May 20, 2022 Coats Museum News
When a visitor at the Coats Museum brings up the topic of a memorable fire or rescue occurrence, we always know that there will be an interesting story to learn. For example, Keith McLeod who gave most of his life promoting fire and rescue safety, shared for display with the museum a fire brigade bucket used to help extinguish fires long before a fire truck and water hydrants were in place in Coats. This cone shape bucket was used to dip water from water troughs that were placed throughout the town. The cone was passed from one volunteer to another until it arrived to the person who threw the water on the flames. Needless to say, that is why we lost the town’s early industries due to fires.
Can you imagine that? It reminds me of watching the similar actions shown in western movies when a dwelling was on fire and everyone jumped in to pass a bucket of water. An interesting thing about the brigade bucket is that it was to be kept in a place by the door and was never to be used for anything other than to fight fires.
Another interesting story is that the early Coats volunteers used raincoats when fighting fires. The rain coats apparently came in different sizes because we once were told the story about two of the larger men would rush to the station to make sure he got the raincoat before the other large man arrived. Can you imagine-raincoats to protect our firemen?
Extinguishing fires in the rural area was almost always a hopeless case. Many times I have written about farmers who lost their tobacco barns from fires or their other barns with stored crops or animals. I recall that Henry A. and Stewart Turlington of the Turlington’s Crossroads area both lost big barns filled with valuable farm commodities. The paper article commented that fortunately Mr. Henry did not lose any of his prized Duroc hogs in the blaze. However, that was not the case with my husband’s Granddaddy Joe Penny who lost his tobacco pack house filled with tobacco and a cow that was in a stable nearby.
One common fiber in all these stories is that the folks worked together to help their neighbors. Neighbors rallied around Mr. Lon Johnson to help him rebuild a tobacco barn to replace one that was destroyed so he could harvest and cure the remaining tobacco in the fields.
How many of you can remember seeing a lone man standing at an intersection in town with a bucket basically asking for money to support the fire or rescue departments? How many times did you buy tickets for barbeques to support these departments?
Think about this-these men and women were not paid. They gave of their time to protect us from fire or to rush us to medical services. Can you imagine the hours that they did and do to prepare themselves to serve their fellow citizens in their needs?
This I do know. We have come to a better time for our fire and rescue services. The Daily Record April 18, 1990 edition printed that the Coats-Grove Fire and Rescue people were completing their transition from three emergency organizations to a single group. Before then, the Coats Fire Department, the Coats Rescue and the Grove Fire Department were three separate organizations.
Other news from the Coats area shared that Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Ennis of Coats were the proud great-grandparents of a boy, Jerry Glynis Glover, son of Mr. and Mrs. Danny Glover (Daily Record Apr. 19, 1990).
Another birth was announced connected to several Coats folks. Mr. and Mrs. Murray T. Phillips, formerly of Coats, announced the birth of a daughter. Mr. and Mrs. M.O. Phillips were grandparents.
For many years, people from surrounding counties had enjoyed Betty Gregory’s coconut cake served at Lane’s Seafood and Steakhouse in Johnston County. One particular cake did not make its way to the restaurant but rather it went to Lillington to a Democratic hot dog supper. The cake was auctioned and sold for $330 to Glenn Johnson who gave it back and Craig Matthews bought it for $150. Mr. Matthews was a candidate for the HCBOE (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1990).
Efforts by the Harnett County Schools Superintendent Ivo A. Wortman, Jr. and HCBOE Chairman Gerald W. Hayes, Jr. apparently convinced state officials to provide over $2 million for the construction of the Harnett Central Middle School.
Other news was that Gladys Barefoot and Leola Neighbors hosted the Hodges Chapel Ladies Auxiliary. David Barnes shared highlights of his two week is trip to Brazil to the 31 members present at the Coats Lions Club (Daily Record Apr. 25, 1990).
A candidate Forum was to be held in Coats. Thirteen candidates were expected. Earl Hall (R), Gerald Hayes, Jr., (D), Craig Matthews (D) and Christian H. Swiers (D) were seeking a seat on the HCBOE. The three Democratic candidates for sheriff were Jesse B. Gentry, Thomas McLean, and Lewis C. Rosser. Clerk of Court candidate was Georgia Lee Brown, a Democrat. Democrat J.K. Sherron, Jr. and Republican Joe Overby and R. Melvin Smith sought the NC Senate seat. Republican Abe Elmore and Democrat C.P. Stewart sought the NC House seat.
Easter was extra special for Estelle and Johnnie Williams because they had a special guest, their granddaughter, Susan Williams, a student at the University of Florida (Daily Record Apr. 26, 1990).How many of you know who the father of Susan is? Does Larry V. Williams pop in from your memory?
I do know that Don Smith of the Coats Pharmacy was proudly displaying a pink ribbon at his place of business. His daughter Diane Lischin was the new Mom.
Several other families in the Coats area also had reason to be proud. Several young men from Coats had been chosen to attend Boys State sponsored by the American Legion Post 109 of Benson. The young students were Joey Cobb, son of Linda Cobb; Steven Wilkie , son of Julie and Everett Wilkie, and Bryan Sorrell, son of Gayle and H.L. Sorrell.
Some bad news shared was that Anna Belle Stewart had broken her arm and Edna Ennis had broken her ankle (Daily Record Apr. 27, 1990).
Do you ever go past a store or house and think about how much you miss the deceased individual who operated the business or who resided in a particular house? When we go to the Coats IGA, H.L. and I mention that we continue to miss M.T. Strickland. He was such a driving force behind so many good things in Coats. The April 27, 1990 issue of the Daily Record shared that M.T. Strickland had announced plans to hold a Beef Shootout Golf Tournament sponsored by the Coats IGA for the benefit of the American Children’s Home in Lexington, NC.
In giving directions to certain places to some out –of-area visitors to the museum, we find ourselves saying it is right across from where the old Coats High School was located. Are there many new Coats residents and students entering the local schools who are likewise not aware that there was ever a Coats High School?
Maybe in the Coats Museum News next week I can share a bit about the old Coats High School when you will read about the removal of a metal box from the cornerstone of the 1936 building in 1990.
We really enjoyed a several individuals who dropped by to inquire about family history. Veronica Norris and Sandra Stephenson were delightful to assist. Pictures and family genealogy are waiting for Sandra when she returns and we are continuing to seek info for Veronica about a person who attended school in about the fifth grade and had a teacher named Mr. Spainhour and a friend named Helen Johnson. Getting the names is not so hard but getting the dates to match those names with the dates the person remembers is a bit more difficult.
Please be reminded if you or a relative with Grove Township connections served in a branch of the U.S. Military and did not have the military information in the first edition of the Defenders of the Red, White and Blue, you have until July 4, 2022 to get it to us. Call 897-2525 on Thursdays and we will share how to submit your information.
When a visitor at the Coats Museum brings up the topic of a memorable fire or rescue occurrence, we always know that there will be an interesting story to learn. For example, Keith McLeod who gave most of his life promoting fire and rescue safety, shared for display with the museum a fire brigade bucket used to help extinguish fires long before a fire truck and water hydrants were in place in Coats. This cone shape bucket was used to dip water from water troughs that were placed throughout the town. The cone was passed from one volunteer to another until it arrived to the person who threw the water on the flames. Needless to say, that is why we lost the town’s early industries due to fires.
Can you imagine that? It reminds me of watching the similar actions shown in western movies when a dwelling was on fire and everyone jumped in to pass a bucket of water. An interesting thing about the brigade bucket is that it was to be kept in a place by the door and was never to be used for anything other than to fight fires.
Another interesting story is that the early Coats volunteers used raincoats when fighting fires. The rain coats apparently came in different sizes because we once were told the story about two of the larger men would rush to the station to make sure he got the raincoat before the other large man arrived. Can you imagine-raincoats to protect our firemen?
Extinguishing fires in the rural area was almost always a hopeless case. Many times I have written about farmers who lost their tobacco barns from fires or their other barns with stored crops or animals. I recall that Henry A. and Stewart Turlington of the Turlington’s Crossroads area both lost big barns filled with valuable farm commodities. The paper article commented that fortunately Mr. Henry did not lose any of his prized Duroc hogs in the blaze. However, that was not the case with my husband’s Granddaddy Joe Penny who lost his tobacco pack house filled with tobacco and a cow that was in a stable nearby.
One common fiber in all these stories is that the folks worked together to help their neighbors. Neighbors rallied around Mr. Lon Johnson to help him rebuild a tobacco barn to replace one that was destroyed so he could harvest and cure the remaining tobacco in the fields.
How many of you can remember seeing a lone man standing at an intersection in town with a bucket basically asking for money to support the fire or rescue departments? How many times did you buy tickets for barbeques to support these departments?
Think about this-these men and women were not paid. They gave of their time to protect us from fire or to rush us to medical services. Can you imagine the hours that they did and do to prepare themselves to serve their fellow citizens in their needs?
This I do know. We have come to a better time for our fire and rescue services. The Daily Record April 18, 1990 edition printed that the Coats-Grove Fire and Rescue people were completing their transition from three emergency organizations to a single group. Before then, the Coats Fire Department, the Coats Rescue and the Grove Fire Department were three separate organizations.
Other news from the Coats area shared that Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Ennis of Coats were the proud great-grandparents of a boy, Jerry Glynis Glover, son of Mr. and Mrs. Danny Glover (Daily Record Apr. 19, 1990).
Another birth was announced connected to several Coats folks. Mr. and Mrs. Murray T. Phillips, formerly of Coats, announced the birth of a daughter. Mr. and Mrs. M.O. Phillips were grandparents.
For many years, people from surrounding counties had enjoyed Betty Gregory’s coconut cake served at Lane’s Seafood and Steakhouse in Johnston County. One particular cake did not make its way to the restaurant but rather it went to Lillington to a Democratic hot dog supper. The cake was auctioned and sold for $330 to Glenn Johnson who gave it back and Craig Matthews bought it for $150. Mr. Matthews was a candidate for the HCBOE (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1990).
Efforts by the Harnett County Schools Superintendent Ivo A. Wortman, Jr. and HCBOE Chairman Gerald W. Hayes, Jr. apparently convinced state officials to provide over $2 million for the construction of the Harnett Central Middle School.
Other news was that Gladys Barefoot and Leola Neighbors hosted the Hodges Chapel Ladies Auxiliary. David Barnes shared highlights of his two week is trip to Brazil to the 31 members present at the Coats Lions Club (Daily Record Apr. 25, 1990).
A candidate Forum was to be held in Coats. Thirteen candidates were expected. Earl Hall (R), Gerald Hayes, Jr., (D), Craig Matthews (D) and Christian H. Swiers (D) were seeking a seat on the HCBOE. The three Democratic candidates for sheriff were Jesse B. Gentry, Thomas McLean, and Lewis C. Rosser. Clerk of Court candidate was Georgia Lee Brown, a Democrat. Democrat J.K. Sherron, Jr. and Republican Joe Overby and R. Melvin Smith sought the NC Senate seat. Republican Abe Elmore and Democrat C.P. Stewart sought the NC House seat.
Easter was extra special for Estelle and Johnnie Williams because they had a special guest, their granddaughter, Susan Williams, a student at the University of Florida (Daily Record Apr. 26, 1990).How many of you know who the father of Susan is? Does Larry V. Williams pop in from your memory?
I do know that Don Smith of the Coats Pharmacy was proudly displaying a pink ribbon at his place of business. His daughter Diane Lischin was the new Mom.
Several other families in the Coats area also had reason to be proud. Several young men from Coats had been chosen to attend Boys State sponsored by the American Legion Post 109 of Benson. The young students were Joey Cobb, son of Linda Cobb; Steven Wilkie , son of Julie and Everett Wilkie, and Bryan Sorrell, son of Gayle and H.L. Sorrell.
Some bad news shared was that Anna Belle Stewart had broken her arm and Edna Ennis had broken her ankle (Daily Record Apr. 27, 1990).
Do you ever go past a store or house and think about how much you miss the deceased individual who operated the business or who resided in a particular house? When we go to the Coats IGA, H.L. and I mention that we continue to miss M.T. Strickland. He was such a driving force behind so many good things in Coats. The April 27, 1990 issue of the Daily Record shared that M.T. Strickland had announced plans to hold a Beef Shootout Golf Tournament sponsored by the Coats IGA for the benefit of the American Children’s Home in Lexington, NC.
In giving directions to certain places to some out –of-area visitors to the museum, we find ourselves saying it is right across from where the old Coats High School was located. Are there many new Coats residents and students entering the local schools who are likewise not aware that there was ever a Coats High School?
Maybe in the Coats Museum News next week I can share a bit about the old Coats High School when you will read about the removal of a metal box from the cornerstone of the 1936 building in 1990.
We really enjoyed a several individuals who dropped by to inquire about family history. Veronica Norris and Sandra Stephenson were delightful to assist. Pictures and family genealogy are waiting for Sandra when she returns and we are continuing to seek info for Veronica about a person who attended school in about the fifth grade and had a teacher named Mr. Spainhour and a friend named Helen Johnson. Getting the names is not so hard but getting the dates to match those names with the dates the person remembers is a bit more difficult.
Please be reminded if you or a relative with Grove Township connections served in a branch of the U.S. Military and did not have the military information in the first edition of the Defenders of the Red, White and Blue, you have until July 4, 2022 to get it to us. Call 897-2525 on Thursdays and we will share how to submit your information.