October 14, 2022 Coats Museum News
As we grow older, it seems that we make this statement more often: “So many people my age are sick or dying”. When reading the obituaries, we discover that in many cases we did not even know that they were kin to us or kin to someone we know. While researching the Daily Record for information to write The Heritage of Coats, N.C., we discovered so much information about the human side of Coats history as the paper printed items about showers, weddings, births, sicknesses, deaths, pageants and so much more.
For example in the May 9, 1991 edition of the Daily Record, the paper printed that sixteen of Coats residents were either sick or shut in: Sherrill Coats, J.H. Godwin, Johnnie V. Williams, Ludie Bryant, Lillian Earp, Frances Cook, Bartley Cook, Wilheminia Johnson, Billy Ray Ennis, Doc Denning, Blanche Gregory, Grady Matthews, Bullet Johnson, Leon Williams and Tommy Stone.
Then we read about pageants when the paper shared that Tessa Danenburg was crowned prom queen at Triton High School. Tessa was the daughter of Dianna and Allen Danenburg and Tessa is now, in 2022, the mother of two beautiful daughters making outstanding school and community achievements for themselves.
Then we read obituaries in the paper to gather information. An obituary that hit close to home was the write-up of Maude Penny Sorrell’s death. My daughter Lenee’ was to graduate from Peace College and had come down to Zack Mill Road to visit her grandparents a few days before graduation. Grandmother Maude would tell Lenee how badly she wanted to go her graduation but was too sick to do so. She died two days later and Lenee’ commented that she felt that Grandmother Sorrell did get to see her graduate from up above.
I learned so much from this lady. She talked of her Aunt Laura’s husband Bennie Byrd building the old Coats Hotel around 1908 and her dad Joe Penny helping him do so. She spoke of Aunt “Lizzie” and her husband Will Turlington being Sheriff of Harnett County. Then there was Gertrude who married Sam Byrd of Bunnlevel and recalled her family visiting them on a buggy. She vividly described driving a school truck to take students to school and how frightening it was to drive on the hills near her home.
She was proud that two of her brothers-Ed and Howard Penny – fought in WWII. She spoke of Uncle Tom Coats who just happened to be half brother to her Granddaddy Henry Penny. I learned that not only was her Granddaddy Henry Penny a twin but also his half brother James Thomas Coats was also a twin to Ben Coats who stayed in Johnston County while Thomas Coats came to the area and bought land from Daniel Shaw heirs in 1875-76 and upon that land the town of Coats was established.
She taught me how important family is and how helping each other was so important. She recalled that her father Joe Penny had given her a farm in Johnston County the same way that her Granddaddy Joseph Lassiter had given her Mother Louella one in the area now referred to as Pennyville.
She shared how important neighbors are. She talked of the Rowland family. The Rowland family and Granddaddy built their houses at the same time. The Joe Penny house still stands and is the home of his Granddaughter Cathy and her husband Ronnie McLamb. The Rowland family home burned. She remembered that Mrs. Rowland helped Louella with delivering of the Penny children. She remembered small things about how good the biscuits were that Mrs. Rowland cooked. Not until later did I learn that the Rowlands were a very prominent black family in the community.
I could write a book on all the stories I learned from Maude and Lentis Sorrell. I am indebted to the impact they had on my life not only from their love but also for the tremendous amount of history that flowed from their memories and fed my desire to learn more.
The obituary shared that Maude Penny Sorrell, 83, had died on Saturday. She was daughter of the late Louella Lassiter Penny and Joseph Hawkins Penny. Her services were held at the Rose and Graham Funeral Home in Benson. Burial was in the Penny Family plot of the Coats City Cemetery.
Surviving her were her husband, Howard Lentis Sorrell, Sr., children- Helen Stephenson, Betty Lou Sorrell, Opal Coats, Billy, Willie Joe, Don, H.L., Jr. and Keith Sorrell. Her siblings were Nell Williams, Grace Carroll, Joe H. Penny, Jr., Howard, and Ed Penny. Roy and Haywood Penny predeceased her (Daily Record May 13, 1991).
Other news of May 14, 1991 was that the Coats Middle School, No. 2 –seed, thumped Lillington 19-0. Richard Beasley pitched a 3-hit shutout facing 19 batters in the 5 endings with 10 strikeouts and only two walks (May 14, 1991).
Christina Lenee’ Sorrell graduated from Peace College, a Presbyterian Girls College (now William Peace University). She had been awarded several scholarships to attend the college. She had been accepted to attend NCSU in the fall. Surely some of the excitement of graduation was dampened since her Grandmother Maude had died two days earlier.
A very happy event was planned for a lawn wedding on May 31st. Jenny Williams, daughter of Belle and Thomas Williams and Danny Pollard, son of the Lottie Pollard and the late Paul Pollard who had died less than a month earlier (Daily Record May 15, 1991).
If you have not purchased the Defenders of the Red, White and Blue veterans book published by the Coats Museum volunteers, you should consider it. A story written by Garth Bowling from Thomas Williams’ journal is an absolutely remarkable picture of what some of our WW II veterans encountered on the battlefields. Growing up on a farm, I always thought of Mr. Thomas Williams only as our mailman but after reading his journal, he will now always be appreciated as a brave soldier. The same thing is true of so many of our Vietnam veterans like Junior Barbour whom I rode to school on the same bus to Coats School but-now he is an amazing hero who risked his all for us to enjoy our beautiful life with freedom.
Thank you goes to Betty F. White, Joe and Laila Turlington, Rhonda and Randy Stephenson, Gail Denning and Wayne and Sherry Royal for remembering Devon More. Thank you goes Randy and Rhonda and Ralph and Lorena Denning and Lynda and Robie Butler for memorials to Linwood Denning. Marc and Jean Powell and Ralph and Lorena remembered Ann Beasley. How humbled these individuals would be to know they were so loved by many who have given to honor them.
We enjoyed a short visit from Tommy Coats whose company built our display cabinets, He dropped by to give his annual donation and to share some future ideas he has to honor certain individuals who impacted his life.
As we grow older, it seems that we make this statement more often: “So many people my age are sick or dying”. When reading the obituaries, we discover that in many cases we did not even know that they were kin to us or kin to someone we know. While researching the Daily Record for information to write The Heritage of Coats, N.C., we discovered so much information about the human side of Coats history as the paper printed items about showers, weddings, births, sicknesses, deaths, pageants and so much more.
For example in the May 9, 1991 edition of the Daily Record, the paper printed that sixteen of Coats residents were either sick or shut in: Sherrill Coats, J.H. Godwin, Johnnie V. Williams, Ludie Bryant, Lillian Earp, Frances Cook, Bartley Cook, Wilheminia Johnson, Billy Ray Ennis, Doc Denning, Blanche Gregory, Grady Matthews, Bullet Johnson, Leon Williams and Tommy Stone.
Then we read about pageants when the paper shared that Tessa Danenburg was crowned prom queen at Triton High School. Tessa was the daughter of Dianna and Allen Danenburg and Tessa is now, in 2022, the mother of two beautiful daughters making outstanding school and community achievements for themselves.
Then we read obituaries in the paper to gather information. An obituary that hit close to home was the write-up of Maude Penny Sorrell’s death. My daughter Lenee’ was to graduate from Peace College and had come down to Zack Mill Road to visit her grandparents a few days before graduation. Grandmother Maude would tell Lenee how badly she wanted to go her graduation but was too sick to do so. She died two days later and Lenee’ commented that she felt that Grandmother Sorrell did get to see her graduate from up above.
I learned so much from this lady. She talked of her Aunt Laura’s husband Bennie Byrd building the old Coats Hotel around 1908 and her dad Joe Penny helping him do so. She spoke of Aunt “Lizzie” and her husband Will Turlington being Sheriff of Harnett County. Then there was Gertrude who married Sam Byrd of Bunnlevel and recalled her family visiting them on a buggy. She vividly described driving a school truck to take students to school and how frightening it was to drive on the hills near her home.
She was proud that two of her brothers-Ed and Howard Penny – fought in WWII. She spoke of Uncle Tom Coats who just happened to be half brother to her Granddaddy Henry Penny. I learned that not only was her Granddaddy Henry Penny a twin but also his half brother James Thomas Coats was also a twin to Ben Coats who stayed in Johnston County while Thomas Coats came to the area and bought land from Daniel Shaw heirs in 1875-76 and upon that land the town of Coats was established.
She taught me how important family is and how helping each other was so important. She recalled that her father Joe Penny had given her a farm in Johnston County the same way that her Granddaddy Joseph Lassiter had given her Mother Louella one in the area now referred to as Pennyville.
She shared how important neighbors are. She talked of the Rowland family. The Rowland family and Granddaddy built their houses at the same time. The Joe Penny house still stands and is the home of his Granddaughter Cathy and her husband Ronnie McLamb. The Rowland family home burned. She remembered that Mrs. Rowland helped Louella with delivering of the Penny children. She remembered small things about how good the biscuits were that Mrs. Rowland cooked. Not until later did I learn that the Rowlands were a very prominent black family in the community.
I could write a book on all the stories I learned from Maude and Lentis Sorrell. I am indebted to the impact they had on my life not only from their love but also for the tremendous amount of history that flowed from their memories and fed my desire to learn more.
The obituary shared that Maude Penny Sorrell, 83, had died on Saturday. She was daughter of the late Louella Lassiter Penny and Joseph Hawkins Penny. Her services were held at the Rose and Graham Funeral Home in Benson. Burial was in the Penny Family plot of the Coats City Cemetery.
Surviving her were her husband, Howard Lentis Sorrell, Sr., children- Helen Stephenson, Betty Lou Sorrell, Opal Coats, Billy, Willie Joe, Don, H.L., Jr. and Keith Sorrell. Her siblings were Nell Williams, Grace Carroll, Joe H. Penny, Jr., Howard, and Ed Penny. Roy and Haywood Penny predeceased her (Daily Record May 13, 1991).
Other news of May 14, 1991 was that the Coats Middle School, No. 2 –seed, thumped Lillington 19-0. Richard Beasley pitched a 3-hit shutout facing 19 batters in the 5 endings with 10 strikeouts and only two walks (May 14, 1991).
Christina Lenee’ Sorrell graduated from Peace College, a Presbyterian Girls College (now William Peace University). She had been awarded several scholarships to attend the college. She had been accepted to attend NCSU in the fall. Surely some of the excitement of graduation was dampened since her Grandmother Maude had died two days earlier.
A very happy event was planned for a lawn wedding on May 31st. Jenny Williams, daughter of Belle and Thomas Williams and Danny Pollard, son of the Lottie Pollard and the late Paul Pollard who had died less than a month earlier (Daily Record May 15, 1991).
If you have not purchased the Defenders of the Red, White and Blue veterans book published by the Coats Museum volunteers, you should consider it. A story written by Garth Bowling from Thomas Williams’ journal is an absolutely remarkable picture of what some of our WW II veterans encountered on the battlefields. Growing up on a farm, I always thought of Mr. Thomas Williams only as our mailman but after reading his journal, he will now always be appreciated as a brave soldier. The same thing is true of so many of our Vietnam veterans like Junior Barbour whom I rode to school on the same bus to Coats School but-now he is an amazing hero who risked his all for us to enjoy our beautiful life with freedom.
Thank you goes to Betty F. White, Joe and Laila Turlington, Rhonda and Randy Stephenson, Gail Denning and Wayne and Sherry Royal for remembering Devon More. Thank you goes Randy and Rhonda and Ralph and Lorena Denning and Lynda and Robie Butler for memorials to Linwood Denning. Marc and Jean Powell and Ralph and Lorena remembered Ann Beasley. How humbled these individuals would be to know they were so loved by many who have given to honor them.
We enjoyed a short visit from Tommy Coats whose company built our display cabinets, He dropped by to give his annual donation and to share some future ideas he has to honor certain individuals who impacted his life.