October 6, 2023 Coats Museum News
Does anyone remember eating at Four Friends Pizza in Coats? It was in full operation in August of 1993.W.A. and Margaret Surles were operating the business when they were recognized as the Business Focus of the Week by the CACC. Do you remember the first time you had a slice of pizza? Were you warned to be careful because the cheese would be very hot? Did we have pizza places in Harnett County before the 1960's?
I bet Hugh Autry, a student studying Forestry at N.C. State, had his share of pizza there. Wonder if Hugh and his dad, Kenneth Pollard, recall that they delivered pizzas for the Surles’ business in 1993. They carried deliveries that were in a five-mile radius of Coats (Daily Record Aug. 1993).
A classmate of Hugh’s was Wendy Williams. Wendy has always been recognized for her beauty and her brains. In 1993, Wendy won lots of prizes after she was crowned “Miss Teen Raleigh 1993”. Wendy would study in the Campbell School of Pharmacy in the fall.
The Williams family was not the only family in the news. Belle reported that M.O. and Kathryn Phillips and daughter Carolyn and her husband Ben Spears, had traveled to Austin, TX where Carolyn and Edward Spivey’s daughter was a second-year student at the University of Texas where 50,000 students attended. Meredith Spivey was 9th in class (Daily Record Aug. 19, 1993).
The Coats Area Chamber of Commerce had honored the Coats Fire and Rescue. Among those attending and enjoying hot dogs were Linda Jo Johnson, Carolyn Moore, Darrell Smith, Keith McLeod, J.L. Pleasant, Roscoe Williams, Teddy Byrd, and Kent Langdon.
The CACC recognized Twyford Printing as the Business Focus of the Week. The company opened in 1944 by W.H. Twyford printing letterheads, business cards, etc. The printing company ownership was very active in civic and community activities. Van and Taylor Stephens were co-owners and operators.
Do you recall when you met someone for the first time? I remember meeting Van Stephens the first time. It was in 1992, and H.L. and I were returning home on the Red Hill Church Road between Cane Mill and Tilghman Roads that we saw what I want to recall was a Blazer type SUV with a young man standing in front of it. He had dark hair and wore a navy windbreaker with teal accents around the collar and pockets. It was quite obvious that he had vehicle trouble. H.L. pulled over in front of Van’s vehicle and asked if he needed help. That was before everyone had cell phones, so we took Van to his house and while on the way we learned that he operated the printing business and as years have passed, we have used his business for some of our printing needs. Something about him was very impressive to H.L and me, so much so, that I have not forgotten our first encounter with him.
How many of you recall these names that appeared in print in the Daily Record in the Aug. 26, 1993 edition? Congratulations had gone to Morgan Langston, Ashton Ennis, Loren Robinson, Melissa Byrd, and John Coats for the win in the East Regional Teams in 1993 Swim competition. Tournament winners were Loren Robinson and Lori Denning. Nicole Lucas was their swimming coach.
Boy Scouts have been around for a long time in Coats. So much so that the Troop 779 has had 72 young boys earn their Eagle Scout recognition and beyond for some. In 1993, the Troop 779 from the Coats Baptist Church had gone to the Boy Scout National Jamboree at For AP Hill, VA. Troop Scoutmaster Fred Robinson and his helpers attended with nineteen Boy Scouts. Robbie Paskiewicz, Harold Dixon, Don Bennett, Jerry Teasley and Tom Meece were a few of the many scout leaders (Daily Record Aug. 26, 1993).
Do you know what the letters ASCS represent? Do they have something to do with farm land and crops? I do know that Carlie Stevens had retired from his position with ASCS in 1993. Mr. Stevens began work with the ASCS in 1957 as a field reporter, and in 1977, until retirement, he was chief field assistant. He was highly respected by the farmers and co-workers. Carlie, his wife Mary and children Greg, Doug and Danny, are very active in the Coats community according to the Daily Record Sept. 1, edition of the paper.
Can you picture Carlie in your mind? Didn’t he always seem to be happy about something? He reminds me of two other Coats gents who were his friends –Jesse Ray Mann and J.W. Sorrell, Jr. These men always displayed the happiest disposition and recognizable laughs.
Read next week’s column and discover a new way of handling tobacco. You might also recall some of the other exciting news that the Daily Record preserved for us. The column following will contain some very interesting genealogy connected to many of our readers.
But for now, let’s talk about a lady named Bertha Westbrook. Derek Currin, an award winning teacher in the public school classroom, recently reached out to the museum and asked if we would be interested in something that Miss Bertha Westbrook had made for his mom. Bertha’s name brought back memories of her teaching in the basement of the 1920 brick school building on the original Coats High School campus.
In our “Together We Leave” book published in 1985, we recorded that Bertha began teaching in 1923 and taught at Oakdale and Coats School. Bertha’s lifelong companion, Miss Phyliss Buckner, taught at Coats for years as a first grade and kindergarten teacher and she came to Coats in 1942.If that is where the two met, I don’t know, but I do know both these ladies had an impact on and off the school campus.
Bertha was born in 1905 and is believed to have been reared in Sampson County. She retired in the early 1970’s due to cancer but lived until 1995 at age ninety. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dunn and her companion Phyllis rests next to her. Bertha had graduated from ECTC in Grenville, NC according to Derek. In that era, one attended school for 10 or eleven years and college certification did not necessarily require a four year degree so it is quite possible that she did begin teaching in 1923.
I do not know without extensive research exactly what she taught early on but do know that she is given credit for having credible Special Education classes taught in the schools of Harnett as early as 1952. In those classes she taught life skills where her students were under her watchful eye even after they left school. She is remembered for teaching her students to weave hot pads, to use saws, mold items from plaster of Paris and make friendship bands to encourage self esteem.
Derek, who is now an Adjunct Professor of English at Campbell University, grew up next door to the house that his dad Nelson built for Bertha on the Delma Grimes in 1980 after she and Phyllis moved from Dunn. She remained faithful to Hood Memorial even after death.
Derek’s dad had fond memories of Bertha and her frugality. He said she was so frugal that she could squeeze a dollar bill with George Washington’s picture on it until his eyes popped out. That saving characteristic enabled her to keep a private ledger of those she had loaned money and to share her wealth with others later in life such as was her gift to the Hood Memorial Church.
So-what did Derek give to the museum? Derek’s mom had hired Bertha to make a bedspread out of tobacco twine. It took three years and Bertha Izabell Westbrook was paid $1800 by Coma Lee Currin. Thank you-Derek.
Does anyone remember eating at Four Friends Pizza in Coats? It was in full operation in August of 1993.W.A. and Margaret Surles were operating the business when they were recognized as the Business Focus of the Week by the CACC. Do you remember the first time you had a slice of pizza? Were you warned to be careful because the cheese would be very hot? Did we have pizza places in Harnett County before the 1960's?
I bet Hugh Autry, a student studying Forestry at N.C. State, had his share of pizza there. Wonder if Hugh and his dad, Kenneth Pollard, recall that they delivered pizzas for the Surles’ business in 1993. They carried deliveries that were in a five-mile radius of Coats (Daily Record Aug. 1993).
A classmate of Hugh’s was Wendy Williams. Wendy has always been recognized for her beauty and her brains. In 1993, Wendy won lots of prizes after she was crowned “Miss Teen Raleigh 1993”. Wendy would study in the Campbell School of Pharmacy in the fall.
The Williams family was not the only family in the news. Belle reported that M.O. and Kathryn Phillips and daughter Carolyn and her husband Ben Spears, had traveled to Austin, TX where Carolyn and Edward Spivey’s daughter was a second-year student at the University of Texas where 50,000 students attended. Meredith Spivey was 9th in class (Daily Record Aug. 19, 1993).
The Coats Area Chamber of Commerce had honored the Coats Fire and Rescue. Among those attending and enjoying hot dogs were Linda Jo Johnson, Carolyn Moore, Darrell Smith, Keith McLeod, J.L. Pleasant, Roscoe Williams, Teddy Byrd, and Kent Langdon.
The CACC recognized Twyford Printing as the Business Focus of the Week. The company opened in 1944 by W.H. Twyford printing letterheads, business cards, etc. The printing company ownership was very active in civic and community activities. Van and Taylor Stephens were co-owners and operators.
Do you recall when you met someone for the first time? I remember meeting Van Stephens the first time. It was in 1992, and H.L. and I were returning home on the Red Hill Church Road between Cane Mill and Tilghman Roads that we saw what I want to recall was a Blazer type SUV with a young man standing in front of it. He had dark hair and wore a navy windbreaker with teal accents around the collar and pockets. It was quite obvious that he had vehicle trouble. H.L. pulled over in front of Van’s vehicle and asked if he needed help. That was before everyone had cell phones, so we took Van to his house and while on the way we learned that he operated the printing business and as years have passed, we have used his business for some of our printing needs. Something about him was very impressive to H.L and me, so much so, that I have not forgotten our first encounter with him.
How many of you recall these names that appeared in print in the Daily Record in the Aug. 26, 1993 edition? Congratulations had gone to Morgan Langston, Ashton Ennis, Loren Robinson, Melissa Byrd, and John Coats for the win in the East Regional Teams in 1993 Swim competition. Tournament winners were Loren Robinson and Lori Denning. Nicole Lucas was their swimming coach.
Boy Scouts have been around for a long time in Coats. So much so that the Troop 779 has had 72 young boys earn their Eagle Scout recognition and beyond for some. In 1993, the Troop 779 from the Coats Baptist Church had gone to the Boy Scout National Jamboree at For AP Hill, VA. Troop Scoutmaster Fred Robinson and his helpers attended with nineteen Boy Scouts. Robbie Paskiewicz, Harold Dixon, Don Bennett, Jerry Teasley and Tom Meece were a few of the many scout leaders (Daily Record Aug. 26, 1993).
Do you know what the letters ASCS represent? Do they have something to do with farm land and crops? I do know that Carlie Stevens had retired from his position with ASCS in 1993. Mr. Stevens began work with the ASCS in 1957 as a field reporter, and in 1977, until retirement, he was chief field assistant. He was highly respected by the farmers and co-workers. Carlie, his wife Mary and children Greg, Doug and Danny, are very active in the Coats community according to the Daily Record Sept. 1, edition of the paper.
Can you picture Carlie in your mind? Didn’t he always seem to be happy about something? He reminds me of two other Coats gents who were his friends –Jesse Ray Mann and J.W. Sorrell, Jr. These men always displayed the happiest disposition and recognizable laughs.
Read next week’s column and discover a new way of handling tobacco. You might also recall some of the other exciting news that the Daily Record preserved for us. The column following will contain some very interesting genealogy connected to many of our readers.
But for now, let’s talk about a lady named Bertha Westbrook. Derek Currin, an award winning teacher in the public school classroom, recently reached out to the museum and asked if we would be interested in something that Miss Bertha Westbrook had made for his mom. Bertha’s name brought back memories of her teaching in the basement of the 1920 brick school building on the original Coats High School campus.
In our “Together We Leave” book published in 1985, we recorded that Bertha began teaching in 1923 and taught at Oakdale and Coats School. Bertha’s lifelong companion, Miss Phyliss Buckner, taught at Coats for years as a first grade and kindergarten teacher and she came to Coats in 1942.If that is where the two met, I don’t know, but I do know both these ladies had an impact on and off the school campus.
Bertha was born in 1905 and is believed to have been reared in Sampson County. She retired in the early 1970’s due to cancer but lived until 1995 at age ninety. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dunn and her companion Phyllis rests next to her. Bertha had graduated from ECTC in Grenville, NC according to Derek. In that era, one attended school for 10 or eleven years and college certification did not necessarily require a four year degree so it is quite possible that she did begin teaching in 1923.
I do not know without extensive research exactly what she taught early on but do know that she is given credit for having credible Special Education classes taught in the schools of Harnett as early as 1952. In those classes she taught life skills where her students were under her watchful eye even after they left school. She is remembered for teaching her students to weave hot pads, to use saws, mold items from plaster of Paris and make friendship bands to encourage self esteem.
Derek, who is now an Adjunct Professor of English at Campbell University, grew up next door to the house that his dad Nelson built for Bertha on the Delma Grimes in 1980 after she and Phyllis moved from Dunn. She remained faithful to Hood Memorial even after death.
Derek’s dad had fond memories of Bertha and her frugality. He said she was so frugal that she could squeeze a dollar bill with George Washington’s picture on it until his eyes popped out. That saving characteristic enabled her to keep a private ledger of those she had loaned money and to share her wealth with others later in life such as was her gift to the Hood Memorial Church.
So-what did Derek give to the museum? Derek’s mom had hired Bertha to make a bedspread out of tobacco twine. It took three years and Bertha Izabell Westbrook was paid $1800 by Coma Lee Currin. Thank you-Derek.