May 12, 2012 Coats Museum News
In April of 1928, a bill was introduced by Representative Samuel A. Kendall of Pennsylvania to enable the Postmaster General to purchase and erect community mailboxes on rural routes and to rent compartments of such boxes to patrons on rural delivery (Bill No. 12605). Another bill introduced by Representative Clarence J. McLeod was a House Joint Resolution asking for the construction of an inter-American highway on the Western Hemisphere (Harnett County News April 19, 1928).Did these bills become laws and if so when?
General Motors had seven models of Chevrolet ranging from $495.00 to $715.00. The Cadillac had 26 models with 500 colors from which to choose. The cost range was from $3,295 to $5,500. Have you ever heard of the car named Oakland? There were nine models with prices ranging from $1,045 to $1,375. General Motors was making the electric refrigerator, “Frigidaire”, in 1928. Was that suppose to be General Electric? Wonder how it got the name Frigidaire—(frigid-air)? Delco-light electric plants were being pushed for the farm to give farm families some of the labor saving devices enjoyed by the people in the city (Harnett County News April 26, 1928).
The Coats Town Board met on May 1, 1928, in the Masonic Hall. Coats had a Masonic Hall? A.F. Grimes acted as chairman. Is this the same as being mayor? Is he mayor of Coats in 1928? A move was made by J.M. Byrd that the same board be reelected; it was seconded by L.L. Stewart and the voting passed unanimously by acclimation (Coats Town Board meeting minutes May 1, 1928). Could they do that? Did the public not have to vote on the town officials?
To verify that some elements of the political fundraising have been a concern for many years, note that Senator Bronson Cutting of New Mexico introduced Senate Bill No. 40424 to regulate campaign expenditures of candidates for president and vice president (Harnett County News May 24, 1928). Did something happen in the presidential contest between Herbert Hoover and Alfred Smith to merit concern of Senator Cutting?
I do know that Stewart (Stuart) Turlington filed for a Harnett County commissioner seat in place of O.R. Simpson who was named by the Republican Convention. J.M. Byrd filed for the House of Representatives and E.F. Parker of Coats served on the county Republican committee (Harnett County News June 21, 1928).
Paramount Theater in Lillington charged 15 cents and 25 cents to watch “The Stolen Bride”. The theater had electric fans to keep the theater audience cool in the hot summer weather (Harnett County News June 21, 1928).
What else was new in 1928? Ethylene gas was used for ripening of fruits and vegetables and for removing acidity from green fruits. A tiny camera on a tube could photograph the stomach and take a set of seven pictures in fourteen seconds. Steel rails were tested for defects by the use of an x-ray apparatus (Harnett County News July 5, 1928).
Today’s farmers are sometimes the subject of jokes and it was no different in 1928. To prove this statement, the Harnett County News, August 9, 1928 shared that a city banker visited a farm and saw a man working with the cows. He asked the farmer “Is that a hired hand?” The farmer quickly responded, “No, that’s the first vice president in charge of cows”.
That same edition of the newspaper reported that Lee Furniture of Lillington was awarded the contact to furnish window shades for Shawtown colored school and Benhaven for $489.47 and was to install the said product. The board of education instructed the superintendent of schools to secure the best contract possible for building additional rooms at Coats and to purchase a water cooler for the office of the board of education (Harnett County News August 9, 1928).
The annual Negro Farmer’s Field Day was held on September 20, 1928. Asa D. Herring had invited all Negro farmers to join him and go to Pender Test Farm. Topics for discussion were “Helps and Hinderances of the Negro Farmers” and “How to Select a Good Cow”. A 10-cent grape eating privilege tag was sold which allowed the person to eat all the grapes until satisfied. The fee helped defray expenses of the day; however, each person was asked to bring a picnic lunch (Harnett County News September 13, 1928).
“Barclaysville News” reported that Miss Ada Cobb of near Bethel had spent Sunday with her cousin Miss Dessie Cobb. Mr. and Mrs. S.B. Rogers of near Kennebec spent Thursday with Mrs. Rogers’s sister, Mrs. E.L. Parrish. Miss Thelma Parrish was the guest of Miss Bessie Barnes on Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Ralph Anderson of Dunn spent Saturday and Sunday in the Barclaysville section with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. P.G. Abbott. Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Barnes visited with his brother, Mr. Everett Barnes. Mr. E. L. Parrish had recently purchased a new Ford. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Johnson of Angier spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. A.M. Cobb. Iola and Mamie Adams spent several days in Durham. Miss Dessie Cobb had Miss Etta Barnes as a house guest (Harnett County News September 13, 1928).
You ask, “Who were these people”? I wondered how did they travel to this remote rural section of Grove Township near the Johnston and Harnett County line. Did they ride the train to Barclaysville? Did the ladies have automobiles? What became of these people? Are they buried in the Bethel Cemetery in the area? Was Mr. Eddie (E.L.) Parrish the father of twins Rupert and Raeford, Joyce Carter, Rebeth Mitchell, and Thelma Mason. Was Jasper Barnes a very successful Angier and Fayetteville businessman who built an impressive house on Highway 401? Did Miss Etta Barnes become Mrs. Etta Moran and was she the mother of Maynard Moran who wrote the school song for Coats High?
I do know that Mayor A.F. Grimes reported that the assessed value of ATT (American Telephone and Telegraph) in Coats was $154.00 and the assessed value of Durham and Southern Railroad was $14,866.00. The report came from the Department of Revenue on October 10, 1928.
There was also social interaction in the town of Coats in the home of Mrs. Harry C. Roberts where she entertained at bridge honoring Mrs. Mose Kiser of Raleigh. Up at the Coats High School the selection of a man for a mechanic-janitor position was left open (Harnett County News October 11, 1928).
Mr. H.A. Turlington of Grove, president of the Four County Fair, was in Lillington on Tuesday. Turlington stated that the funds of the association were in the First National Bank of Dunn which had failed last week (Harnett County News November 22, 1928). What was Mr. Henry saying?
Thanks goes to Mary Ellen Lauder for her gift of a linen 1968 calendar belonging to her Aunt Mary Jo Mann and to Mike Tocci of Nevada and Kenneth Tocci of California for their generous donation to the museum. The museum folks really enjoyed the Tocci’s N.C. visit to do research on their great grandfather who lived in the area. My Mom, Alice Thornton Johnson, was the force behind my love of history and writing so she would be proud that I honored her memory with a memorial to the Coats Museum for Mother’s Day.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS WAS PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON MAY 12, 2102.
In April of 1928, a bill was introduced by Representative Samuel A. Kendall of Pennsylvania to enable the Postmaster General to purchase and erect community mailboxes on rural routes and to rent compartments of such boxes to patrons on rural delivery (Bill No. 12605). Another bill introduced by Representative Clarence J. McLeod was a House Joint Resolution asking for the construction of an inter-American highway on the Western Hemisphere (Harnett County News April 19, 1928).Did these bills become laws and if so when?
General Motors had seven models of Chevrolet ranging from $495.00 to $715.00. The Cadillac had 26 models with 500 colors from which to choose. The cost range was from $3,295 to $5,500. Have you ever heard of the car named Oakland? There were nine models with prices ranging from $1,045 to $1,375. General Motors was making the electric refrigerator, “Frigidaire”, in 1928. Was that suppose to be General Electric? Wonder how it got the name Frigidaire—(frigid-air)? Delco-light electric plants were being pushed for the farm to give farm families some of the labor saving devices enjoyed by the people in the city (Harnett County News April 26, 1928).
The Coats Town Board met on May 1, 1928, in the Masonic Hall. Coats had a Masonic Hall? A.F. Grimes acted as chairman. Is this the same as being mayor? Is he mayor of Coats in 1928? A move was made by J.M. Byrd that the same board be reelected; it was seconded by L.L. Stewart and the voting passed unanimously by acclimation (Coats Town Board meeting minutes May 1, 1928). Could they do that? Did the public not have to vote on the town officials?
To verify that some elements of the political fundraising have been a concern for many years, note that Senator Bronson Cutting of New Mexico introduced Senate Bill No. 40424 to regulate campaign expenditures of candidates for president and vice president (Harnett County News May 24, 1928). Did something happen in the presidential contest between Herbert Hoover and Alfred Smith to merit concern of Senator Cutting?
I do know that Stewart (Stuart) Turlington filed for a Harnett County commissioner seat in place of O.R. Simpson who was named by the Republican Convention. J.M. Byrd filed for the House of Representatives and E.F. Parker of Coats served on the county Republican committee (Harnett County News June 21, 1928).
Paramount Theater in Lillington charged 15 cents and 25 cents to watch “The Stolen Bride”. The theater had electric fans to keep the theater audience cool in the hot summer weather (Harnett County News June 21, 1928).
What else was new in 1928? Ethylene gas was used for ripening of fruits and vegetables and for removing acidity from green fruits. A tiny camera on a tube could photograph the stomach and take a set of seven pictures in fourteen seconds. Steel rails were tested for defects by the use of an x-ray apparatus (Harnett County News July 5, 1928).
Today’s farmers are sometimes the subject of jokes and it was no different in 1928. To prove this statement, the Harnett County News, August 9, 1928 shared that a city banker visited a farm and saw a man working with the cows. He asked the farmer “Is that a hired hand?” The farmer quickly responded, “No, that’s the first vice president in charge of cows”.
That same edition of the newspaper reported that Lee Furniture of Lillington was awarded the contact to furnish window shades for Shawtown colored school and Benhaven for $489.47 and was to install the said product. The board of education instructed the superintendent of schools to secure the best contract possible for building additional rooms at Coats and to purchase a water cooler for the office of the board of education (Harnett County News August 9, 1928).
The annual Negro Farmer’s Field Day was held on September 20, 1928. Asa D. Herring had invited all Negro farmers to join him and go to Pender Test Farm. Topics for discussion were “Helps and Hinderances of the Negro Farmers” and “How to Select a Good Cow”. A 10-cent grape eating privilege tag was sold which allowed the person to eat all the grapes until satisfied. The fee helped defray expenses of the day; however, each person was asked to bring a picnic lunch (Harnett County News September 13, 1928).
“Barclaysville News” reported that Miss Ada Cobb of near Bethel had spent Sunday with her cousin Miss Dessie Cobb. Mr. and Mrs. S.B. Rogers of near Kennebec spent Thursday with Mrs. Rogers’s sister, Mrs. E.L. Parrish. Miss Thelma Parrish was the guest of Miss Bessie Barnes on Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Ralph Anderson of Dunn spent Saturday and Sunday in the Barclaysville section with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. P.G. Abbott. Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Barnes visited with his brother, Mr. Everett Barnes. Mr. E. L. Parrish had recently purchased a new Ford. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Johnson of Angier spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. A.M. Cobb. Iola and Mamie Adams spent several days in Durham. Miss Dessie Cobb had Miss Etta Barnes as a house guest (Harnett County News September 13, 1928).
You ask, “Who were these people”? I wondered how did they travel to this remote rural section of Grove Township near the Johnston and Harnett County line. Did they ride the train to Barclaysville? Did the ladies have automobiles? What became of these people? Are they buried in the Bethel Cemetery in the area? Was Mr. Eddie (E.L.) Parrish the father of twins Rupert and Raeford, Joyce Carter, Rebeth Mitchell, and Thelma Mason. Was Jasper Barnes a very successful Angier and Fayetteville businessman who built an impressive house on Highway 401? Did Miss Etta Barnes become Mrs. Etta Moran and was she the mother of Maynard Moran who wrote the school song for Coats High?
I do know that Mayor A.F. Grimes reported that the assessed value of ATT (American Telephone and Telegraph) in Coats was $154.00 and the assessed value of Durham and Southern Railroad was $14,866.00. The report came from the Department of Revenue on October 10, 1928.
There was also social interaction in the town of Coats in the home of Mrs. Harry C. Roberts where she entertained at bridge honoring Mrs. Mose Kiser of Raleigh. Up at the Coats High School the selection of a man for a mechanic-janitor position was left open (Harnett County News October 11, 1928).
Mr. H.A. Turlington of Grove, president of the Four County Fair, was in Lillington on Tuesday. Turlington stated that the funds of the association were in the First National Bank of Dunn which had failed last week (Harnett County News November 22, 1928). What was Mr. Henry saying?
Thanks goes to Mary Ellen Lauder for her gift of a linen 1968 calendar belonging to her Aunt Mary Jo Mann and to Mike Tocci of Nevada and Kenneth Tocci of California for their generous donation to the museum. The museum folks really enjoyed the Tocci’s N.C. visit to do research on their great grandfather who lived in the area. My Mom, Alice Thornton Johnson, was the force behind my love of history and writing so she would be proud that I honored her memory with a memorial to the Coats Museum for Mother’s Day.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS WAS PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON MAY 12, 2102.
