October 6, 2017 Coats Museum News
The year is 1965 and President Lyndon Johnson was in the White House. He had pushed for money to help improve schools and libraries with federal money. First Lady Bird Johnson had also worked to help the country. She started the Keep America Beautiful campaign and worked on improvements for inner cities and for the preschool Head Start program.
At Coats High School, the Seniors of 1966 had voted Ronny Denning for class president, Teresa Taylor for vice-president, Hope Stewart for secretary, Jeanette Stewart and David Surles as co-reporters and Teresa Byrd, Sue Turlington and Carolyn Tart as co-treasurers. Mrs. Roena Honeycutt, Mrs. Virginia Penny and Miss Brenda Sutton were class sponsors. Rhonda Stewart and Donald Ennis were selected as class mascots.
Because Tallie Dupree had taught the students the importance of sportsmanship, he had won a special place among the fondest memories in the hearts of the senior class who dedicated the yearbook to him. Two past teachers had taught the students to stand on their own two feet in the early grades. The two teachers were Mrs. Ruby Arnold and Mrs. Dona Ennis Turlington who appeared in the “In Memory Of” section the yearbook.
Who remembers these two ladies? Which one of them had a beautiful voice and which was a talented lady with fabric and thread and all kinds of crafts? When you visit the museum, ask your tour guide to show you the reading cards that Mrs. Turlington used at Oakdale School to teach young students at that beautiful country school. Would you believe that some of the most successful people in the eastern Harnett and western Johnston County learned to read in that rural school?
The Echoing Memories of 1966 recorded J.C. Hawley as principal, Mrs. Bill Tyson as secretary, and G.T. Proffit as county superintendent. David Surles, Barry Cutts, Jimmy Wilkins, Bobby Johnson, Jerry Beasley, Andy Joyner, Frankie Dorman, Gail Grimes and Glenda Flowers staffed the principal ‘s office as student assistants.
The local school board was chaired by Herbert L. Johnson. R.E. Turlington, Daywood Langdon, Mrs. O.K. Keene, and Mack Reid Hudson were on the board in 1966. The P.T. A. officers were Mrs. J.D. Richardson Mrs. Maude Avery, Mrs. Virginia Penny and Mrs. Mary Cole.
Throughout the school years, students had developed distinctive characteristics which were recognizable by their fellow classmates. Glenda Flowers and Gary Ennis were voted as “Beau and Belle”, Shelia Dupree and Joe Byrd as “Most Talented”, Marcia Dorman and Mike Coats as “Most Likely to Succeed”, Becky Wilmoth and Frank Turlington, “Most Athletic”, Don House and Sue Turlington as “Most Studious” David Surles and Janet Norris as the “Most Original”, Dianne Blackman and Douglas Weeks as “Cutest”, Doan Coats and Jimmy Campbell as “Most Courteous”, Becky Page and Bobby Johnson as “Most Dependable”, Charlotte Tart and Roger Faircloth as the “Neatest”, Matthew Partin and Miriam Beard as the “Wittiest” and Hope Stewart and Ronny Denning as “Most Popular.”
If you glance over your shoulder with this 1966 class, you will see “eighty –four shy-bright-eyed, eager first graders entering Mrs. Phyllis Buckner, Mrs. Percy Parrish, and Miss Clyde Grimes’ rooms. This was the first class to be known as being in “Junior High”.
In their freshman year, Marie Salmon, Norfleet Gardner and Donald O’Quinn were their homeroom teachers. Marcia Dorman and Sue Turlington were class marshals. In the sophomore year, Nancy Taylor, Cecil Fuquay and Tom Morgan pushed the group forward. Many students were inducted into the Beta Club. Janet Carlson, Mike Coats, Marcia Dorman, Carol Franklin, Shirley Hudson, James Johnson, Debbie Johnson, Becky Page, Teresa Taylor and Sue Turlington were tapped into the Beta Club under the sponsorship of H.L. Sorrell, Jr. The sophomore marshals were Marcia Dorman and Mike Coats.
The junior year proved harder but the group had put their “best foot forward” with renewed determination. With Faye Sauls, H.L. Sorrell, Jr., and Helen Matthews as sponsors, plans for the junior year were laid out. Glenda Flowers, Brenda Norris, Carolyn Norris, Janet Norris, and Edwina Parker were tapped into the Beta Club. The theme for the Junior –Senior Prom had been Shangri-La, a tropical paradise. Marcia Dorman, Mike Coats, and Sue Turlington were junior class marshals.
Mrs. Roena Honeycutt, Mrs. Virginia Penny and Miss Brenda Sutton were senior sponsors. The seniors picked Glenn Lee as testator and Jeanette Stewart as class poet and Sue Turlington as historian. Ann Campbell was inducted into the Beta Honor Society. The class had selected a red ruby with the Old English “C” as the class ring.
Let’s leave the Coats School campus and learn that Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Frank Pate of Coats had announced the birth of a son at Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Bonnie Lou Moore. On the military scene, Pvt. Kenneth Matthews, son of James G. Matthews, had completed advanced training at the Army Artillery Missile Center, Fort Sill, OK. Kenneth had graduated from Coats in 1962 (Daily Record Nov. 2, 1965).
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Ray West of Coats announced the birth of a daughter at Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Vonnie Allen. News reported from the Bailey’s Crossroads found Mrs. Juanita Hudson presiding at the Annual Harnett Council Achievement Program. Mrs. Rob Adams was the outstanding member from Oakdale Club and Mrs. G.W. Champion from the Goodwill Club. Peggy Mann from WTVD Television station was the speaker (Daily Record Nov. 5, 1965).
Twenty-five girls from Coats High School were to compete in the Miss Coats Beauty Pageant. The contestants were Gay Flowers, Carol Franklin, Teresa Byrd, Jennifer Flowers, Joy Bowden, Charlene Trogden, Gail Grimes, Janice Williams, Carolyn Norris, Patsy Matthews, Christine Stewart, Linda Lee, Linda Turlington, Susan Faircloth, Jone Ennis, Cathy Peede, Beth Stephenson, Diane Williams, Marilyn Bond, Anne Stewart, Marilyn Langdon, Diane Partin, Ruth Sorrell and Pam Wolf.
Death had returned to Coats when it was announced that Adron H. (Adie) O’Neal, 82, had died on Wednesday. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Minnie McLamb O”Neal, and three daughters, Mrs. Alonzo Fry, Mrs. Fred West and Mrs. Eddie White (Daily Record Nov. 2, 1965).
Harnett citizens went to the polls to vote on the Road Bond and Court Issue. In Grove 1, 48 citizens voted yes and 51 voted no. In Grove 11, 59 voted yes and 97 voted no. Check out the list of those summoned to serve on the civil term of the Superior Court for Dec. 13th: J.B. Britt, W.H. Lucas, H.H. Mangum, Wayne Avery, Kenneth T. Penny, Layton Godwin and Delmar Hardison (Daily Record Nov. 3, 1965).
Another birth announcement appeared in the news. Mr. and Mrs. Donnie Lyle Stone shared the arrival of a son on Nov. 3rd. Mrs. Stone was the former Barbara Lee Norris (Daily Record Nov. 4, 1965). Mr. and Mrs. Jack Mabry announced the engagement of their daughter Judy Mabry to Earl J. Parrish, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Parrish. Miss Mabry, a Coats High graduate, was employed by the N.C. National Bank and Mr. Parrish was employed by D.O. Smith Company, also of Raleigh (Daily Record Nov. 8, 1965).
Miss Alice Lou Jackson was cheerleader sponsor and Teresa Byrd was chief cheerleader. They had cheered on the football team coached by Michael Smith; the girls basketball team under Norfleet Gardner and the boys basketball and baseball under Tallie Dupree.
Can you remember Frank Turlington and James Johnson as co-captains of the basketball team? Can you see Captain Becky Wilmoth and Co-captains Jeanette Stewart and Ruth Sorrell playing to win on the basketball court?
Check out your recollections of the slate of Monogram officers and find Frank Turlington, Robert Pleasant, Becky Wilmoth, Glenda Flowers, and James Johnson. Can you picture the officers of the Student Council and see Charles Malone, Robert Pleasant and Ken Stewart’?
The Beta Honor Society was headed up by Marcia Dorman, Carol Franklin, Sue Turlington, Janet Norris, Edwina Parker, and Becky Page. The Library Club memories were full of fun and tucked away in the crevices of time. It was recorded that Louise Holmes, Ann Stewart, Beth Stephenson, and Lynda Daniel were officers. Was Marie Salmon the sponsor to this club?
The FHA officers pictured in the yearbook of 1966 were Hope Stewart, Christine Stewart, Sue Turlington, Gay Flowers, Sue Johnson, Shelia Dupree, Teresa Avery, Ruth Sorrell and Edwina Parker and Faye Sauls advised the girls.
The FFA Club had twins Kenneth and Keith Pollard in top officer slots. Oliver Ennis, Gary McLeod, Gary Ennis, Dan Honeycutt, Tim Langdon, Doug Weeks, W.A. Surles, and advisors David Creech and Earl Brinkley headed up the 1965-66 club activities (The Echoing Memories 1966).
A big thank you goes to the Coats High Class of 1956 for their memorial donation to the Coats Museum to honor their 1956 classmate, Betty Lou McGee Blanchard. Thank you also goes to Paul Parker for replacing the motor in the fountain. So many people drop by the square to take pictures at the fountain. We enjoyed a short visit from board member, Ralph Denning from Raleigh. He always shares interesting tidbits with his visits. The museum volunteers are so appreciative of all the remarkable support from the former Coats graduates, community and beyond enabling the volunteers to concentrate on making the museum a place Coats can be proud of when visitors come for research or for tours.
The year is 1965 and President Lyndon Johnson was in the White House. He had pushed for money to help improve schools and libraries with federal money. First Lady Bird Johnson had also worked to help the country. She started the Keep America Beautiful campaign and worked on improvements for inner cities and for the preschool Head Start program.
At Coats High School, the Seniors of 1966 had voted Ronny Denning for class president, Teresa Taylor for vice-president, Hope Stewart for secretary, Jeanette Stewart and David Surles as co-reporters and Teresa Byrd, Sue Turlington and Carolyn Tart as co-treasurers. Mrs. Roena Honeycutt, Mrs. Virginia Penny and Miss Brenda Sutton were class sponsors. Rhonda Stewart and Donald Ennis were selected as class mascots.
Because Tallie Dupree had taught the students the importance of sportsmanship, he had won a special place among the fondest memories in the hearts of the senior class who dedicated the yearbook to him. Two past teachers had taught the students to stand on their own two feet in the early grades. The two teachers were Mrs. Ruby Arnold and Mrs. Dona Ennis Turlington who appeared in the “In Memory Of” section the yearbook.
Who remembers these two ladies? Which one of them had a beautiful voice and which was a talented lady with fabric and thread and all kinds of crafts? When you visit the museum, ask your tour guide to show you the reading cards that Mrs. Turlington used at Oakdale School to teach young students at that beautiful country school. Would you believe that some of the most successful people in the eastern Harnett and western Johnston County learned to read in that rural school?
The Echoing Memories of 1966 recorded J.C. Hawley as principal, Mrs. Bill Tyson as secretary, and G.T. Proffit as county superintendent. David Surles, Barry Cutts, Jimmy Wilkins, Bobby Johnson, Jerry Beasley, Andy Joyner, Frankie Dorman, Gail Grimes and Glenda Flowers staffed the principal ‘s office as student assistants.
The local school board was chaired by Herbert L. Johnson. R.E. Turlington, Daywood Langdon, Mrs. O.K. Keene, and Mack Reid Hudson were on the board in 1966. The P.T. A. officers were Mrs. J.D. Richardson Mrs. Maude Avery, Mrs. Virginia Penny and Mrs. Mary Cole.
Throughout the school years, students had developed distinctive characteristics which were recognizable by their fellow classmates. Glenda Flowers and Gary Ennis were voted as “Beau and Belle”, Shelia Dupree and Joe Byrd as “Most Talented”, Marcia Dorman and Mike Coats as “Most Likely to Succeed”, Becky Wilmoth and Frank Turlington, “Most Athletic”, Don House and Sue Turlington as “Most Studious” David Surles and Janet Norris as the “Most Original”, Dianne Blackman and Douglas Weeks as “Cutest”, Doan Coats and Jimmy Campbell as “Most Courteous”, Becky Page and Bobby Johnson as “Most Dependable”, Charlotte Tart and Roger Faircloth as the “Neatest”, Matthew Partin and Miriam Beard as the “Wittiest” and Hope Stewart and Ronny Denning as “Most Popular.”
If you glance over your shoulder with this 1966 class, you will see “eighty –four shy-bright-eyed, eager first graders entering Mrs. Phyllis Buckner, Mrs. Percy Parrish, and Miss Clyde Grimes’ rooms. This was the first class to be known as being in “Junior High”.
In their freshman year, Marie Salmon, Norfleet Gardner and Donald O’Quinn were their homeroom teachers. Marcia Dorman and Sue Turlington were class marshals. In the sophomore year, Nancy Taylor, Cecil Fuquay and Tom Morgan pushed the group forward. Many students were inducted into the Beta Club. Janet Carlson, Mike Coats, Marcia Dorman, Carol Franklin, Shirley Hudson, James Johnson, Debbie Johnson, Becky Page, Teresa Taylor and Sue Turlington were tapped into the Beta Club under the sponsorship of H.L. Sorrell, Jr. The sophomore marshals were Marcia Dorman and Mike Coats.
The junior year proved harder but the group had put their “best foot forward” with renewed determination. With Faye Sauls, H.L. Sorrell, Jr., and Helen Matthews as sponsors, plans for the junior year were laid out. Glenda Flowers, Brenda Norris, Carolyn Norris, Janet Norris, and Edwina Parker were tapped into the Beta Club. The theme for the Junior –Senior Prom had been Shangri-La, a tropical paradise. Marcia Dorman, Mike Coats, and Sue Turlington were junior class marshals.
Mrs. Roena Honeycutt, Mrs. Virginia Penny and Miss Brenda Sutton were senior sponsors. The seniors picked Glenn Lee as testator and Jeanette Stewart as class poet and Sue Turlington as historian. Ann Campbell was inducted into the Beta Honor Society. The class had selected a red ruby with the Old English “C” as the class ring.
Let’s leave the Coats School campus and learn that Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Frank Pate of Coats had announced the birth of a son at Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Bonnie Lou Moore. On the military scene, Pvt. Kenneth Matthews, son of James G. Matthews, had completed advanced training at the Army Artillery Missile Center, Fort Sill, OK. Kenneth had graduated from Coats in 1962 (Daily Record Nov. 2, 1965).
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Ray West of Coats announced the birth of a daughter at Good Hope Hospital. The mother was the former Vonnie Allen. News reported from the Bailey’s Crossroads found Mrs. Juanita Hudson presiding at the Annual Harnett Council Achievement Program. Mrs. Rob Adams was the outstanding member from Oakdale Club and Mrs. G.W. Champion from the Goodwill Club. Peggy Mann from WTVD Television station was the speaker (Daily Record Nov. 5, 1965).
Twenty-five girls from Coats High School were to compete in the Miss Coats Beauty Pageant. The contestants were Gay Flowers, Carol Franklin, Teresa Byrd, Jennifer Flowers, Joy Bowden, Charlene Trogden, Gail Grimes, Janice Williams, Carolyn Norris, Patsy Matthews, Christine Stewart, Linda Lee, Linda Turlington, Susan Faircloth, Jone Ennis, Cathy Peede, Beth Stephenson, Diane Williams, Marilyn Bond, Anne Stewart, Marilyn Langdon, Diane Partin, Ruth Sorrell and Pam Wolf.
Death had returned to Coats when it was announced that Adron H. (Adie) O’Neal, 82, had died on Wednesday. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Minnie McLamb O”Neal, and three daughters, Mrs. Alonzo Fry, Mrs. Fred West and Mrs. Eddie White (Daily Record Nov. 2, 1965).
Harnett citizens went to the polls to vote on the Road Bond and Court Issue. In Grove 1, 48 citizens voted yes and 51 voted no. In Grove 11, 59 voted yes and 97 voted no. Check out the list of those summoned to serve on the civil term of the Superior Court for Dec. 13th: J.B. Britt, W.H. Lucas, H.H. Mangum, Wayne Avery, Kenneth T. Penny, Layton Godwin and Delmar Hardison (Daily Record Nov. 3, 1965).
Another birth announcement appeared in the news. Mr. and Mrs. Donnie Lyle Stone shared the arrival of a son on Nov. 3rd. Mrs. Stone was the former Barbara Lee Norris (Daily Record Nov. 4, 1965). Mr. and Mrs. Jack Mabry announced the engagement of their daughter Judy Mabry to Earl J. Parrish, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Parrish. Miss Mabry, a Coats High graduate, was employed by the N.C. National Bank and Mr. Parrish was employed by D.O. Smith Company, also of Raleigh (Daily Record Nov. 8, 1965).
Miss Alice Lou Jackson was cheerleader sponsor and Teresa Byrd was chief cheerleader. They had cheered on the football team coached by Michael Smith; the girls basketball team under Norfleet Gardner and the boys basketball and baseball under Tallie Dupree.
Can you remember Frank Turlington and James Johnson as co-captains of the basketball team? Can you see Captain Becky Wilmoth and Co-captains Jeanette Stewart and Ruth Sorrell playing to win on the basketball court?
Check out your recollections of the slate of Monogram officers and find Frank Turlington, Robert Pleasant, Becky Wilmoth, Glenda Flowers, and James Johnson. Can you picture the officers of the Student Council and see Charles Malone, Robert Pleasant and Ken Stewart’?
The Beta Honor Society was headed up by Marcia Dorman, Carol Franklin, Sue Turlington, Janet Norris, Edwina Parker, and Becky Page. The Library Club memories were full of fun and tucked away in the crevices of time. It was recorded that Louise Holmes, Ann Stewart, Beth Stephenson, and Lynda Daniel were officers. Was Marie Salmon the sponsor to this club?
The FHA officers pictured in the yearbook of 1966 were Hope Stewart, Christine Stewart, Sue Turlington, Gay Flowers, Sue Johnson, Shelia Dupree, Teresa Avery, Ruth Sorrell and Edwina Parker and Faye Sauls advised the girls.
The FFA Club had twins Kenneth and Keith Pollard in top officer slots. Oliver Ennis, Gary McLeod, Gary Ennis, Dan Honeycutt, Tim Langdon, Doug Weeks, W.A. Surles, and advisors David Creech and Earl Brinkley headed up the 1965-66 club activities (The Echoing Memories 1966).
A big thank you goes to the Coats High Class of 1956 for their memorial donation to the Coats Museum to honor their 1956 classmate, Betty Lou McGee Blanchard. Thank you also goes to Paul Parker for replacing the motor in the fountain. So many people drop by the square to take pictures at the fountain. We enjoyed a short visit from board member, Ralph Denning from Raleigh. He always shares interesting tidbits with his visits. The museum volunteers are so appreciative of all the remarkable support from the former Coats graduates, community and beyond enabling the volunteers to concentrate on making the museum a place Coats can be proud of when visitors come for research or for tours.