May 2, 2014 Coats Museum News
Recall last week that bids had been given to hard surface the dirt road connecting Coats to Benson. The bid was $148,861.15 to pave the 6.94 miles of road. In 1932, the cost of building a road with 2 inches of crushed stone and asphalt had been $5,000.00 per mile. What was the projected cost per mile for this hard surfaced road in 1948?
I do know that the highway from Coats to Erwin posed no problem for the travelers since it was hard surfaced. In fact, to pave the road from Erwin to Coats to Angier to the Wake County line had been contracted at $70,104.32 in October of 1927 but it (Highway 55 today) was not tarred until after January of 1929 according to the Harnett County News Jan. 24, 1929 edition.
The Coats basketball team took on the Erwin Red Birds and divided a pair. The Coats girls defeated the female Red Birds with a 19-18 win. The Coats sextet had Johnson scoring 14 points and Messer 1. In the male game, the Erwin team won by 21-6. Coats’s Johnson had 3 points, and Barnes, Stewart and Avery had one each.
Mr. Troy Pope of Dunn, Route 4, had died on Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. at his home. He had been ill for several months. His services were held at Pleasant Grove. He was survived by his wife Martha Pope; his three daughters-Letha Pope, Mrs. B. W. (Lela) Turlington and Mrs. J.J. Hall. He was a native of Harnett County and a life-long resident. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William and Susan Pope.
The B.A. Norris property was to be auctioned on December 18, 1948. It had 2 nice dwellings with large lots and running water and was located in the town of Coats. Also two building lots on the same block, and in one of the best residential sections of town, were for sale. On the same day, the George E. Allen property located on Main Street in the town consisting of a building and store building was to be auctioned. At 1:30 p.m. that day, the Owen Odum property consisting of 9 choice lots located in the northeast section of Coats, adjourning right-of-way of new highway soon to be built, were to be sold. At 3:00 p.m. that day, B.F. McLeod and Son also were to sell the Owen Odum property consisting of 19 lots in the new development of town of Coats for colored people (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 15, 1948).
Questions-- Where was the George E. Allen store building on Main Street? Was it a brick or wood structure? Remember that no more wood structures on Main Street could be built and none repaired without the town board’s approval after December 21, 1927. Second, the Odum land was said to be adjoining the right-of-way of the new highway to be built. Was this saying that the new hard surfaced road was not following the old #40 route down Main Street to the road by the Delma Grimes and Coy Williams farms? James Grimes said the road went through the woods just below the Coy Williams farm and had three wooden bridges to cross over the Black River near Kenneth Pollard’s house. Is it possible that the road going to Bailey’s Crossroads (Ebenezer Church Rd.) was also to be paved in 1949?
I do know that Mrs. Bettie Norris, 84, wife of J.W. Norris, had died at 8:30 Friday morning after a brief illness. Funeral services were at the Suggs Cemetery near Bailey’s Crossroads. She was survived by her husband, J.W. Norris; one daughter, Mrs. Nellie Bryant; three brothers-Henry, Haywood and Randall Norris. Her two sisters were Mrs. Kizzie Norris Lockamy and Mrs. Polly Caudle (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 15, 1948).
Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Johnson’s son, Albert L. Johnson, was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. He held a position in the post office there. Johnson was a graduate of Coats at age 17 and was an outstanding young man in his community and “was liked by all who knew him”. Before entering the army, he was a farmer (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 24, 1948). Was he killed while serving in the military?
The Rev. F.W. Williams of Greenville, N.C. had been elected to be pastor of the McCoy’s Chapel Church near Coats. He was a talented musician (Dunn Dispatch post Dec. 24, 1948).
The Coats FFA won in the competition with eight other FFA chapters in Harnett County in the Crop Contest. The Coats team earned 1746 points. Who made up this outstanding team? They were Wadeford Williams, William Ragan, and Tommy Johnson (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 31, 1948).
The year was then 1949-the year that Russia got the bomb and the U.S. was offered a Fair Deal. President Harry Truman labeled his administration the Fair Deal while a new congressional act increased the salary of the president to $100,000.00 per year. Chic Young’s “Blondie” was determined to be the most popular comic strip in the world. LP’s (CBS) and the 45’s (RCA) went head to head in the record stores. The old standard 78 suddenly looked old-fashioned. The Latin samba was the hot new ballroom dance. George Orwell’s 1984 created a horrific, totalitarian image of the future. The “South Pacific” was a Broadway hit. Cortisone brought relief to rheumatoid arthritis. Americans were buying televisions at the rate of 60,000 per week. The German Volkswagen was introduced into America and two were sold.
Here is what you could have bought in 1949 with one dollar and still have received 13 cents in change: a pack of cigarettes (21 cents), a gallon of gas (25 cents), a loaf of bread (15 cents), a Coke (5 cents), and a quart of milk (21 cents) for a total of 87 cents with the change of 13 cents (Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-mail (32-38) Springfield, Mass. Federal Street Press, 1999).
The January 7, 1949 edition of the Dunn Dispatch reported that the Roycroft Drug Store of Coats had been broken into and $500.00 had been taken. A.J. Godwin discovered the break-in. Did you say-“Five hundred dollars?” Was that a large sum of money to keep in a store? Could it have bought a television? The paper did record that Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Johnson of Coats had announced the birth of a daughter on January 4th at the Dunn Hospital. The mother was the former Lois Ennis. They had three daughters. Which one was this (Dunn Dispatch Jan. 7, 1949)?
Myers Tilghman, foreman of the Grand Jury, reported that the Oakdale School water system needed repair and that fallen plaster in 2 rooms needed replacing. The jury also reported that Coats school buses were in good condition, drivers were satisfactory, building was in fair condition, bathrooms needed work and lunchroom was in good condition. The Coats Colored School was in bad condition-needed a new roof (Dunn Dispatch January 14, 1949).
Did it surprise some of you that the Coats area once had a school called Oakdale and also had a large black school? We will follow that story as time passes. H.A. Turlington, Jr., whose mother was B.F ‘s daughter, answered my question about the location of the original farm purchased by B.F. Parrish when he moved here from Johnston County. It is the farm where Judy Norris Parrish now lives. Henry, McLuin (“Mack”) and Mark, all direct descendents of B.F., lived there. A big thank you goes to the Potpourri Class at Coats Baptist Church which has honored the memory of Jackson Norris (Judy Parrish’s dad) and Faye West Denton (Monica Stewart’s mom). Their memory lives on through the museum.
Recall last week that bids had been given to hard surface the dirt road connecting Coats to Benson. The bid was $148,861.15 to pave the 6.94 miles of road. In 1932, the cost of building a road with 2 inches of crushed stone and asphalt had been $5,000.00 per mile. What was the projected cost per mile for this hard surfaced road in 1948?
I do know that the highway from Coats to Erwin posed no problem for the travelers since it was hard surfaced. In fact, to pave the road from Erwin to Coats to Angier to the Wake County line had been contracted at $70,104.32 in October of 1927 but it (Highway 55 today) was not tarred until after January of 1929 according to the Harnett County News Jan. 24, 1929 edition.
The Coats basketball team took on the Erwin Red Birds and divided a pair. The Coats girls defeated the female Red Birds with a 19-18 win. The Coats sextet had Johnson scoring 14 points and Messer 1. In the male game, the Erwin team won by 21-6. Coats’s Johnson had 3 points, and Barnes, Stewart and Avery had one each.
Mr. Troy Pope of Dunn, Route 4, had died on Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. at his home. He had been ill for several months. His services were held at Pleasant Grove. He was survived by his wife Martha Pope; his three daughters-Letha Pope, Mrs. B. W. (Lela) Turlington and Mrs. J.J. Hall. He was a native of Harnett County and a life-long resident. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William and Susan Pope.
The B.A. Norris property was to be auctioned on December 18, 1948. It had 2 nice dwellings with large lots and running water and was located in the town of Coats. Also two building lots on the same block, and in one of the best residential sections of town, were for sale. On the same day, the George E. Allen property located on Main Street in the town consisting of a building and store building was to be auctioned. At 1:30 p.m. that day, the Owen Odum property consisting of 9 choice lots located in the northeast section of Coats, adjourning right-of-way of new highway soon to be built, were to be sold. At 3:00 p.m. that day, B.F. McLeod and Son also were to sell the Owen Odum property consisting of 19 lots in the new development of town of Coats for colored people (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 15, 1948).
Questions-- Where was the George E. Allen store building on Main Street? Was it a brick or wood structure? Remember that no more wood structures on Main Street could be built and none repaired without the town board’s approval after December 21, 1927. Second, the Odum land was said to be adjoining the right-of-way of the new highway to be built. Was this saying that the new hard surfaced road was not following the old #40 route down Main Street to the road by the Delma Grimes and Coy Williams farms? James Grimes said the road went through the woods just below the Coy Williams farm and had three wooden bridges to cross over the Black River near Kenneth Pollard’s house. Is it possible that the road going to Bailey’s Crossroads (Ebenezer Church Rd.) was also to be paved in 1949?
I do know that Mrs. Bettie Norris, 84, wife of J.W. Norris, had died at 8:30 Friday morning after a brief illness. Funeral services were at the Suggs Cemetery near Bailey’s Crossroads. She was survived by her husband, J.W. Norris; one daughter, Mrs. Nellie Bryant; three brothers-Henry, Haywood and Randall Norris. Her two sisters were Mrs. Kizzie Norris Lockamy and Mrs. Polly Caudle (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 15, 1948).
Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Johnson’s son, Albert L. Johnson, was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. He held a position in the post office there. Johnson was a graduate of Coats at age 17 and was an outstanding young man in his community and “was liked by all who knew him”. Before entering the army, he was a farmer (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 24, 1948). Was he killed while serving in the military?
The Rev. F.W. Williams of Greenville, N.C. had been elected to be pastor of the McCoy’s Chapel Church near Coats. He was a talented musician (Dunn Dispatch post Dec. 24, 1948).
The Coats FFA won in the competition with eight other FFA chapters in Harnett County in the Crop Contest. The Coats team earned 1746 points. Who made up this outstanding team? They were Wadeford Williams, William Ragan, and Tommy Johnson (Dunn Dispatch Dec. 31, 1948).
The year was then 1949-the year that Russia got the bomb and the U.S. was offered a Fair Deal. President Harry Truman labeled his administration the Fair Deal while a new congressional act increased the salary of the president to $100,000.00 per year. Chic Young’s “Blondie” was determined to be the most popular comic strip in the world. LP’s (CBS) and the 45’s (RCA) went head to head in the record stores. The old standard 78 suddenly looked old-fashioned. The Latin samba was the hot new ballroom dance. George Orwell’s 1984 created a horrific, totalitarian image of the future. The “South Pacific” was a Broadway hit. Cortisone brought relief to rheumatoid arthritis. Americans were buying televisions at the rate of 60,000 per week. The German Volkswagen was introduced into America and two were sold.
Here is what you could have bought in 1949 with one dollar and still have received 13 cents in change: a pack of cigarettes (21 cents), a gallon of gas (25 cents), a loaf of bread (15 cents), a Coke (5 cents), and a quart of milk (21 cents) for a total of 87 cents with the change of 13 cents (Dickson, Paul, From Elvis to E-mail (32-38) Springfield, Mass. Federal Street Press, 1999).
The January 7, 1949 edition of the Dunn Dispatch reported that the Roycroft Drug Store of Coats had been broken into and $500.00 had been taken. A.J. Godwin discovered the break-in. Did you say-“Five hundred dollars?” Was that a large sum of money to keep in a store? Could it have bought a television? The paper did record that Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Johnson of Coats had announced the birth of a daughter on January 4th at the Dunn Hospital. The mother was the former Lois Ennis. They had three daughters. Which one was this (Dunn Dispatch Jan. 7, 1949)?
Myers Tilghman, foreman of the Grand Jury, reported that the Oakdale School water system needed repair and that fallen plaster in 2 rooms needed replacing. The jury also reported that Coats school buses were in good condition, drivers were satisfactory, building was in fair condition, bathrooms needed work and lunchroom was in good condition. The Coats Colored School was in bad condition-needed a new roof (Dunn Dispatch January 14, 1949).
Did it surprise some of you that the Coats area once had a school called Oakdale and also had a large black school? We will follow that story as time passes. H.A. Turlington, Jr., whose mother was B.F ‘s daughter, answered my question about the location of the original farm purchased by B.F. Parrish when he moved here from Johnston County. It is the farm where Judy Norris Parrish now lives. Henry, McLuin (“Mack”) and Mark, all direct descendents of B.F., lived there. A big thank you goes to the Potpourri Class at Coats Baptist Church which has honored the memory of Jackson Norris (Judy Parrish’s dad) and Faye West Denton (Monica Stewart’s mom). Their memory lives on through the museum.