November 18, 2016 Coats Museum News
A Halloween Carnival was planned for the Coats High School and chicken plates were to be available for 50 cents and a dollar. Can one even buy a piece of chicken for that in 2016? I do know that a parade of 1960 stars (radio and TV), a bargain store, fishing, bingo, cakewalk and dancing were planned. Likely the Layton Godwin family was more concerned with his health and the Faircloth family with the death of Mr. Almond F. Faircloth, 72, of Erwin. Mr. Faircloth was the father of Mrs. J.W. Johnson of rural Coats (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1960).
Another family in rural Coats experienced the sting of death. Mr. Charles Ennis had died. He was survived by his wife, Evelyn Johnson Ennis and two children-Linda Sue and Charles. On a happier note, several local exhibitors had won at the NC State Fair. Among the winners were Carson Gregory, Joe Gregory, Larry Stephenson, Linda Turlington, and H.A. Turlington, Jr. and Sr. Gerald Langdon had exhibited in the Poland China Swine division (Daily Record Oct. 28, 1960).
H.A. Turlington had been chosen by the John F. Kennedy for President Committee to chair the Harnett County Farmers for Kennedy-Johnson Committee. The news was also recording that many individuals in the community were in the hospital-Mrs. Myrtle Johnson, Grasilla Cameron, Mrs. Myrtle Williams, Mrs. Hettie Byrd, and Mrs. Willadean Johnson.
The Saturday death of a former church leader and beloved educator, Owen Odum, had surely saddened the area .Surviving Mr. Odum were his wife, Anna Lee Kelly Odum; daughters, Christine and Lois; and son, Dwight Odum. Frances Kelly Langdon was his foster daughter and Oscar Odum was his brother (Daily Record Oct. 31, 1960).
Mrs. Nell Penny Williams who was a student under Mr. Odum and was later a teacher at Coats School had wonderful things to say about the late Mr. Odum. When Nell was going to enter East Carolina Teachers College in Greenville, N.C., her dad, Joe Penny, was unable to drive her to college because he needed new tires on his car which were hard to come by in that era. She recalled that Mr. Odum drove her to Greenville and helped her enroll. She remembered he knew exactly how to properly enroll her. She said she really appreciated what Mr. Odum did this for her (2004 Interview with Nell Penny Williams age 93).
Another family lost a loved one when Mrs. Mary Johnson Cook died on Tuesday. She was the daughter of James Bartley and Olive Stephenson. She was survived by her husband, A.M. Cook; two sons, J. Bartley and Garner Cook, and two daughters, Mrs. Roger (Callie) Williams and Mrs. Ray Hart of Angier (Daily Record Nov. 1, 1960).
Another recognition came to the ladies in the Oakdale HD Club as they were designated the Harnett County’s most outstanding club on achievement night but no mention in the news was why they deserved this recognition. The paper, however, does write that little William Thurman Tart was a hospital patient and Alphin Bros. of Dunn and Earl Ennis’ Self Service of Coats were both robbed of merchandise and cash (Daily Record Nov. 3, 1960).
It had been election time in 1960 and the officials had predicted the largest voter turnout ever in Harnett County. Over 1,000 or more new voters were put on the books. Elsewhere, President Dwight Eisenhower revealed that he had not had a driver’s license in 38 years. Did they have absentee voting in 1960? Hazel Mae McNeill and Master Johnnie Lewis were patients in the Betsy Johnson Hospital (Daily Record Nov. 4, 1960).
It was birthday time in the Delbert Lockamy house. Little Helen Rose Lockamy was ten years old and she celebrated it with games and friends who were Cathy Norris, Bill House, Alice Faircloth, Carolyn Denning, Raeford Johnson, and Dickie Westbrook. That was a bunch of good children for I would years later have several of them sitting for a year in my English class.
Another gathering occurred when Mrs. Ben Upchurch and Mrs. Baxton Pollard hosted the WMU of Pleasant Grove Church. Miss Mattie Bain spoke on her trip to Gloriaetta. The ladies who listened to the talk were Mrs. Helen Cutts, Mrs. Walter Franklin, Mrs. Henry Holmes, Mrs. Carlie McLamb, Mrs. Baxton Pollard, Mrs. Albert Turlington, Mrs. Stonewall Turlington and Mrs. Irvin Stephens (Daily Record Nov. 7, 1960). Is Gloriaetta familiar to anyone?
People in the area continued to be sick and news of winners at fairs continued to be announced. First, the ill were Mrs. Ruby Stevens at Betsy Johnson Hospital and Mrs. Nettie Sorrell at Good Hope. Winners at the Four County Fair were Annie Belle Jones, Mrs. R.E. Allen, Sandra Poole, Laura Frances Johnson, Larry Stephenson, L.H. Altman and Carol Jones (Daily Record Nov. 8, 1960).
Some news is better than no news but don’t you bet that the families would like to know why the folks were in the hospital and what the winners contested to get the ribbons at the fair. Wonder if the winners kept any of the ribbons or possibly the item that won. I do know that we once displayed in the museum a quart jar of green beans that had won a prize at the NC State Fair back in the 1920’s from Juanita Hudson’s family. The beans were placed in the jar standing up like little soldiers rather than just topsy-turvy like are done today. We have a jar of grape hulls that were made with rationed sugar by Mrs. Clara Denning Dupree on display in our Old Kitchen Exhibit.
The election was over in the nation and the results of the votes in Harnett County disclosed that the Democrats had voted for John F. Kennedy in the amount of 7871 votes while Richard Nixon had received 5240.
The Coats area was likely shocked to hear of the sudden death of E.T. Malone. He was struck down by a fatal heart attack at Wrightsville Beach on a Tuesday night. He was a former truant officer for the Harnett Schools and at the time of his death, he was probation officer for New Hanover Schools. Survivors were his wife, Mrs. Mildred Winborne Malone; three sons-E.T. (Teddy), Jr., Johnny and Charles (Daily Record Nov. 10, 1960). Did you remember that Mr. Malone and Malcolm Fowler operated a business in Coats?
The officials of Harnett County were preparing to sell the Cornelius Harnett boarding school at auction (Daily Record Nov.14, 1960).Does anyone know the history of this boarding school? I do know that Miss Vickie Moore, Mrs. Martha Norris, Mrs. Alice Dixon, and Allen Bryant were patients in Good Hope Hospital (Daily Record Nov. 14, 1960).
Two dozen girls competed in the Miss Coats High beauty pageant. The money raised by the pageant went toward drapes in the auditorium. Last year’s queen, Miss Ann Beasley, crowned the winner. Lois Ann Johnson, the Surles twins, and June Powell were the entertainment. Who were the contestants? Linda Ennis, Sandra Wolf, Gail Stewart, Vickie Gauldin, Brenda Stephenson, Kay Ennis, Brenda Sorrell, Peggy Moore, Lynda Stewart, Linda Stone, Gwen Flowers, Libby Turlington, Carol Jones, Gail Myatt, Cheryl Dorman, Jean Smith, Dottie Bowden, Brenda Whitman, Judy Elliott, Nora Avery, Carolyn Page, Pat Collier, Barbara Faircloth, and Eloise Johnson.
A special thank you goes to Sandra Kay Howard for the gift of a copy of the third edition of Malcolm Fowler’s They Passed This Way. The 1st edition of this book was published in 1955 as a part of the Harnett County Centennial. Disappointing to note is there is so little information in it about Coats and that fact encouraged a group of Coats volunteers to research the history of Coats and Grove Townships and to publish our own 2005 centennial book, The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina. The two volume 1100 page hardcover books contains family genealogies, chronological history of the Coats area, names of rural and town businesses, histories of churches, medical people, aviators, Black River Tigers, Life and Folklore and much, much more that would likely never have recorded if we had not felt that our community deserved to have its heritage preserved.
It was wonderful to converse with Mrs. Mildred Harmon Wiggins at the Howard House where her husband, the late Dr. Norman Wiggins, was honored for his role in forming a Harnett County Community Fund affiliated with the NC Community Foundation which has helped support so many worthy causes in our county and state. Thank you goes to Bennie Harmon who presented five yardsticks that were advertisements for Rose Funeral Home, Miller Furniture and Barnes Lee Chevrolet in Benson and Coats Pharmacy and Howard Barnes Philco in Coats. Thank you, Clyde Ennis, Jr. for donating these and many other items from his Bent Harmon family. Clyde and Bennie are nephews of Mrs. Wiggins and grandsons of the late Bent Harmon.
Bennie and Joan visited the museum on Farmers Day and brought along Joan’s mom, Mrs. Marjorie B. McDuffie, who gave a memorial to the Coats Museum Endowment to honor Stacy Dexter Byrd who had a remarkable military record and worked with NASA. He was predeceased by his parents, Maylon and Ellie Byrd and sister, Gertrude Byrd.
A Halloween Carnival was planned for the Coats High School and chicken plates were to be available for 50 cents and a dollar. Can one even buy a piece of chicken for that in 2016? I do know that a parade of 1960 stars (radio and TV), a bargain store, fishing, bingo, cakewalk and dancing were planned. Likely the Layton Godwin family was more concerned with his health and the Faircloth family with the death of Mr. Almond F. Faircloth, 72, of Erwin. Mr. Faircloth was the father of Mrs. J.W. Johnson of rural Coats (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1960).
Another family in rural Coats experienced the sting of death. Mr. Charles Ennis had died. He was survived by his wife, Evelyn Johnson Ennis and two children-Linda Sue and Charles. On a happier note, several local exhibitors had won at the NC State Fair. Among the winners were Carson Gregory, Joe Gregory, Larry Stephenson, Linda Turlington, and H.A. Turlington, Jr. and Sr. Gerald Langdon had exhibited in the Poland China Swine division (Daily Record Oct. 28, 1960).
H.A. Turlington had been chosen by the John F. Kennedy for President Committee to chair the Harnett County Farmers for Kennedy-Johnson Committee. The news was also recording that many individuals in the community were in the hospital-Mrs. Myrtle Johnson, Grasilla Cameron, Mrs. Myrtle Williams, Mrs. Hettie Byrd, and Mrs. Willadean Johnson.
The Saturday death of a former church leader and beloved educator, Owen Odum, had surely saddened the area .Surviving Mr. Odum were his wife, Anna Lee Kelly Odum; daughters, Christine and Lois; and son, Dwight Odum. Frances Kelly Langdon was his foster daughter and Oscar Odum was his brother (Daily Record Oct. 31, 1960).
Mrs. Nell Penny Williams who was a student under Mr. Odum and was later a teacher at Coats School had wonderful things to say about the late Mr. Odum. When Nell was going to enter East Carolina Teachers College in Greenville, N.C., her dad, Joe Penny, was unable to drive her to college because he needed new tires on his car which were hard to come by in that era. She recalled that Mr. Odum drove her to Greenville and helped her enroll. She remembered he knew exactly how to properly enroll her. She said she really appreciated what Mr. Odum did this for her (2004 Interview with Nell Penny Williams age 93).
Another family lost a loved one when Mrs. Mary Johnson Cook died on Tuesday. She was the daughter of James Bartley and Olive Stephenson. She was survived by her husband, A.M. Cook; two sons, J. Bartley and Garner Cook, and two daughters, Mrs. Roger (Callie) Williams and Mrs. Ray Hart of Angier (Daily Record Nov. 1, 1960).
Another recognition came to the ladies in the Oakdale HD Club as they were designated the Harnett County’s most outstanding club on achievement night but no mention in the news was why they deserved this recognition. The paper, however, does write that little William Thurman Tart was a hospital patient and Alphin Bros. of Dunn and Earl Ennis’ Self Service of Coats were both robbed of merchandise and cash (Daily Record Nov. 3, 1960).
It had been election time in 1960 and the officials had predicted the largest voter turnout ever in Harnett County. Over 1,000 or more new voters were put on the books. Elsewhere, President Dwight Eisenhower revealed that he had not had a driver’s license in 38 years. Did they have absentee voting in 1960? Hazel Mae McNeill and Master Johnnie Lewis were patients in the Betsy Johnson Hospital (Daily Record Nov. 4, 1960).
It was birthday time in the Delbert Lockamy house. Little Helen Rose Lockamy was ten years old and she celebrated it with games and friends who were Cathy Norris, Bill House, Alice Faircloth, Carolyn Denning, Raeford Johnson, and Dickie Westbrook. That was a bunch of good children for I would years later have several of them sitting for a year in my English class.
Another gathering occurred when Mrs. Ben Upchurch and Mrs. Baxton Pollard hosted the WMU of Pleasant Grove Church. Miss Mattie Bain spoke on her trip to Gloriaetta. The ladies who listened to the talk were Mrs. Helen Cutts, Mrs. Walter Franklin, Mrs. Henry Holmes, Mrs. Carlie McLamb, Mrs. Baxton Pollard, Mrs. Albert Turlington, Mrs. Stonewall Turlington and Mrs. Irvin Stephens (Daily Record Nov. 7, 1960). Is Gloriaetta familiar to anyone?
People in the area continued to be sick and news of winners at fairs continued to be announced. First, the ill were Mrs. Ruby Stevens at Betsy Johnson Hospital and Mrs. Nettie Sorrell at Good Hope. Winners at the Four County Fair were Annie Belle Jones, Mrs. R.E. Allen, Sandra Poole, Laura Frances Johnson, Larry Stephenson, L.H. Altman and Carol Jones (Daily Record Nov. 8, 1960).
Some news is better than no news but don’t you bet that the families would like to know why the folks were in the hospital and what the winners contested to get the ribbons at the fair. Wonder if the winners kept any of the ribbons or possibly the item that won. I do know that we once displayed in the museum a quart jar of green beans that had won a prize at the NC State Fair back in the 1920’s from Juanita Hudson’s family. The beans were placed in the jar standing up like little soldiers rather than just topsy-turvy like are done today. We have a jar of grape hulls that were made with rationed sugar by Mrs. Clara Denning Dupree on display in our Old Kitchen Exhibit.
The election was over in the nation and the results of the votes in Harnett County disclosed that the Democrats had voted for John F. Kennedy in the amount of 7871 votes while Richard Nixon had received 5240.
The Coats area was likely shocked to hear of the sudden death of E.T. Malone. He was struck down by a fatal heart attack at Wrightsville Beach on a Tuesday night. He was a former truant officer for the Harnett Schools and at the time of his death, he was probation officer for New Hanover Schools. Survivors were his wife, Mrs. Mildred Winborne Malone; three sons-E.T. (Teddy), Jr., Johnny and Charles (Daily Record Nov. 10, 1960). Did you remember that Mr. Malone and Malcolm Fowler operated a business in Coats?
The officials of Harnett County were preparing to sell the Cornelius Harnett boarding school at auction (Daily Record Nov.14, 1960).Does anyone know the history of this boarding school? I do know that Miss Vickie Moore, Mrs. Martha Norris, Mrs. Alice Dixon, and Allen Bryant were patients in Good Hope Hospital (Daily Record Nov. 14, 1960).
Two dozen girls competed in the Miss Coats High beauty pageant. The money raised by the pageant went toward drapes in the auditorium. Last year’s queen, Miss Ann Beasley, crowned the winner. Lois Ann Johnson, the Surles twins, and June Powell were the entertainment. Who were the contestants? Linda Ennis, Sandra Wolf, Gail Stewart, Vickie Gauldin, Brenda Stephenson, Kay Ennis, Brenda Sorrell, Peggy Moore, Lynda Stewart, Linda Stone, Gwen Flowers, Libby Turlington, Carol Jones, Gail Myatt, Cheryl Dorman, Jean Smith, Dottie Bowden, Brenda Whitman, Judy Elliott, Nora Avery, Carolyn Page, Pat Collier, Barbara Faircloth, and Eloise Johnson.
A special thank you goes to Sandra Kay Howard for the gift of a copy of the third edition of Malcolm Fowler’s They Passed This Way. The 1st edition of this book was published in 1955 as a part of the Harnett County Centennial. Disappointing to note is there is so little information in it about Coats and that fact encouraged a group of Coats volunteers to research the history of Coats and Grove Townships and to publish our own 2005 centennial book, The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina. The two volume 1100 page hardcover books contains family genealogies, chronological history of the Coats area, names of rural and town businesses, histories of churches, medical people, aviators, Black River Tigers, Life and Folklore and much, much more that would likely never have recorded if we had not felt that our community deserved to have its heritage preserved.
It was wonderful to converse with Mrs. Mildred Harmon Wiggins at the Howard House where her husband, the late Dr. Norman Wiggins, was honored for his role in forming a Harnett County Community Fund affiliated with the NC Community Foundation which has helped support so many worthy causes in our county and state. Thank you goes to Bennie Harmon who presented five yardsticks that were advertisements for Rose Funeral Home, Miller Furniture and Barnes Lee Chevrolet in Benson and Coats Pharmacy and Howard Barnes Philco in Coats. Thank you, Clyde Ennis, Jr. for donating these and many other items from his Bent Harmon family. Clyde and Bennie are nephews of Mrs. Wiggins and grandsons of the late Bent Harmon.
Bennie and Joan visited the museum on Farmers Day and brought along Joan’s mom, Mrs. Marjorie B. McDuffie, who gave a memorial to the Coats Museum Endowment to honor Stacy Dexter Byrd who had a remarkable military record and worked with NASA. He was predeceased by his parents, Maylon and Ellie Byrd and sister, Gertrude Byrd.
