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​                                                                                  November 16, 2018 Coats Museum News
It was May of 1973 (over 45 years ago) when the Coats High School seniors were preparing for their last walk across the stage to receive their diplomas and other recognitions for their achievements at the high school. However on the national scene, there was bothersome news to the American citizens. Hearings for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon had begun by the House Judiciary Committee. Former Nixon Cabinet member John Mitchell and Maurice Stans and financier Robert Vesco were indicted on charges arising from Vesco’s illegal $200,000 contribution to Nixon’s campaign.
The televised Senate hearings into Watergate had begun. NC Senator Sam Ervin, the special Watergate committee chairman, was quoted during the hearings: “O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Because the hearings were televised and followed closely, the Senate hearings became the vehicle that sealed the fate of the Nixon presidency and gave the nation a close look at the nature of political corruption (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Springfield, Massachusetts: Federal Street Press, 1999, pp.202-03).
In Coats, the high school graduation exercises were held. The class officers were Keith Stewart, president; Charles Ogburn, vice president; Donna Penny, secretary; Kay Guin, treasurer and Danny Gardner, associate treasurer. The class mascots were Julie Stancil and David Capps. The class valedictorian was Kent Turlington, son of Mr. and Mrs. Graham Turlington, and Catherine Ann Pope, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Rex Pope, was salutatorian. These students had also served in leadership roles in the class, clubs, sports and church.
Do you know the name of the parents of the class officers and mascots? Some school yearbooks listed the parents of the graduating students in the yearbook.
I do know that the following students, according to the Daily Record June 5, 1973 edition, received diplomas: Barbara Abney, Lynn Adams, Jenny Danenburg, Kay Guin, Sarah Johnson, Gaynell Lee, Susan Stewart, Yvonne McLean, Connie Neighbors, Donna Penny, Shirley Pleasant, Barbara Wood, Rita Ammons, Carol Barefoot, Denise Butts, Susan Cameron, Linda Autry, Vickie Glover, Debbie Honeycutt, Debbie Joyner, Ann Pope, Shelia Stephenson, Janice Turlington, Gennie Walden, Robert Barefoot, Danny Ferguson, Dan Ferrell, Danny Gardner, Bobby Hayes, Randy Holmes, Ricky Mabry, James McLean, Robert Norris, Terry Page, Leonard Parker, William Ray, Henry Spears, Doug Stevens, Kent Turlington, Steve Stephenson, Mark Byrd, Ritchie Byrd, Tommy Coats, Haywood Collier, Glenn Dennis, Marc  Powell, Ronald Rowland, Randy Sills, Wayne Stanley, Keith Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Ronnie Stewart, Robert Walters, Glenn Williams, Kelly Williams, Dale Wise, Larry Weaver, Keith Stone and Dale Whittington.
I taught most of those students their junior year in high school and boy do those young faces pop into my memories. Many of them have stayed in the Coats area and I have watched them mature into older adults. Some have even retired back to their hometown while others live in distant places. A few of them drop by the museum when we have Farmers Day or they are in town visiting family or friends. Do I recognize them? Not always!
This I do know. As teachers, we always appreciate the accomplishments that our former students make to society. It is music to our ears to hear that some students graduated with honors from college, others are recognized as outstanding farmers, businessmen, teachers, pastors or Eagle Scouts. Many have served their country honorably in the military while some work for giant corporations such as Global Knowledge, IBM or one might hire doctors or administrators for hospitals. It is a heartwarming moment to read of the accomplishments of the children of our former students and we think to ourselves-everything is going to be ok.
The 1973 Coats Echoing Memories shared additional information about the seniors of that year. They have and continue to make Coats proud. The class picked the October 13-21, 1973 NC State Fair as the setting for their superlative pictures. The class voted for the students that they felt matched particular personalities.  Debbie Honeycutt and Keith Stewart had been voted Mr. and Miss Echoing Memories. They shot pictures of Dan Ferrell and Carol Barefoot as Beau and Belle. The Most Talented went to Yvonne McLean and Glenn Dennis who were pictured playing with the fair’s horses. The Lollipop Stand was the setting for the Most Likely to Succeed honorees, Gaynell Lee and Danny Gardner. The Most School Spirited went to Janice Turlington and Ronald Rowland. Ann Pope and Kent Turlington were voted Best All Around. The class decided that Charles Ogburn and Debbie Joyner were the Neatest pair. Most Courteous went to Jennie Danenburg and Ritchie Byrd. Who had been the fun loving pair of the seniors? Ronnie Stewart and Susan Stewart were thought to be the Wittiest. Lynn Adams and Doug Stevens won Most Athletic while Rita Ammons and Haywood Collier were winners of the Most Intellectual. Danny Ferguson and Sarah Johnson were the Friendliest couple and Robert Barefoot and Kay Guin were the Most Original. Marc Powell and Connie Neighbors had been thought to be Most Dependable seniors and Denise Butts and Randy Holmes were the Best Sports. Donna Penny and Larry Weaver were the Cutest in the class.
Other honors recorded in the 1973 yearbook were that Keith Stewart had performed well on the football field and as a senior of 1972-73, he had won All-Conference and All-East Honorable Mention as a linebacker. Robert Walters was recognized as All-Conference halfback. Kent Turlington had won All-Conference as the quarterback. Ronnie Stewart was outstanding on the football field and basketball court but Ronnie is out standing in a tree in his yearbook to denote that he was voted FHA Beau for 1973 and Debbie Honeycutt was picked as the FFA Sweetheart. Gaynell Lee was voted as Miss Coats High by the student body and was the first black student to win that title since the merger of the black and white school in 1967 (1973 Coats Echoing Memories).
Much was happening outside the campus at the high school. The Coats town officials were moving forward with a plan to increase the population of the town. The Town was preparing to annex two separate areas into its corporate limits. One was designated as the northern area and the other as the southern. The map was on file. All town services were proposed for the annexation.
The same Daily Record June 6, 1973 edition wrote that Airman David Barnes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie R. Barnes, of Route 2, Angier, had been assigned to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. He was a 1972 graduate of Coats High School and had attended NC State University.
Elsewhere, Silas Milton Stephenson, 70, of Benson had died on Sunday. He was sibling of Mrs. Katie Dorman and Benny Ray Stephenson.  Do you recognize those names? If so, I bet you also recognize the following name. Mrs. Ophelia Roberts, postmistress of Coats, had attended the annual convention of the N.C. Postmasters Association aboard the cruise ship M.S. Southward (Daily Record June 6, 1973).
Last Thursday proved to be another interesting museum day with many drop in visitors as well as some who had called to inform us that they were coming. Lora Giles Carter from Eastover and Frankie Giles Contratto from Virginia, daughters of Ila Coats Giles who grew up in the Aversaboro area of Harnett County, visited the museum with husbands  and Lora’s son Glenn to add a plaque to the Kress and Nell Penny Williams Exhibit Hall to honor the memory of their mom. The ladies are great-great nieces of the James Thomas Coats, the town’s namesake. Two of the museum’s most faithful volunteers and generous supporters, Patsy and Stacy Avery, have given a memorial to honor Elsie Avery who was mother to Bill, David and Danny. Thank you, Stacy, Patsy, Lora and Frankie for remembering these special ladies in your lives.
Former museum board member, Ralph Denning, is always welcomed by the volunteers because he makes the workers feel so appreciated. While at the museum, Ralph was able to meet Frank Lewis of Lillington Museum Committee and hear some of the plans in the works for the county’s newest museum. Thank you goes to Ralph for all he does for the museum.
Joe Tart came by for a few minutes to loan some items for display- three beautiful bonnets from his Aunt Frances Tart and are thought to have been made by either Frances or her mother-in-law Nannie Matthews. Who remembers Lloyd and Agnes Dixon Hall? Did you know that their son-in-law, Rudy Eubanks, was a member of the US Navy Blue Angels? Joe brought one of Rudy’s flight suits and documentation of Rudy’s being a Blue Angel for display in one of our military displays. Thank you very much Joe. Also, Joe does many good deeds for the community and Jeanette D. Johnson acknowledged that fact by giving an honorarium to the museum for Joe Tart last week. Thank you, Jeanette.