May 10, 2013 Coats Museum News
Last week you read about many sad events which had occurred in the first days of 1940; however, not all things were sad. In fact, on January 4, 1940, Miss Beulah Cannady, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P.K. Cannady, and Mr. Ashley Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Stewart, were married on Thursday evening, January 4 by the Rev. Charles B. Holland. Mrs. Stewart was a graduate of Coats High School (Harnett County News January 11, 1940).
Do any of you recall this couple? Does ninety-six year Ashley Stewart reside at his home near Buies Creek? Is he Brenda and Ken’s dad? Was Ashley a relative of Mrs. Julia C. Stewart, 77, of Coats, who had died Wednesday morning at the home of her son, C. Guy Stewart? Burial services were at the family cemetery near Bailey’s Crossroads. Mrs. Stewart was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Alfred L. Bailey. Her husband was the late Claud D. Stewart who had died 12 years earlier after which she moved in to live with her son, Guy Stewart. Seven sons and two daughters survived her: Guy, H.C., C.G., W.B., L.V., Alfred, R.V., Mrs. C.P. Fish, and Mrs. Leon Brown. C.L. Bailey, Miss Delphia Bailey and Mrs. Janice Barbour were Julia’s siblings (Harnett County News January 18, 1940). Did the paper get all the names correct in the notice? Did you know that the family cemetery is part of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Ebenezer Church Road? What important role did her husband Claud D. Stewart play in education?
Cupid stayed busy in the Coats area. In this same edition of the paper, it was recorded that Mr. and Mrs. Robert Poole of Coats announced the marriage of their daughter, Elsie Lois, to Waylon Elmo Godwin, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Godwin of Johnston. The bride was a graduate of Coats School and attended Carolina College of Beauty Culture. The groom attended Benson School (Harnett County News January 18, 1940).
Gloomy prospects for higher prices of the 1940 tobacco crop loomed darker when Great Britain placed an embargo on American grown leaf and announced that in the future, Turkish tobacco would be imported as a substitute for the huge amounts that had been purchased from Uncle Sam. Why?
Wonder if James Alton Sorrell was a tobacco farmer who had anxiety over the tobacco announcement. He was a Harnett farmer who was only 40 years of age. Death had visited at his home on Saturday morning. He had been ill since Christmas. He was the son of the late J.H. Sorrell. His mother, Mrs. Ella Truelove Sorrell, and his sister, Mrs. I.S. Williams, survived him (Harnett County News February 1, 1940).
Another popular family lost a loved one in January. Lamm Suggs, 76, died at his home in Averasboro Township following several months of illness. He died of paralysis. Mr. Suggs was a native of Harnett and the son of Aquilla and Mary Ann Suggs. His widow was Madlena “Maddie” Ennis Suggs, sister of Mollie Ennis Stewart ( owner and operator of the old Stewart Hotel from 1912-1938). Lamm and Maddie lived in the area of Oakdale School (Harnett County News February 1, 1940). There is a Lamm Suggs Cemetery on the Old Fairground Road-do you think he was buried there?
You might find it interesting to know that Maddie Suggs was a midwife and delivered hundreds of babies in the area around western Johnston and eastern Harnett County lines. Her granddaughters, Annie Holt and Doris Weaver Whitehead, recently visited our museum to give Maddie’s midwife medical instruments for the museum’s medical exhibit. You might be surprised to see what they were. You might also be interested to know that Carolyn Dorman, the talented music teacher at Triton for years, is the great-great granddaughter of Maddie( Becky Ennis Adams Interview).
The Lamm Suggs house was razed a while back and many folks in the area were not aware that this residence, which was short distance from the Oakdale School, served as the school for the “seniors” or highest grade at Oakdale. One room was provided for school purposes according to a Vara Neighbors interview in 1985.
Winter brought lots of cold weather and snow. The Harnett fields, which were fleecy white with cotton in the early fall, were now covered with the whiteness caused solely by falling snowflakes. The weather, however, did not prevent R.D. Ennis from being elected to the PCA Board of Directors (Harnett County News February 1, 1940).
The flag of one’s country and state is a special symbol and in 1940 that was the case also. When Judge John J. Burney of Wilmington presided in the Lillington Superior Court, he noticed that Old Glory and the N.C. State flag were missing. He asked the Harnett County Board of Commissioners to attend to placing them where they had been absent in recent years (Harnett County News February 1, 1940).
The Harnett County News February 8, 1940 edition reported that Betty Lou Deal was born in Lee County Hospital on January 21. Her mother was Marie Haire of Coats. The edition also recorded that Delaney Turlington and Jerry Jerome rendered a violin duet , “Dream of the Shepherds”, for the PTA meeting where Mrs. Gladys Fuquay presided. D.M. Raynor, Jr. sang the “Trumphets”. Who are these people?
The Turner family of the Turlington Crossroads area was a highly respected family then and now. Surely the family had many neighbors to share in their grief when Mrs. Denise Lois Turner Freeman, 25, of Columbus, Georgia died at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Turner of Erwin. She had been ill for eight months. Her husband, M.B. Freeman; her son Haywood Freeman; three brothers-Lincoln, Marvin, and Howard Turner; and five sisters-Christina, Alphine, Daphne, and Shirley Turner and Mrs. J.L. Moss, survived her.
The winter of 1940 continued to be a cold one but it did not prevent responsibilities from being met. Festus Denning, Cortez Williams, L.H. Sutton, and S.H. Holloway answered the summons of jury duty. A lawsuit ended in a compromise between Mrs. Lucy Kelly and Mamie Chambers. Mrs. Kelly had been seriously injured in an automobile driven by Miss Chambers (Harnett County News February 15, 1940). Wonder if that lawsuit affected the two ladies’ friendship?
Read next week to learn the names of many businesses in Coats in 1940 and also to discover who lost a two-story barn to a fire but not his house because of the good work of Ralph Hanna and his Dunn firemen.
A special thank you goes to the Coats Lions Club for continuing to fulfill their pledge to the museum’s building fund. A thank you also is extended to the Coats High School Class of 1959 for honoring the memory of their classmate, Lewis Smith. Thanks to Wanda Stone Moody for the picture she sent of the Tractor Rodeo Queen thought to have been taken in 1958 or 1959. Hug your mother every chance you get for there will a day when that cannot be possible. This writer is proud to honor my mom with a contribution to the Coats Museum Endowment.
Please be mindful that this coats museum news appeared in the Daily Record on May 10, 2013.
Last week you read about many sad events which had occurred in the first days of 1940; however, not all things were sad. In fact, on January 4, 1940, Miss Beulah Cannady, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P.K. Cannady, and Mr. Ashley Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Stewart, were married on Thursday evening, January 4 by the Rev. Charles B. Holland. Mrs. Stewart was a graduate of Coats High School (Harnett County News January 11, 1940).
Do any of you recall this couple? Does ninety-six year Ashley Stewart reside at his home near Buies Creek? Is he Brenda and Ken’s dad? Was Ashley a relative of Mrs. Julia C. Stewart, 77, of Coats, who had died Wednesday morning at the home of her son, C. Guy Stewart? Burial services were at the family cemetery near Bailey’s Crossroads. Mrs. Stewart was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Alfred L. Bailey. Her husband was the late Claud D. Stewart who had died 12 years earlier after which she moved in to live with her son, Guy Stewart. Seven sons and two daughters survived her: Guy, H.C., C.G., W.B., L.V., Alfred, R.V., Mrs. C.P. Fish, and Mrs. Leon Brown. C.L. Bailey, Miss Delphia Bailey and Mrs. Janice Barbour were Julia’s siblings (Harnett County News January 18, 1940). Did the paper get all the names correct in the notice? Did you know that the family cemetery is part of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Ebenezer Church Road? What important role did her husband Claud D. Stewart play in education?
Cupid stayed busy in the Coats area. In this same edition of the paper, it was recorded that Mr. and Mrs. Robert Poole of Coats announced the marriage of their daughter, Elsie Lois, to Waylon Elmo Godwin, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Godwin of Johnston. The bride was a graduate of Coats School and attended Carolina College of Beauty Culture. The groom attended Benson School (Harnett County News January 18, 1940).
Gloomy prospects for higher prices of the 1940 tobacco crop loomed darker when Great Britain placed an embargo on American grown leaf and announced that in the future, Turkish tobacco would be imported as a substitute for the huge amounts that had been purchased from Uncle Sam. Why?
Wonder if James Alton Sorrell was a tobacco farmer who had anxiety over the tobacco announcement. He was a Harnett farmer who was only 40 years of age. Death had visited at his home on Saturday morning. He had been ill since Christmas. He was the son of the late J.H. Sorrell. His mother, Mrs. Ella Truelove Sorrell, and his sister, Mrs. I.S. Williams, survived him (Harnett County News February 1, 1940).
Another popular family lost a loved one in January. Lamm Suggs, 76, died at his home in Averasboro Township following several months of illness. He died of paralysis. Mr. Suggs was a native of Harnett and the son of Aquilla and Mary Ann Suggs. His widow was Madlena “Maddie” Ennis Suggs, sister of Mollie Ennis Stewart ( owner and operator of the old Stewart Hotel from 1912-1938). Lamm and Maddie lived in the area of Oakdale School (Harnett County News February 1, 1940). There is a Lamm Suggs Cemetery on the Old Fairground Road-do you think he was buried there?
You might find it interesting to know that Maddie Suggs was a midwife and delivered hundreds of babies in the area around western Johnston and eastern Harnett County lines. Her granddaughters, Annie Holt and Doris Weaver Whitehead, recently visited our museum to give Maddie’s midwife medical instruments for the museum’s medical exhibit. You might be surprised to see what they were. You might also be interested to know that Carolyn Dorman, the talented music teacher at Triton for years, is the great-great granddaughter of Maddie( Becky Ennis Adams Interview).
The Lamm Suggs house was razed a while back and many folks in the area were not aware that this residence, which was short distance from the Oakdale School, served as the school for the “seniors” or highest grade at Oakdale. One room was provided for school purposes according to a Vara Neighbors interview in 1985.
Winter brought lots of cold weather and snow. The Harnett fields, which were fleecy white with cotton in the early fall, were now covered with the whiteness caused solely by falling snowflakes. The weather, however, did not prevent R.D. Ennis from being elected to the PCA Board of Directors (Harnett County News February 1, 1940).
The flag of one’s country and state is a special symbol and in 1940 that was the case also. When Judge John J. Burney of Wilmington presided in the Lillington Superior Court, he noticed that Old Glory and the N.C. State flag were missing. He asked the Harnett County Board of Commissioners to attend to placing them where they had been absent in recent years (Harnett County News February 1, 1940).
The Harnett County News February 8, 1940 edition reported that Betty Lou Deal was born in Lee County Hospital on January 21. Her mother was Marie Haire of Coats. The edition also recorded that Delaney Turlington and Jerry Jerome rendered a violin duet , “Dream of the Shepherds”, for the PTA meeting where Mrs. Gladys Fuquay presided. D.M. Raynor, Jr. sang the “Trumphets”. Who are these people?
The Turner family of the Turlington Crossroads area was a highly respected family then and now. Surely the family had many neighbors to share in their grief when Mrs. Denise Lois Turner Freeman, 25, of Columbus, Georgia died at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Turner of Erwin. She had been ill for eight months. Her husband, M.B. Freeman; her son Haywood Freeman; three brothers-Lincoln, Marvin, and Howard Turner; and five sisters-Christina, Alphine, Daphne, and Shirley Turner and Mrs. J.L. Moss, survived her.
The winter of 1940 continued to be a cold one but it did not prevent responsibilities from being met. Festus Denning, Cortez Williams, L.H. Sutton, and S.H. Holloway answered the summons of jury duty. A lawsuit ended in a compromise between Mrs. Lucy Kelly and Mamie Chambers. Mrs. Kelly had been seriously injured in an automobile driven by Miss Chambers (Harnett County News February 15, 1940). Wonder if that lawsuit affected the two ladies’ friendship?
Read next week to learn the names of many businesses in Coats in 1940 and also to discover who lost a two-story barn to a fire but not his house because of the good work of Ralph Hanna and his Dunn firemen.
A special thank you goes to the Coats Lions Club for continuing to fulfill their pledge to the museum’s building fund. A thank you also is extended to the Coats High School Class of 1959 for honoring the memory of their classmate, Lewis Smith. Thanks to Wanda Stone Moody for the picture she sent of the Tractor Rodeo Queen thought to have been taken in 1958 or 1959. Hug your mother every chance you get for there will a day when that cannot be possible. This writer is proud to honor my mom with a contribution to the Coats Museum Endowment.
Please be mindful that this coats museum news appeared in the Daily Record on May 10, 2013.