May 8, 2020 Coats Museum News
The year on the calendar displayed 1984-the same date that, although George Orwell placed his vision of a horrific totalitarian world in the year 1984, the Western world seemed to revel in individualism and free play. It was a totally un-Orwellian year. New attention was focused on the aging of the American population-seven states reported more than a million residents over the age of sixty-five. In 1984, McDonald’s sold its 50 billionth hamburger. Chevron Corporation acquired the Gulf Corporation for $13.3 billion in cash, the largest takeover to that time. There were 490,000 lawyers in America-about the population of Vermont in 1994 (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Massachusetts: Federal Street Press, 1999, pp.271-272).
In Harnett County, Albert Gregory, M.O. Phillips and Everett Suitt headed up a group of 25 agribusiness men for Jim Hunt for US Senate (Daily Record Mar. 27, 1984).
Citizens of the Coats area poured contributions into the Coats Community Building in an effort to aid victims of last week’s tornadoes. Mary Ellen Johnson (Lauder) coordinated the effort with the assistance of Ruth Gregory, Sara Skiles, Tanya Lee (Turlington), J.D. Norris, Delbert Lockamy and Maggie Parrish Daily Record Apr. 4, 1984).
Question-where were these tornadoes? Were they in the Grove-Coats area? Were there other such groups in other towns coming to the aid of the victims of the tornadoes?
I do know that the First Citizens Bank was to break ground on April 17th on the corner of McKinley and Main Street. Tim Brown, assistant cashier and Coats city executive, had invited the area citizens to attend and view the design of a modified colonial-style building of brick with 4200 square feet of space. There were to be five teller windows, a city executive office and two additional offices. The second floor would house a meeting room for the board. First Citizens came to Coats in 1947 (Daily Record Apr. 10, 1984).What business occupies this building in 2020?
Another question-was there already another First Citizens Bank in Coats? The article said FCB came to Coats in 1947. If so, where was it located and was it not good enough to meet the needs of its customers? Was there another major bank in Coats in 1984? The major question that many in Coats ask is “Why don’t we have a bank in Coats in 2020?” As you travel through the towns, just about anywhere, have you observed that the banks are some of the most handsome buildings in the towns?
The CACC folks were busy recognizing the outstanding businesses in Coats. Creative Critters was the Business Focus of Week and it owners were Casey and Ann Jones who had begun the business in Erwin in 1979 but later moved to Coats. They catered to ceramics in their store on Main Street. In their spare time, they operated a horse-breeding farm off the Cane Mill Road (Daily Record Apr. 11, 1984).
Who remembers this business? Could you share with a newcomer the location of where that business operated? Wonder if Ann and Casey continue to breed horses. Does Casey refurnish old tractors? Casey and Ann have one of the prettiest and most unique country places around Coats. Both love old things and they have incorporated that love into their landscaping and house. One of the most interesting things that I recall about their house is one of their bathrooms. If you run into Ann, ask her to share the story about it. You did observe that they named their business “Creative Critters” –right?
The Coats Town Board sought $750,000 Development Funds to rehabilitate 45 houses. If awarded, $600,000 of it would be used toward the rehabilitation of the 45 houses and $150,000 of it for local option use. Most of the houses needing rehabilitation were on Jay Street and Mason Street. The board held a public hearing on annexation of a 3.46 acre tract on the east side of Crawford Road between the town limits and the Oak Ridge subdivision (Daily Record Apr. 13, 1984). Did they get the funds and was the land annexed?
Two special guests were at the Dunn’s Lions Club meeting. Terry Baker (Johnson) and Jeff Smith were selected for the Lions All-State Band. Albert Gregory of CAG told farmers to use Roundup to kill weeds that result in crop loss. The Coats First Citizens Bank staff members hosted a reception for some 100 persons who attended the groundbreaking for the new building that was on schedule to be built right away. The staff was Louine Stewart, Vel Davis, Rhonda Register, Ann Moody, Beverly McLamb and Chief Executive Tim Brown (Daily Record Apr. 18, 1984).
A few questions here—were Terry and Jeff students at Triton High? I do know that Terry Baker (Johnson) married my nephew, Joey Johnson. She has truly mastered the flute and plays often at our Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. She has also with the help of Frankie Parker been voted the Best Florist of Harnett County.
A second question is about Albert and his promotion of using Roundup. Knowing the late Albert Gregory, do you think he would have promoted the sale of Roundup if he had known the potential harm that it might have caused the user?
The third question is- were you surprised that Coats had enough banking activity to require five tellers and one executive? How many did they have at the other town bank?
Callie Eastwood Pollard, 90, had died on Friday. Services were held at Rose Funeral Home in Benson. His burial was in the Bethel PBC Church Cemetery. His survivors include his wife Maylon Cobb Pollard; two sons- Paul L. and Baxton and three daughters-Thurlene Klein, Imogene Penny and Mrs. Netral Hair (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1984).
Late April and May was the traditional time to plant cantaloupes. That was the time to which Danny Wade Coats looked forward to doing. Coats was the owner of Coats Seed Co. that was appropriate in the town of Coats. He had spent years developing the seed. The “Coats Giant” was the registered name. The seed was marketed to some 100 dealers in the USA and Europe (Daily Record Apr. 24, 1984).
Remember reading in an earlier column that Mr. Wheeler from Coats grew a cantaloupe that weighed over 20 pounds? Wonder if he acquired his seed from Danny Wade Coats?
I do know that Mr. And Mrs. Charles Malone of Raleigh announced the birth of David Taylor Malone. The mother was the former Donna Hamilton. Mrs. Mildred Malone and Mrs. S.R. Moore were the grandmother and great-grandmother (Daily Record Apr. 25, 1984). Do all those names sound very familiar?
Clark Johnson won third place in the Private Property Week essay contest sponsored by the Harnett Area Board of Realtors. Hope Stewart Turlington presented the Coats student and other winning students the awards.
Another Turlington made the same April 26, 1984 edition of the Daily Record. Lee Turlington, 89, of Route One, Coats, had died on Wednesday. Surviving him were two sons-Graham and Robert; three daughters-Ruby Currin, Addie Young and Emily Weaver. Was Lee preceded in death by his wife-one of those Lassiter girls from Johnston County?
Also found in that same edition of the Daily Record was that the Coats Yellow Jackets girls softball team had a winning streak of 10-0. High scorers were Patricia Royals, Tonya Gauldin, Denise Williams, Penny Weaver and Jamie Regan.
The Coats Jaycees had held their Awards Banquet and Installation of Officers at Pope’s Barn. President- Frank Wullenbaker; Young Man of the Year-Robie Butler; Young Educator of the Year-Bethany Langdon Stevens; Jaycee Boss of the Year-Paul Perry and Young Farmer of the Year-Max Matthews, Jr. were recognized (Daily Record Apr. 27, 1984).
Beth Pope’s five for five hits helped the Coats Yellow Jackets win the game by 20-5 margin over Cardinal Gibbons. The Jackets were 14-0 after the game. Other news was that the Grady Matthews Insurance Co. was the CACC Business Focus of the Week. The business was located on 1045 McKinley Street and was owned and operated by Frances and Grady Matthews. Both were raised in the Coats and were graduates of Coats High School. Grady was also a graduate of Campbell College. Grady was not only a successful businessman but also a leader in civic, religious and recreational activities of the community. He was past president of the Jaycees, president of the Coats Development Corporation, a member of the Junior Order, and the recipient of the Gold Shovel Award of the SLC plant in Coats. He had been in business for 27 years (Daily Record May 2, 1984).
Several additional points of interest about Grady are that his wife presented the Gold Shovel to the Coats Museum and it was used to break the ground in 2012 for the building of the Kress and Nell Penny Williams Exhibit Hall at the Coats Museum. A second item of interest about Grady is that he was remembered for years about getting into the cage in his younger years to wrestle with a chimpanzee or a gorilla. A third item of interest is the story that his wife wrote about Grady and her life that she entered into the family genealogies of our Heritage of Coats, NC Vol. 2. The story is very touching and brought tears to my eyes the first time I read it.
Allow me to share two versions of that story of Grady in the cage according to Eugene Stewart and two others. Eugene shared that he remembered when a chimpanzee was pulled up to the John Allen Smith Airport (about where the Coats Baptist Church is today) in Coats. The animal was caged in an iron box and people were charged a quarter to watch the chimp box a volunteer. The volunteer would win the prize money if he defeated the animal. Grady was boxing the “primate” and winning when the “primate” got angry, messed in his hand and threw it at Grady. The owner of the animal said.”He’s a dirty fighter, right?” Lottie Lamm said to her husband, J.D. Lamm, “I can’t stand out here and watch Grady and that big ole thing!”
Frances Matthews and Lottie remembered there was a gorilla that Grady knocked off a stool. Frances thought won $21.00 for the fight. (That’s a lot of quarters.) The ladies remembered that a drunken fellow tried his luck with the gorilla that was beating the man “pretty badly”. They could not make the gorilla stop until they brought out ice cream (2003 Interviews with Frances Matthews, Lottie Lamm and Eugene Stewart).
Remember reading about Ruth and Sherwood Gregory in a recent column. A reader shared that this Ruth Gregory, wife of Sherwood, is indeed alive and is not the deceased Ruth Gregory who taught in Angier. Thank you , Angie, for helping us revisit history correctly.
The year on the calendar displayed 1984-the same date that, although George Orwell placed his vision of a horrific totalitarian world in the year 1984, the Western world seemed to revel in individualism and free play. It was a totally un-Orwellian year. New attention was focused on the aging of the American population-seven states reported more than a million residents over the age of sixty-five. In 1984, McDonald’s sold its 50 billionth hamburger. Chevron Corporation acquired the Gulf Corporation for $13.3 billion in cash, the largest takeover to that time. There were 490,000 lawyers in America-about the population of Vermont in 1994 (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Massachusetts: Federal Street Press, 1999, pp.271-272).
In Harnett County, Albert Gregory, M.O. Phillips and Everett Suitt headed up a group of 25 agribusiness men for Jim Hunt for US Senate (Daily Record Mar. 27, 1984).
Citizens of the Coats area poured contributions into the Coats Community Building in an effort to aid victims of last week’s tornadoes. Mary Ellen Johnson (Lauder) coordinated the effort with the assistance of Ruth Gregory, Sara Skiles, Tanya Lee (Turlington), J.D. Norris, Delbert Lockamy and Maggie Parrish Daily Record Apr. 4, 1984).
Question-where were these tornadoes? Were they in the Grove-Coats area? Were there other such groups in other towns coming to the aid of the victims of the tornadoes?
I do know that the First Citizens Bank was to break ground on April 17th on the corner of McKinley and Main Street. Tim Brown, assistant cashier and Coats city executive, had invited the area citizens to attend and view the design of a modified colonial-style building of brick with 4200 square feet of space. There were to be five teller windows, a city executive office and two additional offices. The second floor would house a meeting room for the board. First Citizens came to Coats in 1947 (Daily Record Apr. 10, 1984).What business occupies this building in 2020?
Another question-was there already another First Citizens Bank in Coats? The article said FCB came to Coats in 1947. If so, where was it located and was it not good enough to meet the needs of its customers? Was there another major bank in Coats in 1984? The major question that many in Coats ask is “Why don’t we have a bank in Coats in 2020?” As you travel through the towns, just about anywhere, have you observed that the banks are some of the most handsome buildings in the towns?
The CACC folks were busy recognizing the outstanding businesses in Coats. Creative Critters was the Business Focus of Week and it owners were Casey and Ann Jones who had begun the business in Erwin in 1979 but later moved to Coats. They catered to ceramics in their store on Main Street. In their spare time, they operated a horse-breeding farm off the Cane Mill Road (Daily Record Apr. 11, 1984).
Who remembers this business? Could you share with a newcomer the location of where that business operated? Wonder if Ann and Casey continue to breed horses. Does Casey refurnish old tractors? Casey and Ann have one of the prettiest and most unique country places around Coats. Both love old things and they have incorporated that love into their landscaping and house. One of the most interesting things that I recall about their house is one of their bathrooms. If you run into Ann, ask her to share the story about it. You did observe that they named their business “Creative Critters” –right?
The Coats Town Board sought $750,000 Development Funds to rehabilitate 45 houses. If awarded, $600,000 of it would be used toward the rehabilitation of the 45 houses and $150,000 of it for local option use. Most of the houses needing rehabilitation were on Jay Street and Mason Street. The board held a public hearing on annexation of a 3.46 acre tract on the east side of Crawford Road between the town limits and the Oak Ridge subdivision (Daily Record Apr. 13, 1984). Did they get the funds and was the land annexed?
Two special guests were at the Dunn’s Lions Club meeting. Terry Baker (Johnson) and Jeff Smith were selected for the Lions All-State Band. Albert Gregory of CAG told farmers to use Roundup to kill weeds that result in crop loss. The Coats First Citizens Bank staff members hosted a reception for some 100 persons who attended the groundbreaking for the new building that was on schedule to be built right away. The staff was Louine Stewart, Vel Davis, Rhonda Register, Ann Moody, Beverly McLamb and Chief Executive Tim Brown (Daily Record Apr. 18, 1984).
A few questions here—were Terry and Jeff students at Triton High? I do know that Terry Baker (Johnson) married my nephew, Joey Johnson. She has truly mastered the flute and plays often at our Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. She has also with the help of Frankie Parker been voted the Best Florist of Harnett County.
A second question is about Albert and his promotion of using Roundup. Knowing the late Albert Gregory, do you think he would have promoted the sale of Roundup if he had known the potential harm that it might have caused the user?
The third question is- were you surprised that Coats had enough banking activity to require five tellers and one executive? How many did they have at the other town bank?
Callie Eastwood Pollard, 90, had died on Friday. Services were held at Rose Funeral Home in Benson. His burial was in the Bethel PBC Church Cemetery. His survivors include his wife Maylon Cobb Pollard; two sons- Paul L. and Baxton and three daughters-Thurlene Klein, Imogene Penny and Mrs. Netral Hair (Daily Record Apr. 23, 1984).
Late April and May was the traditional time to plant cantaloupes. That was the time to which Danny Wade Coats looked forward to doing. Coats was the owner of Coats Seed Co. that was appropriate in the town of Coats. He had spent years developing the seed. The “Coats Giant” was the registered name. The seed was marketed to some 100 dealers in the USA and Europe (Daily Record Apr. 24, 1984).
Remember reading in an earlier column that Mr. Wheeler from Coats grew a cantaloupe that weighed over 20 pounds? Wonder if he acquired his seed from Danny Wade Coats?
I do know that Mr. And Mrs. Charles Malone of Raleigh announced the birth of David Taylor Malone. The mother was the former Donna Hamilton. Mrs. Mildred Malone and Mrs. S.R. Moore were the grandmother and great-grandmother (Daily Record Apr. 25, 1984). Do all those names sound very familiar?
Clark Johnson won third place in the Private Property Week essay contest sponsored by the Harnett Area Board of Realtors. Hope Stewart Turlington presented the Coats student and other winning students the awards.
Another Turlington made the same April 26, 1984 edition of the Daily Record. Lee Turlington, 89, of Route One, Coats, had died on Wednesday. Surviving him were two sons-Graham and Robert; three daughters-Ruby Currin, Addie Young and Emily Weaver. Was Lee preceded in death by his wife-one of those Lassiter girls from Johnston County?
Also found in that same edition of the Daily Record was that the Coats Yellow Jackets girls softball team had a winning streak of 10-0. High scorers were Patricia Royals, Tonya Gauldin, Denise Williams, Penny Weaver and Jamie Regan.
The Coats Jaycees had held their Awards Banquet and Installation of Officers at Pope’s Barn. President- Frank Wullenbaker; Young Man of the Year-Robie Butler; Young Educator of the Year-Bethany Langdon Stevens; Jaycee Boss of the Year-Paul Perry and Young Farmer of the Year-Max Matthews, Jr. were recognized (Daily Record Apr. 27, 1984).
Beth Pope’s five for five hits helped the Coats Yellow Jackets win the game by 20-5 margin over Cardinal Gibbons. The Jackets were 14-0 after the game. Other news was that the Grady Matthews Insurance Co. was the CACC Business Focus of the Week. The business was located on 1045 McKinley Street and was owned and operated by Frances and Grady Matthews. Both were raised in the Coats and were graduates of Coats High School. Grady was also a graduate of Campbell College. Grady was not only a successful businessman but also a leader in civic, religious and recreational activities of the community. He was past president of the Jaycees, president of the Coats Development Corporation, a member of the Junior Order, and the recipient of the Gold Shovel Award of the SLC plant in Coats. He had been in business for 27 years (Daily Record May 2, 1984).
Several additional points of interest about Grady are that his wife presented the Gold Shovel to the Coats Museum and it was used to break the ground in 2012 for the building of the Kress and Nell Penny Williams Exhibit Hall at the Coats Museum. A second item of interest about Grady is that he was remembered for years about getting into the cage in his younger years to wrestle with a chimpanzee or a gorilla. A third item of interest is the story that his wife wrote about Grady and her life that she entered into the family genealogies of our Heritage of Coats, NC Vol. 2. The story is very touching and brought tears to my eyes the first time I read it.
Allow me to share two versions of that story of Grady in the cage according to Eugene Stewart and two others. Eugene shared that he remembered when a chimpanzee was pulled up to the John Allen Smith Airport (about where the Coats Baptist Church is today) in Coats. The animal was caged in an iron box and people were charged a quarter to watch the chimp box a volunteer. The volunteer would win the prize money if he defeated the animal. Grady was boxing the “primate” and winning when the “primate” got angry, messed in his hand and threw it at Grady. The owner of the animal said.”He’s a dirty fighter, right?” Lottie Lamm said to her husband, J.D. Lamm, “I can’t stand out here and watch Grady and that big ole thing!”
Frances Matthews and Lottie remembered there was a gorilla that Grady knocked off a stool. Frances thought won $21.00 for the fight. (That’s a lot of quarters.) The ladies remembered that a drunken fellow tried his luck with the gorilla that was beating the man “pretty badly”. They could not make the gorilla stop until they brought out ice cream (2003 Interviews with Frances Matthews, Lottie Lamm and Eugene Stewart).
Remember reading about Ruth and Sherwood Gregory in a recent column. A reader shared that this Ruth Gregory, wife of Sherwood, is indeed alive and is not the deceased Ruth Gregory who taught in Angier. Thank you , Angie, for helping us revisit history correctly.