October 17, 2011 Coats Museum News
So how many of our readers knew where Deputy “Dol” Mitchell and Ken Matthews lived in the Coats area as questioned in last week’s column? Grace Stewart Penny was right on target with the answers. Grace, daughter of WWI veteran Malcolm (M.C.) Stewart and wife of WWII veteran Edd Penny called and shared that Dol Mitchell lived about two miles east of Campbell University on the Old Stage Road. His grandson Reid Upchurch also lived in that house which is almost behind the Penny house and next to the Don Bennett house near the intersection of NC 27 and Old Stage Road. Grace recalled that Ken Matthews and his wife Katie Mitchell Matthews lived on NC Highway 55 north of Ma’s Grill in the house in which Jeff and Tanya Turlington live. Grace also shared that her husband ‘s parents, Joe and Louella Penny, once boarded school teachers even though the Pennys had a house full of young children. Wonder if any of the following teachers were the ones who stayed with the Penny family. Could some of them have taught in the colored schools?
The January 24, 1923 edition of the Harnett County News printed the following list of teachers with addresses from Coats, Angier, Benson and Duke: Mr. C.D. Stewart (Benson), Miss Dona Ennis (Benson), Mrs. Naomi Hudson (Coats, RDF), Miss Antha Colclough (Benson), Miss Mattie Brickhouse (Angier), Miss Ila Dupree (Angier), Mr. T.T. Lanier (Coats), Miss Annie Kenyon (Coats), Miss Mary Barbour (Coats), Miss Ruth Mary Gaylor (Coats), Miss Sadie Markham (Coats), Miss Eva Jackson (Coats), Miss Rosa Jane Knott (Coats), Mr. Ralvin McLeod (Duke 2), Miss Gertie Hight (Duke 2), Miss Hettie Ennis (Duke 2), Miss Ethel Graham (Duke 2), Miss Mollie Morris(Duke 2), Mrs. O.M. Johnson (Duke 2),Mr. J.W. Bordeaux (Duke 2), Miss Mae Crumpler (Duke 2), Miss Lillian Spence(Duke 2), Miss Susan Payne (Coats), and Miss Myrtle Stewart (Coats).
What were the expectations from the students who were taught by those above named teachers? A county commencement and field day was held in Lillington on March 24, 1923, which may give some insight on what was learned in the various grades.
N.A. Townsend, N.C. State Representative of Harnett County, addressed the attendees at the commencement. He spoke with regard to the new school law which he had piloted through the legislature. Wonder what that law was? Could it have been about compulsory attendance for certain age groups? Maybe it was about the number of school days the students were to attend. Was it about who could ride or drive the school trucks? Do any of our readers know of what legislation our legislator was speaking?
We do know that the Harnett County News March 29,1923 edition reported that each grade participated in the commencement and field day and that each school had selected one student per grade by March 20th to participate in activities which had required special preparation.
The First Grade contest required the children to meet in a classroom and listen to a story new to them. This story was brief and appropriate for the First Grade. That sounds the same as earlier commencements I have written about before, doesn’t it? The children then went into another classroom one at a time and had to repeat the story before competent judges. Wonder what that meant?
The Second Grade contest was identical to the first except it was appropriate to their grade level. The Third Grade competition consisted of addition and subtraction. Time and accuracy determined the winner. Grade Four students were required to do long division of not more than two figures and no remainder in quotient. Speed and accuracy determined the winner. Grade Five was a contest in story writing. The teacher presented a picture, a few questions and statement from this teacher as a guide. The students had 25 minutes to write a complete story suggested by the picture. Sixth Grade students had to write a letter. The kind of letter and its contents were announced at the time of the competition which was not to be more than 20 minutes. Simple facts relating to geography and history, which all students should have known, were needed to write the letter. Plenty of latitude was given to the choice of material of the student. Neatness, correct punctuation, style, and content were given due consideration. Grade Seven completion consisted of a spelling contest of 50 words from Mastery of Words Book II. Should more than one spell all words correctly, the contest continued until the best speller won. The first place winners in each contest received $2.50 in gold and the second place winners received a $1.00 silver coin. Did you say, ”WOW” ?
Question-since there was no competition for Grade Eight, does that mean that Grade Eight was considered to be in High School?
That afternoon the athletic events began at 1:30 in the Lillington baseball park. Professor B.D. Dunn served as director of Folk dances and stunts by Grade One; All Indian Club race, six girls, distance 30 yards; Bean Bag Kick, 30 yards and back to line; Chariot Race, three boys, 25 yards and back to line; Flag and Bottle Race,10 feet from starting line to first circle (circle 15 feet apart); 300 yard relay, four girls; Three-legged Race, 2 boys, distance 25 yards; Over the Rope Relay, six girls, 25 yards. Wheelbarrow Race, 2 boys, distance 25 yards; and Partner Relay, 4 boys.
Recall that these students had already competed against classmates in the local schools. Due to all the manual farm labor and physical chores required at home, don’t you imagine these student competitors were” lean and mean”?
Read next week for more about the field day and read the names of the competent judges who participated in the 1923 event.
Last Saturday, a group of Coats Museum volunteers and Kiwanis friends went to the Rankin Museum of American Heritage in Ellerbe, N.C. to tour the remarkable museum that was given the massive collection of Dr. Rankin and local donors. From there, the group traveled to Camp Millstone 4-H Camp for the dedication of the Juanita Ogburn Hudson and Mack Hudson 4-H Courtyard and &Gardens. Thanks to the generosity of their sons, Kent Hudson and Michael Hudson, and to Coy Broadwell, this generous gift will be of much benefit to the 4-H youth who visit the camp each year. It was a good event and the weather was perfect for the outdoors dedication.
A special thank you goes to a friend of the museum who gave gifts to the Coats Museum Endowment for the birthdays of the late Jonah C. Johnson and Kress Williams and to honor Lynda Butler on her birthday. Special visitors from far away also visited the museum on Sunday and I will share information about them next week.
Please be mindful that this article was published in October of 2011 in the Daily Record.
So how many of our readers knew where Deputy “Dol” Mitchell and Ken Matthews lived in the Coats area as questioned in last week’s column? Grace Stewart Penny was right on target with the answers. Grace, daughter of WWI veteran Malcolm (M.C.) Stewart and wife of WWII veteran Edd Penny called and shared that Dol Mitchell lived about two miles east of Campbell University on the Old Stage Road. His grandson Reid Upchurch also lived in that house which is almost behind the Penny house and next to the Don Bennett house near the intersection of NC 27 and Old Stage Road. Grace recalled that Ken Matthews and his wife Katie Mitchell Matthews lived on NC Highway 55 north of Ma’s Grill in the house in which Jeff and Tanya Turlington live. Grace also shared that her husband ‘s parents, Joe and Louella Penny, once boarded school teachers even though the Pennys had a house full of young children. Wonder if any of the following teachers were the ones who stayed with the Penny family. Could some of them have taught in the colored schools?
The January 24, 1923 edition of the Harnett County News printed the following list of teachers with addresses from Coats, Angier, Benson and Duke: Mr. C.D. Stewart (Benson), Miss Dona Ennis (Benson), Mrs. Naomi Hudson (Coats, RDF), Miss Antha Colclough (Benson), Miss Mattie Brickhouse (Angier), Miss Ila Dupree (Angier), Mr. T.T. Lanier (Coats), Miss Annie Kenyon (Coats), Miss Mary Barbour (Coats), Miss Ruth Mary Gaylor (Coats), Miss Sadie Markham (Coats), Miss Eva Jackson (Coats), Miss Rosa Jane Knott (Coats), Mr. Ralvin McLeod (Duke 2), Miss Gertie Hight (Duke 2), Miss Hettie Ennis (Duke 2), Miss Ethel Graham (Duke 2), Miss Mollie Morris(Duke 2), Mrs. O.M. Johnson (Duke 2),Mr. J.W. Bordeaux (Duke 2), Miss Mae Crumpler (Duke 2), Miss Lillian Spence(Duke 2), Miss Susan Payne (Coats), and Miss Myrtle Stewart (Coats).
What were the expectations from the students who were taught by those above named teachers? A county commencement and field day was held in Lillington on March 24, 1923, which may give some insight on what was learned in the various grades.
N.A. Townsend, N.C. State Representative of Harnett County, addressed the attendees at the commencement. He spoke with regard to the new school law which he had piloted through the legislature. Wonder what that law was? Could it have been about compulsory attendance for certain age groups? Maybe it was about the number of school days the students were to attend. Was it about who could ride or drive the school trucks? Do any of our readers know of what legislation our legislator was speaking?
We do know that the Harnett County News March 29,1923 edition reported that each grade participated in the commencement and field day and that each school had selected one student per grade by March 20th to participate in activities which had required special preparation.
The First Grade contest required the children to meet in a classroom and listen to a story new to them. This story was brief and appropriate for the First Grade. That sounds the same as earlier commencements I have written about before, doesn’t it? The children then went into another classroom one at a time and had to repeat the story before competent judges. Wonder what that meant?
The Second Grade contest was identical to the first except it was appropriate to their grade level. The Third Grade competition consisted of addition and subtraction. Time and accuracy determined the winner. Grade Four students were required to do long division of not more than two figures and no remainder in quotient. Speed and accuracy determined the winner. Grade Five was a contest in story writing. The teacher presented a picture, a few questions and statement from this teacher as a guide. The students had 25 minutes to write a complete story suggested by the picture. Sixth Grade students had to write a letter. The kind of letter and its contents were announced at the time of the competition which was not to be more than 20 minutes. Simple facts relating to geography and history, which all students should have known, were needed to write the letter. Plenty of latitude was given to the choice of material of the student. Neatness, correct punctuation, style, and content were given due consideration. Grade Seven completion consisted of a spelling contest of 50 words from Mastery of Words Book II. Should more than one spell all words correctly, the contest continued until the best speller won. The first place winners in each contest received $2.50 in gold and the second place winners received a $1.00 silver coin. Did you say, ”WOW” ?
Question-since there was no competition for Grade Eight, does that mean that Grade Eight was considered to be in High School?
That afternoon the athletic events began at 1:30 in the Lillington baseball park. Professor B.D. Dunn served as director of Folk dances and stunts by Grade One; All Indian Club race, six girls, distance 30 yards; Bean Bag Kick, 30 yards and back to line; Chariot Race, three boys, 25 yards and back to line; Flag and Bottle Race,10 feet from starting line to first circle (circle 15 feet apart); 300 yard relay, four girls; Three-legged Race, 2 boys, distance 25 yards; Over the Rope Relay, six girls, 25 yards. Wheelbarrow Race, 2 boys, distance 25 yards; and Partner Relay, 4 boys.
Recall that these students had already competed against classmates in the local schools. Due to all the manual farm labor and physical chores required at home, don’t you imagine these student competitors were” lean and mean”?
Read next week for more about the field day and read the names of the competent judges who participated in the 1923 event.
Last Saturday, a group of Coats Museum volunteers and Kiwanis friends went to the Rankin Museum of American Heritage in Ellerbe, N.C. to tour the remarkable museum that was given the massive collection of Dr. Rankin and local donors. From there, the group traveled to Camp Millstone 4-H Camp for the dedication of the Juanita Ogburn Hudson and Mack Hudson 4-H Courtyard and &Gardens. Thanks to the generosity of their sons, Kent Hudson and Michael Hudson, and to Coy Broadwell, this generous gift will be of much benefit to the 4-H youth who visit the camp each year. It was a good event and the weather was perfect for the outdoors dedication.
A special thank you goes to a friend of the museum who gave gifts to the Coats Museum Endowment for the birthdays of the late Jonah C. Johnson and Kress Williams and to honor Lynda Butler on her birthday. Special visitors from far away also visited the museum on Sunday and I will share information about them next week.
Please be mindful that this article was published in October of 2011 in the Daily Record.