October 4, 2019 Coats Museum News
The year was 1980-the year in which Ronald Reagan was elected president and John Lennon was shot and killed. President Carter began a new decade by signing a bill passed by Congress on December 21, 1979, that bailed out the Chrysler Corporation to the tune of $1,500,000,000.A book called The Official Preppie Handbook and a movie called Urban Cowboy helped to elevate the preppie and urban cowboy as the odd couple of the year. A boardless, role-playing game, called Dungeons and Dragons that was created in 1974 -became a big hit. Cable News Network (CNN) debuted. The Moral Majority declared itself. Professional women wearing running shoes were a common urban sight. “Who shot J.R.?”was the big question derived from the hit show Dallas.
Chocolate chip cookies inspired their own boutique. 3M introduced post-it-notes. The US population was 222,547, 000 people with the population center just west of DeSota, Missouri .Inflation reached 12.5 percent at the end of 1980.It had been as high as 18 percent. Damage caused by Mt. St. Helens was estimated at $2.7 billion. There were 2.41 million marriages in 1980 compared to 1.81 divorces. The US Automakers lost 3 billion in 1980. Imports were to blame (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Springfield MA: Federal Street Press 1999, pp. 245-248).
Locally the Pope’s Distributors in Coats was a two-generation business. The staff unveiled a picture of Mr. William R. Pope, Sr., founder. William (Bill, Jr.) was the current president of the company (Daily Record Jan. 2, 1980).
Mrs. Lydia Byrd and Mrs. James Moore were December’s winners of the “Project Contest” from which all proceeds went to complete the construction of the Coats Recreation Park (Daily Record Jan. 3, 1980). The Coats citizens were working hard to raise the $13,000 needed to complete the project. The Coca Cola Co. of Dunn had presented a large check to the park project (Daily Record Jan. 7, 1980).
The Coats Methodist Church designated January 13th as Loyalty Sunday. The idea was to fill every seat. Rev. Tom Melvin encouraged al to attend (Daily Record 10, 1980). Does the church continue to have this event every year?
The Coats Yellow Jackets downed Princeton by 72-61. Roger Jernigan was high scorer with 22 points. Tony West had 15 and Ed McDuffie hit 2 (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1980).
That game was followed with a game against Garland. The Yellow jackets had a 7-0 record. Tony West, Roger Jernigan and Gary McKoy performed well (Daily Record Jan. 16, 1980).
The paper shared that Coats Police Chief Ron Peters used hypnosis to solve crimes. Mary Jo Mann of Coats had been elected the Baptist State Convention to serve on the Wingate College Board of Directors for a three-year term (Daily Record Jan. 18, 1980).
The Coats Yellow Jackets were 16-3. They were one step closer to the 1-A conference victory, after a win over Clements. Top players were Gary McKoy, Tony West, and Roger Jernigan (Daily Record Jan. 30, 1980).
How many students make the Dean’s List while in college? I do know that it took extra effort to meet that high achievement. Two Coats youths were on the Dean’s List at NCSU. Henry Turlington, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Jr. and Donald Ennis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Ennis (Daily Record Jan. 31, 1980).The Coats Class of 1949 held its 30th class reunion at the home of Mary Jo Mann Johnson Mann. The group sang songs that were popular in the 1940’s as Jeanine Ennis Klutz played the piano (Daily Record Jan. 31, 1980).
Dr. Anne Moore of Coats was the incoming president of the Harnett County Arts Council as 200 people gathered at the Howard Johnson Restaurant for the annual meeting (Daily Record Feb. 4, 1980).
Larry Turlington was a candidate for the US Congress. He was a real estate broker of Route 3, Dunn (Daily Record Feb. 5, 1980).
Coats Coach Billy Ray Turner, a man for all seasons, winning or losing, kept a positive attitude. His philosophy was “teaching young athletes is more important than yelling at them.” Turner had played two years of football at Gardner-Webb. Coach Turner and had been coaching for 14 years in 1980 (Daily Record Feb. 5, 1980).
Edward McDuffie sealed the Coats win when he hit two free throws with 18 seconds left in an overtime to defeat Princeton by 76-71 score. Other players performing great skills were Charles Johnson, Tony West, Gary McKoy and Roger Jernigan (Daily Record Feb. 6, 1980).
An honor was paid to a Coats man when his name was included in the Personalities of the South by the American Biographical Institute’s Governing Board of Editors. The Coats man was Tommy Harvell of Route One and he worked for the Harnett County Board of Education (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1980). That is very impressive. Does anyone know where Tommy is today?
Cynthia Barbour, a former Coats graduate, signed a writing contract with a songwriting company in Nashville, Tennessee, using poems she had written since 1958. Mrs. Cynthia B. McLemore was the daughter of Mrs. Gertie Barbour Tyndall (Daily Record 11, 1980).
Cynthia died not long ago, but not before she came back into the life of the Coats Museum. She would purchase any museum books that had information about her hometown. Her husband is a decorated veteran and he was so cooperative in sharing his story in our Red, White and Blue veterans’ publication. Being physically unable to attend her 1963 Class Reunion reception at the museum did not deter her from sharing via pen her sentiments of being part of that class. I just wish I knew if any of her poems made it into popular songs from Nashville.
I do know that the Coats Jr. Order had raised $217 from the BBQ dinner. The money went toward the Coats Recreation Park. Kathy Strickland won a radio for selling the most tickets (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1980). You did recognize Kathy as being the daughter of M.T. and Doris Strickland and the sister of Sharon Stevens? Her students know her as Kathy Peede. Does it seem that you have been reading about that park forever?
District Court Judge William A. Christian, who was seeking election to his first term as a Judge in the 11th Judicial District, had a huge turnout in Coats. Pictured helping were Beverly Stephenson, Joe Tart and Billy Pope (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1980). Did he win?
I do know that Robie Butler received the happy news that he had won $50.00 worth of gas in a giveaway (Daily Record Mar. 13, 1980).
Larry Turlington had a fundraiser in Dunn. He was pictured with his wife, Betty Parrish Turlington, Carson Gregory and Mr. and Mrs. Andy Collins (Daily Record Mar. 14, 1980). Parrish has been a popular and respected name in Coats since the land was incorporated in 1905. Many have made an impact in the Grove area. I will share that Betty and Joyce Parrish Turner were sisters and were descendant s of Andrew Coats who was the town’s first train depot agent and operated a store where the current Mexican Restaurant is operating on Main Street. Who recalls reading many columns back that live pigs were sold at Andrew’s store?
Here we have another Parrish family and this one touched my teaching career. Keith and Karen were outstanding students in my English classes and the passage of time brought Karen Ennis and Keith Parrish together and in this Daily Record article of March 18th was shared that the couple had celebrated the 6th birthday of their daughter, Kalicia Parrish, at the Full Gospel Church in Coats. Kalicia’s brother, Kelley Brannon, and her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Ennis were in attendance.
Who remembers the day when there were no consoles or stick shifts dividing the driver and passenger in the front seat of the cars? Ladies, did you ever slip over next to your boyfriend when you were out of sight of family? Come to think of, I don’t think I have seen any young couples snuggled up with each other on the highways in a long time, but I do distinctly remember how I amazed I was when I would drive to Benson or Coats via NC27, first as a teenage driver and later an adult one, that I would occasionally come up behind a little farm truck and see this small lady sitting right up next to her husband and thought how remarkable after all those years they continued to be young at heart. Who was this couple?
A Coats couple, Mr. and Mrs. B.A. Norris, celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at the Red Hill FWB Church. The hosts were their children: Louise Pollard, Kathleen Byrd, Ann Messler, Billy Norris, Peggy Norris, Doris Dupree, Jerry Norris, Brenda Johnson, Helen Kirksey, Janet Stephenson and Michael Norris. A large crowd attended to honor this couple whom I had admired for the showing of their affection for each other as I followed them up and down NC27 until death took one of them first (Daily Record Mar. 24,1980).
The Grove area recently has been touched by the deaths of many younger people. It seems somewhat unfair that they cannot live to enjoy grandchildren and other activities that come with growing older. David Denning was so loved by many friends and family as is witnessed by memorials given for him. Dorothy Denning sent a very generous memorial for David and we thank Dorothy for her continued support of the Coats Museum.
Charles and Dorothy Denning of Denning Road, Benson attended Ebenezer Presbyterian Church for many, many years. Michael, Janet and Anita attended also. They are physically beautiful people; however, their generosity is how they will be most remembered. The family donated to Ebenezer a church bus, carillons and a stained glass window. Charles died a couple of years back and it is sad that he could not live to see his church celebrate its 100th Anniversary on October 13, 2019. A Cairn will be constructed from rocks that have been brought to recognize members, events and significant dates in the 100 years of the church. All former members are encouraged to come to the Homecoming and Celebration at 11:00 on the 13th.
Again we thank Dorothy Denning for her generosity to the Coats Museum and this time for a memorial donation for David Denning.
The year was 1980-the year in which Ronald Reagan was elected president and John Lennon was shot and killed. President Carter began a new decade by signing a bill passed by Congress on December 21, 1979, that bailed out the Chrysler Corporation to the tune of $1,500,000,000.A book called The Official Preppie Handbook and a movie called Urban Cowboy helped to elevate the preppie and urban cowboy as the odd couple of the year. A boardless, role-playing game, called Dungeons and Dragons that was created in 1974 -became a big hit. Cable News Network (CNN) debuted. The Moral Majority declared itself. Professional women wearing running shoes were a common urban sight. “Who shot J.R.?”was the big question derived from the hit show Dallas.
Chocolate chip cookies inspired their own boutique. 3M introduced post-it-notes. The US population was 222,547, 000 people with the population center just west of DeSota, Missouri .Inflation reached 12.5 percent at the end of 1980.It had been as high as 18 percent. Damage caused by Mt. St. Helens was estimated at $2.7 billion. There were 2.41 million marriages in 1980 compared to 1.81 divorces. The US Automakers lost 3 billion in 1980. Imports were to blame (Dickson, Paul. From Elvis to E-Mail. Springfield MA: Federal Street Press 1999, pp. 245-248).
Locally the Pope’s Distributors in Coats was a two-generation business. The staff unveiled a picture of Mr. William R. Pope, Sr., founder. William (Bill, Jr.) was the current president of the company (Daily Record Jan. 2, 1980).
Mrs. Lydia Byrd and Mrs. James Moore were December’s winners of the “Project Contest” from which all proceeds went to complete the construction of the Coats Recreation Park (Daily Record Jan. 3, 1980). The Coats citizens were working hard to raise the $13,000 needed to complete the project. The Coca Cola Co. of Dunn had presented a large check to the park project (Daily Record Jan. 7, 1980).
The Coats Methodist Church designated January 13th as Loyalty Sunday. The idea was to fill every seat. Rev. Tom Melvin encouraged al to attend (Daily Record 10, 1980). Does the church continue to have this event every year?
The Coats Yellow Jackets downed Princeton by 72-61. Roger Jernigan was high scorer with 22 points. Tony West had 15 and Ed McDuffie hit 2 (Daily Record Jan. 14, 1980).
That game was followed with a game against Garland. The Yellow jackets had a 7-0 record. Tony West, Roger Jernigan and Gary McKoy performed well (Daily Record Jan. 16, 1980).
The paper shared that Coats Police Chief Ron Peters used hypnosis to solve crimes. Mary Jo Mann of Coats had been elected the Baptist State Convention to serve on the Wingate College Board of Directors for a three-year term (Daily Record Jan. 18, 1980).
The Coats Yellow Jackets were 16-3. They were one step closer to the 1-A conference victory, after a win over Clements. Top players were Gary McKoy, Tony West, and Roger Jernigan (Daily Record Jan. 30, 1980).
How many students make the Dean’s List while in college? I do know that it took extra effort to meet that high achievement. Two Coats youths were on the Dean’s List at NCSU. Henry Turlington, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Turlington, Jr. and Donald Ennis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Ennis (Daily Record Jan. 31, 1980).The Coats Class of 1949 held its 30th class reunion at the home of Mary Jo Mann Johnson Mann. The group sang songs that were popular in the 1940’s as Jeanine Ennis Klutz played the piano (Daily Record Jan. 31, 1980).
Dr. Anne Moore of Coats was the incoming president of the Harnett County Arts Council as 200 people gathered at the Howard Johnson Restaurant for the annual meeting (Daily Record Feb. 4, 1980).
Larry Turlington was a candidate for the US Congress. He was a real estate broker of Route 3, Dunn (Daily Record Feb. 5, 1980).
Coats Coach Billy Ray Turner, a man for all seasons, winning or losing, kept a positive attitude. His philosophy was “teaching young athletes is more important than yelling at them.” Turner had played two years of football at Gardner-Webb. Coach Turner and had been coaching for 14 years in 1980 (Daily Record Feb. 5, 1980).
Edward McDuffie sealed the Coats win when he hit two free throws with 18 seconds left in an overtime to defeat Princeton by 76-71 score. Other players performing great skills were Charles Johnson, Tony West, Gary McKoy and Roger Jernigan (Daily Record Feb. 6, 1980).
An honor was paid to a Coats man when his name was included in the Personalities of the South by the American Biographical Institute’s Governing Board of Editors. The Coats man was Tommy Harvell of Route One and he worked for the Harnett County Board of Education (Daily Record Feb. 11, 1980). That is very impressive. Does anyone know where Tommy is today?
Cynthia Barbour, a former Coats graduate, signed a writing contract with a songwriting company in Nashville, Tennessee, using poems she had written since 1958. Mrs. Cynthia B. McLemore was the daughter of Mrs. Gertie Barbour Tyndall (Daily Record 11, 1980).
Cynthia died not long ago, but not before she came back into the life of the Coats Museum. She would purchase any museum books that had information about her hometown. Her husband is a decorated veteran and he was so cooperative in sharing his story in our Red, White and Blue veterans’ publication. Being physically unable to attend her 1963 Class Reunion reception at the museum did not deter her from sharing via pen her sentiments of being part of that class. I just wish I knew if any of her poems made it into popular songs from Nashville.
I do know that the Coats Jr. Order had raised $217 from the BBQ dinner. The money went toward the Coats Recreation Park. Kathy Strickland won a radio for selling the most tickets (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1980). You did recognize Kathy as being the daughter of M.T. and Doris Strickland and the sister of Sharon Stevens? Her students know her as Kathy Peede. Does it seem that you have been reading about that park forever?
District Court Judge William A. Christian, who was seeking election to his first term as a Judge in the 11th Judicial District, had a huge turnout in Coats. Pictured helping were Beverly Stephenson, Joe Tart and Billy Pope (Daily Record Feb. 13, 1980). Did he win?
I do know that Robie Butler received the happy news that he had won $50.00 worth of gas in a giveaway (Daily Record Mar. 13, 1980).
Larry Turlington had a fundraiser in Dunn. He was pictured with his wife, Betty Parrish Turlington, Carson Gregory and Mr. and Mrs. Andy Collins (Daily Record Mar. 14, 1980). Parrish has been a popular and respected name in Coats since the land was incorporated in 1905. Many have made an impact in the Grove area. I will share that Betty and Joyce Parrish Turner were sisters and were descendant s of Andrew Coats who was the town’s first train depot agent and operated a store where the current Mexican Restaurant is operating on Main Street. Who recalls reading many columns back that live pigs were sold at Andrew’s store?
Here we have another Parrish family and this one touched my teaching career. Keith and Karen were outstanding students in my English classes and the passage of time brought Karen Ennis and Keith Parrish together and in this Daily Record article of March 18th was shared that the couple had celebrated the 6th birthday of their daughter, Kalicia Parrish, at the Full Gospel Church in Coats. Kalicia’s brother, Kelley Brannon, and her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Ennis were in attendance.
Who remembers the day when there were no consoles or stick shifts dividing the driver and passenger in the front seat of the cars? Ladies, did you ever slip over next to your boyfriend when you were out of sight of family? Come to think of, I don’t think I have seen any young couples snuggled up with each other on the highways in a long time, but I do distinctly remember how I amazed I was when I would drive to Benson or Coats via NC27, first as a teenage driver and later an adult one, that I would occasionally come up behind a little farm truck and see this small lady sitting right up next to her husband and thought how remarkable after all those years they continued to be young at heart. Who was this couple?
A Coats couple, Mr. and Mrs. B.A. Norris, celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at the Red Hill FWB Church. The hosts were their children: Louise Pollard, Kathleen Byrd, Ann Messler, Billy Norris, Peggy Norris, Doris Dupree, Jerry Norris, Brenda Johnson, Helen Kirksey, Janet Stephenson and Michael Norris. A large crowd attended to honor this couple whom I had admired for the showing of their affection for each other as I followed them up and down NC27 until death took one of them first (Daily Record Mar. 24,1980).
The Grove area recently has been touched by the deaths of many younger people. It seems somewhat unfair that they cannot live to enjoy grandchildren and other activities that come with growing older. David Denning was so loved by many friends and family as is witnessed by memorials given for him. Dorothy Denning sent a very generous memorial for David and we thank Dorothy for her continued support of the Coats Museum.
Charles and Dorothy Denning of Denning Road, Benson attended Ebenezer Presbyterian Church for many, many years. Michael, Janet and Anita attended also. They are physically beautiful people; however, their generosity is how they will be most remembered. The family donated to Ebenezer a church bus, carillons and a stained glass window. Charles died a couple of years back and it is sad that he could not live to see his church celebrate its 100th Anniversary on October 13, 2019. A Cairn will be constructed from rocks that have been brought to recognize members, events and significant dates in the 100 years of the church. All former members are encouraged to come to the Homecoming and Celebration at 11:00 on the 13th.
Again we thank Dorothy Denning for her generosity to the Coats Museum and this time for a memorial donation for David Denning.