March 4, 2022 Coats Museum News
It was a new month in 1989. The Daily Record printed more “Notes” from Belle which shared with the June 2nd readers that Mr. Tom Tart had returned home after a successful surgery at the VA Hospital. Wonder if the 75 people at the Coats Senior Center knew about Mr. Tart’s operation. I do know that the seniors served as hosts for several visiting Elder Hostel members. The same senior citizens brought back 12 medals from the Senior Olympics held at Pope Air Force Base. They were Hilda Pope -3, Will Breeden-5, Rebeth Mitchell-2, Mary Langdon-1, and Russell Morvant-3. The participants were cheered on by the cheerleaders-Hilda Pope, Virginia Pollard, Thessie Daniel, Mary Langdon, Hazel Barnes, Peggy Brown, and Lydia Byrd-all wearing their white shorts and knee socks and waving pom poms.
The descendants of Andrew Washington Denning and Zilla Ann McGee met for a family reunion. A group of 94 joined hosts, Kizzie Denning Williams, Carsie Denning, Sr., and Thessie Denning Daniel, at the Coats Senior Center.
Wonder if it was mentioned at the reunion that a descendant, Lynda Daniel, was inducted as president of the Dunn Business and Professional Women’s Club?
Have you ever wondered why similar surnames are spelled differently? For example there is Cook or Cooke, Coats or Coates and Johnson or Johnston. Were these changes the result of poor spellings of census takers or was there some status symbol of an additional letter being more educated than those without?
I do know that Mrs. Geraldine Taylor Cooke, 55, of Route 1, Coats had died. She was survived by her son Larry Cooke (Daily Record June 7, 1989). Many of our older readers will recognize the deceased’s name while younger readers will remember Larry as an accomplished musician and much more. At the museum we recognize him as a military veteran. I challenge you to visit our museum to discover the accomplishments he made while serving our country.
Kelly Stone, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Little of Coats, was Salutatorian at Cape Fear Christian Academy. Kelly had plans to attend UNC Wilmington and major in business (Daily Record June 14, 1989).
Many will recognize Kelly as the daughter of the late Barry Stone who was killed in a military mishap and Ann Little, a real estate broker. Kelly’s grandmother was Julia Stewart who was brought to this area from Mississippi as a bride of Earl Stewart. Poor Julia lived with her mother-in-law while Earl was in service. He later earned his pilot’s license, purchased a plane, and constructed a hangar and landing strip. Julia came from a very prominent family and knew little about farm life and even gardening, As a fellow Coats Woman’s Club member with Julia, I once heard Julia share how embarrassed she was when the older Mrs. Shell Stewart told Julia to go out in the garden and dig some potatoes for lunch. Poor Julia did not have the slightest idea on where or what to dig but I do know that Julia learned and became one of the most remarkable ladies that we ever had in the Coats Woman’s Club and Kiwanis Club. She even found time to be a museum volunteer.
Now Shell Stewart was another character whom you can read about in our Volume 2 of the Heritage of Coats, NC. Dr. Ronnie Faulkner shared a couple of stories about Shell that will add some humor to anyone’s day.
Turlington Road near Erwin lost one of its finest ladies to death. The widow of J. Walt Sorrell, Sr., Mrs. Nettie Ennis Sorrell, 88, of Route 3, Dunn, NC, had died. She was survived by her sons- J.W., Jr., and Rev. Charles Sorrell; four daughters-Brookie Sorrell West, Margie Sorrell Raynor, Kay Sorrell, and Lunette Sorrell Vaughan. Her son Thurman Sorrell had died as the result of a fall at the Erwin Mill several years earlier. She was also survived by a brother and two sisters and 19 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.
I grew up in the northeastern section of Harnett County and did not know very much about the Sorrell family other than an occasional mention of the name by my older siblings who were classmates. I do recall J.W., Jr. being a good friend of my brother, J.C., Jr. It was not until I began to date H.L and attend the amazing family reunions that I really learned who and what the Sorrell family stood for in their church and community.
You don’t have to sign your name as a Sorrell to be kin to the Sorrell family. John C. Sorrell was the first Sorrell in the area and he married into the Richard Ryals family. He came to the area to bleed the long leaf pines for the naval stores. He acquired over 1600 acres of land with much of it still in the hands of his descendants. In his descendants one will find Hodges, Whittington Turlington, Alphin, Townsend, Langdon, Miller, Mabry, Walton, Ennis and the lists goes on and on. One can find that a two room school was established by William Richardson Sorrell in what was referred to as the Sorrell area. It just made sense when I wanted to learn more about the early schools in that area or about some military memories that I would go to J. Walt Sorrell, Sr.
Felix Stewart and Leroy Stewart are names that are remembered by older Coats residents. A name however recognized by our younger folks is the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of those two gentlemen. Anita Pleasant was Female Athlete of the Year for the Coats Yellow Jackets.
Was Doug Stevens one of her coaches? I do know that he resigned as Triton Soccer coach and Coats Recreational Director in order to pursue his graduate degree. In that same edition of June 15th, it was printed that Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Todd Ennis had announced the birth of a son Jonathan Lynn Ennis. John and Kathi Ennis were grandparents while the great-grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. William F. Dorman and Mrs. Louise Ennis.
The Surles family brings fond memories to their children’s classmates. Margaret Surles was manager of Rudy’s, formerly known as Wade’s Grill. The restaurant had been built in the late 1940’s and an early owner was the former Harnett General Assembly member, Carson Gregory. In the early 1950’s Luke Barefoot and wife, Pauline Brown Barefoot, ran the establishment as “Luke’s” and had purchased it from Carson Gregory. During that time it was a popular restaurant offering pit cooked BBQ, speedy curb service and outdoor jukebox speakers.
Luke’s was a local hangout for teenagers through the years and was later operated by Luke’s son Tom Barefoot and wife, Sadie Barefoot, until Wade Stephenson bought it in 1981 (Daily Record June 26, 1989). I guess we will have to wait for additional years to pass to learn the rest of the story of the restaurant but I do know that the building currently belongs to Terry Johnson who operates the awarding winning Dragonfly Florist.
It was a new month in 1989. The Daily Record printed more “Notes” from Belle which shared with the June 2nd readers that Mr. Tom Tart had returned home after a successful surgery at the VA Hospital. Wonder if the 75 people at the Coats Senior Center knew about Mr. Tart’s operation. I do know that the seniors served as hosts for several visiting Elder Hostel members. The same senior citizens brought back 12 medals from the Senior Olympics held at Pope Air Force Base. They were Hilda Pope -3, Will Breeden-5, Rebeth Mitchell-2, Mary Langdon-1, and Russell Morvant-3. The participants were cheered on by the cheerleaders-Hilda Pope, Virginia Pollard, Thessie Daniel, Mary Langdon, Hazel Barnes, Peggy Brown, and Lydia Byrd-all wearing their white shorts and knee socks and waving pom poms.
The descendants of Andrew Washington Denning and Zilla Ann McGee met for a family reunion. A group of 94 joined hosts, Kizzie Denning Williams, Carsie Denning, Sr., and Thessie Denning Daniel, at the Coats Senior Center.
Wonder if it was mentioned at the reunion that a descendant, Lynda Daniel, was inducted as president of the Dunn Business and Professional Women’s Club?
Have you ever wondered why similar surnames are spelled differently? For example there is Cook or Cooke, Coats or Coates and Johnson or Johnston. Were these changes the result of poor spellings of census takers or was there some status symbol of an additional letter being more educated than those without?
I do know that Mrs. Geraldine Taylor Cooke, 55, of Route 1, Coats had died. She was survived by her son Larry Cooke (Daily Record June 7, 1989). Many of our older readers will recognize the deceased’s name while younger readers will remember Larry as an accomplished musician and much more. At the museum we recognize him as a military veteran. I challenge you to visit our museum to discover the accomplishments he made while serving our country.
Kelly Stone, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Little of Coats, was Salutatorian at Cape Fear Christian Academy. Kelly had plans to attend UNC Wilmington and major in business (Daily Record June 14, 1989).
Many will recognize Kelly as the daughter of the late Barry Stone who was killed in a military mishap and Ann Little, a real estate broker. Kelly’s grandmother was Julia Stewart who was brought to this area from Mississippi as a bride of Earl Stewart. Poor Julia lived with her mother-in-law while Earl was in service. He later earned his pilot’s license, purchased a plane, and constructed a hangar and landing strip. Julia came from a very prominent family and knew little about farm life and even gardening, As a fellow Coats Woman’s Club member with Julia, I once heard Julia share how embarrassed she was when the older Mrs. Shell Stewart told Julia to go out in the garden and dig some potatoes for lunch. Poor Julia did not have the slightest idea on where or what to dig but I do know that Julia learned and became one of the most remarkable ladies that we ever had in the Coats Woman’s Club and Kiwanis Club. She even found time to be a museum volunteer.
Now Shell Stewart was another character whom you can read about in our Volume 2 of the Heritage of Coats, NC. Dr. Ronnie Faulkner shared a couple of stories about Shell that will add some humor to anyone’s day.
Turlington Road near Erwin lost one of its finest ladies to death. The widow of J. Walt Sorrell, Sr., Mrs. Nettie Ennis Sorrell, 88, of Route 3, Dunn, NC, had died. She was survived by her sons- J.W., Jr., and Rev. Charles Sorrell; four daughters-Brookie Sorrell West, Margie Sorrell Raynor, Kay Sorrell, and Lunette Sorrell Vaughan. Her son Thurman Sorrell had died as the result of a fall at the Erwin Mill several years earlier. She was also survived by a brother and two sisters and 19 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.
I grew up in the northeastern section of Harnett County and did not know very much about the Sorrell family other than an occasional mention of the name by my older siblings who were classmates. I do recall J.W., Jr. being a good friend of my brother, J.C., Jr. It was not until I began to date H.L and attend the amazing family reunions that I really learned who and what the Sorrell family stood for in their church and community.
You don’t have to sign your name as a Sorrell to be kin to the Sorrell family. John C. Sorrell was the first Sorrell in the area and he married into the Richard Ryals family. He came to the area to bleed the long leaf pines for the naval stores. He acquired over 1600 acres of land with much of it still in the hands of his descendants. In his descendants one will find Hodges, Whittington Turlington, Alphin, Townsend, Langdon, Miller, Mabry, Walton, Ennis and the lists goes on and on. One can find that a two room school was established by William Richardson Sorrell in what was referred to as the Sorrell area. It just made sense when I wanted to learn more about the early schools in that area or about some military memories that I would go to J. Walt Sorrell, Sr.
Felix Stewart and Leroy Stewart are names that are remembered by older Coats residents. A name however recognized by our younger folks is the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of those two gentlemen. Anita Pleasant was Female Athlete of the Year for the Coats Yellow Jackets.
Was Doug Stevens one of her coaches? I do know that he resigned as Triton Soccer coach and Coats Recreational Director in order to pursue his graduate degree. In that same edition of June 15th, it was printed that Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Todd Ennis had announced the birth of a son Jonathan Lynn Ennis. John and Kathi Ennis were grandparents while the great-grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. William F. Dorman and Mrs. Louise Ennis.
The Surles family brings fond memories to their children’s classmates. Margaret Surles was manager of Rudy’s, formerly known as Wade’s Grill. The restaurant had been built in the late 1940’s and an early owner was the former Harnett General Assembly member, Carson Gregory. In the early 1950’s Luke Barefoot and wife, Pauline Brown Barefoot, ran the establishment as “Luke’s” and had purchased it from Carson Gregory. During that time it was a popular restaurant offering pit cooked BBQ, speedy curb service and outdoor jukebox speakers.
Luke’s was a local hangout for teenagers through the years and was later operated by Luke’s son Tom Barefoot and wife, Sadie Barefoot, until Wade Stephenson bought it in 1981 (Daily Record June 26, 1989). I guess we will have to wait for additional years to pass to learn the rest of the story of the restaurant but I do know that the building currently belongs to Terry Johnson who operates the awarding winning Dragonfly Florist.