sponsor (Daily Record May 9, 1957). Does anyone know who Miss Adams married from Coats?
Were you hoping to read the names of the girls who had won the fashion contest sponsored by the Home Economics Department? The winners were Carolyn Phillips, Ann Beasley and Carol Pope for one ninth grade class and Connie Regan, Hazeline Baker, and Peggy Stone for the other. The sophomore class winners were Frances Matthews, Ruth Lewis, Patricia Ennis, Josephine Cobb who also won 1st Place in the Sports Division at the FHA Rally, and Sue Noles. Is one winner not listed or were there only five students? I do know that the Third Year student winners were Jo Ann Stephenson who also won 1st Place for Sunday clothes, Joyce E. Johnson, and Betty Moore.
A young lady who was to graduate in a few weeks was engaged to marry Franklin Westbrook, son of Elder and Mrs. M.F. Westbrook (Daily Record May 20, 1957). Does anyone know who she was? Yes, it was Margie Ennis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Delmer Ennis.
There are so many ways to instantly acquire information today, but that was not the case just a few years ago. Wonder how long it was before the 1957 Coats High graduating class heard that their classmate Onest Johnson had been killed in a car accident between Hodges Crossroads and Turlington Crossroads. I do know that the paper stated that the graduation ceremonies sadly began without him.
Janice Lewis was determined to be the class valedictorian and Jo Ann Stephenson was salutatorian. The graduates of 1957 were Phyllis Barnes, Frederick Beasley, Evelyn Blalock, Boyd Clayton, Jeanette Daniel, Gwendolyn Dixon, Donald Ennis, Margie Ennis, Marquita Ennis, Barbara Faircloth, Charlotte Fish, Joseph Fish, Donnie Gregory, Janice Grimes, Bobby Harmon, Delores Harmon, Bobby Howard, Ethel Jernigan, Gail Johnson, Joyce Faye Johnson, Lea Joy Johnson, Onest Johnson, Rebecca Johnson, Elaine Jones, Joyce Jones, Billy Langdon, Janice Lewis, Curtis Mason, , Leverne Matthews, Patricia McGee (Moran), Bennie McLeod, Sue Page, Ted Penny, Becky Pope, Edward Stone, Dorothy Stephenson, Jo Ann Stephenson, Patsy Jo Stewart, Jean Strickland (Byrd), Helen Turlington, James Weaver, Jr., Rosa Wilmoth, Charles Willis, and Jerry Whittington (1957 Coats High Yearbook).
Marshals for graduation were Norma Lee Johnson, Barbara Stewart, Jerry Huff, Sybil Beasley, Ronald Langdon, Ann Beasley and Hartwell Whittington. The Student Council candidates were for president-Barbara Stewart, Jerry Huff, and Billy Weaver; for vice-president –Ronald Langdon, Sybil Beasley and Phillip Nordan. Hartwell Whittington and Ann Beasley competed for the secretary-treasurer slot.
Dunn received $20,000 from the Harnett County Board of Commissioners funds for a William C. Lee Memorial. Representative Carson Gregory introduced legislation calling on the state to appropriate $40,000 toward the building of the memorial.
The General Assembly enacted a law to allocate $24,000 to the General Lee Memorial Building (Daily Record June 11, 1957). Wonder why they did not get the $40,000 that they had wanted. Were they able to build the memorial for the $44,000 from the state and county?
Lynda Butler shared that Donald Roberts did an outstanding interview about his US Navy experiences. She is busy typing stories about veterans for our book, Defenders of the Red, White, and Blue. If you want your military story in our book, contact the museum on any Thursday from 9-3.
How exciting it was to read about the museum plans at Dunn and Erwin in the Daily Record. The volunteers and visitors at those museums are in for an exciting time in their lives as they meet their past. Make your museums “happy places.”
This past weekend was a happy time for our museum as we honored African Americans who have made a difference in the lives of their families and communities. Our theater room was overflowing with enthusiastic individuals on Saturday who were seeking ways to fill in their family trees. Genealogists Desi Campbell from Charlotte and Peggy Robinson led the workshop followed by attendees asking for additional workshops. Linda McNeill, our town’s librarian, shared with me that she could have stayed all day.
A special thank you goes to Terry Johnson at Dragonfly Florist in Coats for donating 36 long stemmed red roses and other items for our African American Memorial Dedication and to Teresa Honeycutt for preparing the site for the memorial monument. It was an amazing Sunday afternoon.
