March 8, 2013 Coats Museum News
A county newspaper reported that the Coats PTA held its regular meeting on November 1, 1938. The program was presented by Mrs. J.B. (Nan)Williams’s class of 5th graders who presented “Columbus’s Discovery of America”. The Coats Honor Society had 16 new members. Those students who were inducted into the Beta Club were Delaney Turlington, Dorothy Denning, Glenn Eanes, Howard Penny, Frances Whittington, Eloise Penny, Elizabeth Hudson, Mable Reid Turlington, Lois Odom, Jerry Jerome, Cecil Fuquay, George Thomas Smith, Christine Ennis, Verna Turlington, Lottie Surles, and Ralph Langdon (Harnett County News November 3, 1938).
James Townsend (J.T.) Stewart, 28 year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. George Stewart, died at his home on October 25 after a long illness. He was brother of Alton Stewart, well- known Harnett pilot who had been killed in an air crash eight years earlier in Dunn. Services were held at the Coats Baptist Church and interment was in the Coats Cemetery. He was survived by his parents and four sisters who were Mrs. Allen Messer, Mrs. Bessie Bowden, Mrs. Robert Turner, and Mrs. Isabelle Messer (Harnett County News November 3, 1938). It is interesting to note that in 2005, Alton Stewart was resolved by the N.C. General Assembly as the first licensed pilot in North Carolina and his license is signed by Orville Wright. A copy of the license is on display in the Coats Museum along with a picture of Alton and his plane.
The letters were in bold black print—356 HARNETT MEN WERE PICKED IN FIRST DRAFT FOR WORLD WAR DUTY. The Harnett County News came into possession with a July 27, 1917, The Harnett Post that gave the names of the 356 white and colored men drafted for war duty. Very recognizable names on the list were J.B. Ennis, L.L. Levinson, and Paul Green (Harnett County News November 17, 1938).
The paper continued to place in print the names of the men who were drawn for jury duty in Harnett County. The list of jurors who resided in the Coats area for the November docket were M.C. Stewart, W.M. Keene, O.A. Cobb, Thomas H. Barnes, W.E. Lassiter, Delma Pollard, and Herman Pope (Harnett County News-pre-November 1938). Note that women’s names are still missing from the list.
Tragedy struck the Avery home twice in a week. Mrs. Nora Stephenson Avery, widow of only four days, died last Wednesday at her home in Coats stated the paper. Mrs. Avery was 60 years old and was the wife of Will T. Avery who had died on Saturday of the preceding week. Mrs. Avery was stricken with paralysis one week before her death. Surviving were her mother, Mrs. Eliza Stephenson, ten children: Mrs. Malcolm Stewart, Alger T. Avery, Mrs. Thomas Johnson, Rex, Frank, Ellis, Melvin M., Blake Avery and Mrs. Clifford Jackson. (Who was the tenth child?)She was also survived by six sisters and four brothers. Prospect Church was the site of her services (Harnett County News November 24, 1938). Volunteering has always been evident in the Coats area which has verification as far back as 1938 when Mrs. W.E. Nichols, Mrs. C. J. Godwin, Mrs. John Byrd, Mrs. Mayton Upchurch, Mrs. Shel Stewart, and Mrs. Vass Johnson worked for membership in the Red Cross (Harnett County News November 24, 1938).
Mrs. J.R. Butler (Recall she was the widow of Dr. Roberts who was killed in a plane crash.) honored her daughter-in-law, the former Ophelia Brock Roberts of Erwin. Miss Mattie Bain greeted guests at the tea. Mrs. W.F. Brock, Mrs. C.H. Brock (former Lillington Chevy dealer’s wife), and Mrs. E.G. Purcell were joined in the receiving line with Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Ophelia B. Roberts. Tea was served from a lovely silver tea service by Mrs. Ella Footman and Miss Nettie Tilly. Sandwiches, cakes, and nuts were served by Miss Mary Sue Nichols, Miss Gertrude Foster, Miss Gloria Dare Roycroft, and Miss Peggy Butler. Mrs. O.K. Keene served punch in the library (Harnett County News December 1, 1938).
Bernard Hudson of Bailey’s Crossroads participated in the final day’s bidding at the 44th annual Old Glory horse auction in New York last Saturday. Mr. Hudson paid $500 for Rufus, a year-old bay colt. Several hundred horsemen from all sections of the U.S. attended the two-day event where 181 blooded horses sold for a total of $102, 400. Was that big money in 1938? I do know that Thanksgiving Day brought the first cold weather of the fall. Shortly after noon, the warm, balmy weather was replaced by a quick drop in the temperature. By nightfall, it felt like the cold of winter. By Saturday, there was a 2 inch snow on the ground. Some of the Harnett citizens were anticipating a hard winter because the moss on the north side of the trees was thicker than normal (Harnett County News December 1, 1938). Have you heard that saying before?
Wonder if there was snow on the ground when Louise Coats married Norman Cameron in Dillon, S.C.? Mr. Cameron was a business education teacher at Ayden High School. Mrs. Cameron was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Coats of Coats and she received her education at Woman’s College of UNC at Greensboro. How many of you remember that Mr. Coats owned a 1913 automobile that was in the 1955 Harnett County Centennial Parade? I have been told that it was one of the first cars in Coats. Does anyone know who bought the car from Mrs. Coats?
Many of you know Doug Pope who has worked at Stacy Williams Upholstery business for years. I received a call from his dad, John Pope. Mr. Pope shared that his father, John F. Pope, was the 36 year-old minister who had died on his way home from Benson. He said that John F. ‘s mother was Sarah Frances and that John F.’s wife was Vida Alma who was pregnant when Mr. Pope died from the heart attack resulting in his never seeing his second daughter, Fernie Pope. Fernie later became the wife of Marvin Meadows. Thanks for sharing the info, Mr. Pope.
The folks at the museum are very tired but excited that the construction and painting are coming to an end and that the setup of many displays is nearing completion. It is now weeks rather than months when our community will be invited in to see their new museum. Private small donations continue to come into the museum fund. A special thank you goes to the Coats High School Class of 1952 for their donation to honor the memory of W.F. Williams. W.F. lived in Jamestown, N.C. Thank you Peggy Senter for getting that check to the museum folks. Thank you’s also go to Jeanette Johnson, Dorsey and Pauline Daniel, Robie and Lynda Butler, Danette D. Scott, Wade Daniel, and Anna Daniel for their memorial donations to honor Hazel Barnes. Thanks to H.L. for remembering Ravon Stone with a memorial donation to the museum.
A county newspaper reported that the Coats PTA held its regular meeting on November 1, 1938. The program was presented by Mrs. J.B. (Nan)Williams’s class of 5th graders who presented “Columbus’s Discovery of America”. The Coats Honor Society had 16 new members. Those students who were inducted into the Beta Club were Delaney Turlington, Dorothy Denning, Glenn Eanes, Howard Penny, Frances Whittington, Eloise Penny, Elizabeth Hudson, Mable Reid Turlington, Lois Odom, Jerry Jerome, Cecil Fuquay, George Thomas Smith, Christine Ennis, Verna Turlington, Lottie Surles, and Ralph Langdon (Harnett County News November 3, 1938).
James Townsend (J.T.) Stewart, 28 year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. George Stewart, died at his home on October 25 after a long illness. He was brother of Alton Stewart, well- known Harnett pilot who had been killed in an air crash eight years earlier in Dunn. Services were held at the Coats Baptist Church and interment was in the Coats Cemetery. He was survived by his parents and four sisters who were Mrs. Allen Messer, Mrs. Bessie Bowden, Mrs. Robert Turner, and Mrs. Isabelle Messer (Harnett County News November 3, 1938). It is interesting to note that in 2005, Alton Stewart was resolved by the N.C. General Assembly as the first licensed pilot in North Carolina and his license is signed by Orville Wright. A copy of the license is on display in the Coats Museum along with a picture of Alton and his plane.
The letters were in bold black print—356 HARNETT MEN WERE PICKED IN FIRST DRAFT FOR WORLD WAR DUTY. The Harnett County News came into possession with a July 27, 1917, The Harnett Post that gave the names of the 356 white and colored men drafted for war duty. Very recognizable names on the list were J.B. Ennis, L.L. Levinson, and Paul Green (Harnett County News November 17, 1938).
The paper continued to place in print the names of the men who were drawn for jury duty in Harnett County. The list of jurors who resided in the Coats area for the November docket were M.C. Stewart, W.M. Keene, O.A. Cobb, Thomas H. Barnes, W.E. Lassiter, Delma Pollard, and Herman Pope (Harnett County News-pre-November 1938). Note that women’s names are still missing from the list.
Tragedy struck the Avery home twice in a week. Mrs. Nora Stephenson Avery, widow of only four days, died last Wednesday at her home in Coats stated the paper. Mrs. Avery was 60 years old and was the wife of Will T. Avery who had died on Saturday of the preceding week. Mrs. Avery was stricken with paralysis one week before her death. Surviving were her mother, Mrs. Eliza Stephenson, ten children: Mrs. Malcolm Stewart, Alger T. Avery, Mrs. Thomas Johnson, Rex, Frank, Ellis, Melvin M., Blake Avery and Mrs. Clifford Jackson. (Who was the tenth child?)She was also survived by six sisters and four brothers. Prospect Church was the site of her services (Harnett County News November 24, 1938). Volunteering has always been evident in the Coats area which has verification as far back as 1938 when Mrs. W.E. Nichols, Mrs. C. J. Godwin, Mrs. John Byrd, Mrs. Mayton Upchurch, Mrs. Shel Stewart, and Mrs. Vass Johnson worked for membership in the Red Cross (Harnett County News November 24, 1938).
Mrs. J.R. Butler (Recall she was the widow of Dr. Roberts who was killed in a plane crash.) honored her daughter-in-law, the former Ophelia Brock Roberts of Erwin. Miss Mattie Bain greeted guests at the tea. Mrs. W.F. Brock, Mrs. C.H. Brock (former Lillington Chevy dealer’s wife), and Mrs. E.G. Purcell were joined in the receiving line with Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Ophelia B. Roberts. Tea was served from a lovely silver tea service by Mrs. Ella Footman and Miss Nettie Tilly. Sandwiches, cakes, and nuts were served by Miss Mary Sue Nichols, Miss Gertrude Foster, Miss Gloria Dare Roycroft, and Miss Peggy Butler. Mrs. O.K. Keene served punch in the library (Harnett County News December 1, 1938).
Bernard Hudson of Bailey’s Crossroads participated in the final day’s bidding at the 44th annual Old Glory horse auction in New York last Saturday. Mr. Hudson paid $500 for Rufus, a year-old bay colt. Several hundred horsemen from all sections of the U.S. attended the two-day event where 181 blooded horses sold for a total of $102, 400. Was that big money in 1938? I do know that Thanksgiving Day brought the first cold weather of the fall. Shortly after noon, the warm, balmy weather was replaced by a quick drop in the temperature. By nightfall, it felt like the cold of winter. By Saturday, there was a 2 inch snow on the ground. Some of the Harnett citizens were anticipating a hard winter because the moss on the north side of the trees was thicker than normal (Harnett County News December 1, 1938). Have you heard that saying before?
Wonder if there was snow on the ground when Louise Coats married Norman Cameron in Dillon, S.C.? Mr. Cameron was a business education teacher at Ayden High School. Mrs. Cameron was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Coats of Coats and she received her education at Woman’s College of UNC at Greensboro. How many of you remember that Mr. Coats owned a 1913 automobile that was in the 1955 Harnett County Centennial Parade? I have been told that it was one of the first cars in Coats. Does anyone know who bought the car from Mrs. Coats?
Many of you know Doug Pope who has worked at Stacy Williams Upholstery business for years. I received a call from his dad, John Pope. Mr. Pope shared that his father, John F. Pope, was the 36 year-old minister who had died on his way home from Benson. He said that John F. ‘s mother was Sarah Frances and that John F.’s wife was Vida Alma who was pregnant when Mr. Pope died from the heart attack resulting in his never seeing his second daughter, Fernie Pope. Fernie later became the wife of Marvin Meadows. Thanks for sharing the info, Mr. Pope.
The folks at the museum are very tired but excited that the construction and painting are coming to an end and that the setup of many displays is nearing completion. It is now weeks rather than months when our community will be invited in to see their new museum. Private small donations continue to come into the museum fund. A special thank you goes to the Coats High School Class of 1952 for their donation to honor the memory of W.F. Williams. W.F. lived in Jamestown, N.C. Thank you Peggy Senter for getting that check to the museum folks. Thank you’s also go to Jeanette Johnson, Dorsey and Pauline Daniel, Robie and Lynda Butler, Danette D. Scott, Wade Daniel, and Anna Daniel for their memorial donations to honor Hazel Barnes. Thanks to H.L. for remembering Ravon Stone with a memorial donation to the museum.