September 14, 2012 Coats Museum News
Who was allowed to drive an automobile in 1932? I do know that a bill was drawn providing for licensing for automobile drivers in North Carolina in that year. It was known as the “Uniform Operators’ and Chauffeurs’ License Act”. Thirty-seven of the forty -eight states already had such. Driver’s annual fees would be 75 cents; family licenses $1.50, and Chauffeur’s license $5.00. Examinations would be required for those who had not driven for six months. Licenses would be revoked for causes such as drunkedness, accidents, and recklessness (Harnett County News December 29, 1932). Who gave those examinations and what did it mean by family licenses and Chauffeur’s license? You did notice that there were only 48 states?
The former Sheriff Malcolm Fowler was named by the Harnett County Board of Commissioners as Director of County Relief. His job was to administer Federal Relief Funds and to distribute Red Cross flour and cloth (Harnett County News December 22, 1932).
Jailer Ken Matthews and Mrs. Matthews were allowed $20.00 per month and turnkey fees of 30 cents each to feed the prisoners. The county would furnish food. The Matthews couple would get board, lodging, and laundry at the jail (Harnett County News December 29, 1932). Did Ken Matthews ever live in the Coats area? Who formerly owned the Jeffrey Turlington house?
The year was now 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the new president. The Democrats had nominated him in 1932 and he had promised the American people a “New Deal”. Who was this second Roosevelt to serve as a president of the United States? FDR wanted for nothing as a child. All of his ancestors were rich, famous or beautiful. He was the fifth cousin to former President Theodore Roosevelt. He had married his cousin Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905. Does that date sound familiar to the folks in Coats? At the age of 39, Roosevelt had polio and lost the complete use of both legs. He worked hard to recover from his polio attack. He used crutches, leg braces, and a wheel chair. In spite of the polio, FDR was elected Governor of New York and was serving in that position when the stock market crashed. In 1932, he selected the campaign song, “Happy Days Are Here Again”. He won the election by a landslide. Roosevelt believed the government had a duty to help the people. To do this, he started a program called the “New Deal”. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was one of those programs. The program hired people to build bridges, dams, and roads. Government buildings were remodeled and new ones were built by WPA workers. Question-Was the 1936 Coats High School building constructed with the help of WPA workers? I do know that many of the murals in the public buildings were painted by out -of -work artists who were WPA workers.
Another program under the “New Deal “that affected the citizens was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This program gave jobs to unemployed men who planted trees, built dams, and fought forest fires. From 1933 -1945, two million young men served in the CCC. Another part of the “New Deal” was Social Security. By paying some out of the monthly paycheck, the citizen would have a steady monthly income after retirement. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was one of the largest projects of the “New Deal”. It allowed the people to own the electrical company from which they used electricity. Do you recognize any of these programs today?
Harnett County and the Grove area continued to experience troubled times during the Depression. The citizens of Grove had paid $3,227.21 toward the 1932 county taxes. The balance due was $23,404.68. To make matters worse, there was a prevalence of influenza. In fact, school was delayed a week after Christmas because of the flu. Also, the roads were in terrible shape and the delayed opening of school aided the road forces in getting the roads in better shape for the school bus operation (Harnett County News January 5, 1933).
Mules! Mules! Mules were everywhere going up for auction. Seventy-five were sold on Wednesday, January 25, at 10:00. Fifty of these were second hand mortgage mules and 25 were fresh, young mules. Cows were not exempted from sales. Some 50 head of cows and heifers-port to fresh right away-went up for sale. Some 1 and 2 horse wagons, farm tools and a riding cultivator were sold regardless of price. Rain or shine the animals were sold (Harnett County News January 19, 1933).Wonder where in Harnett County these auctions were conducted?
The Coats Town Board met with Mayor Bill Roycroft presiding. The purpose of the meeting was to pay bills. R.M. Coats received payment of $25.00 for labor on streets with mules. L.L. Glover was paid$10.75 for his labor. Coats Mercantile Company charged $93.86 for use of a truck and mule for street work and J.J. Adams earned $5.50 for street labor. C.V. Stewart labored on streets for $9.60 and B.L. Langdon was paid $117.30 for labor and use of a mule on street wash and T.D. Stewart was paid $24.60 for 123 yards of gravel at 20 cents. All of these gentlemen had to apply the checks toward their town taxes (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, February 27, 1933).
The Coats Board met the following week to elect a night watchman. Recall they had had CPL to cut off a large number of streetlights. The board hired Glen Coats who received $10.00 from the merchants and $20.00 from the town (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, March 7, 1933).
About 1,600 banks failed during 1932. Over 5,400 had failed since January 1, 1929. Over 10,000 had failed since 1920. Naturally, people questioned the banking industry and the ignorance of banking principles. Many citizens wanted Congress to prohibit the banking industry from controlling themselves and felt that restrictive measures should be passed to protect the thousands of people who banked and lost their money. Some citizens favored some form of insuring deposits. The banks opposed insurance plans because of cost saying it would discourage individualism and encourage “slipshod “banking. Congress addressed the banking problem and made efforts to protect depositors (Harnett County News March 9, 1933).
A special thank you goes to Hilda Pope for her contribution to the Coats Museum Building Fund to honor the memory of Jimmy Rose. Jimmy Lee came on board again to help remove the old water fountain from the school property which was given to the museum by the IGA McLambs—thanks to all of you. If you see John Willoughby (Sunny’s Cleaners) thank him for all the free dry cleaning he is doing on our military and school athletic and club jackets for display in the museum. Thanks goes to Mike Norris and his team at Mike’s Auto Parts who always respond to our many requests for use of tools and skills in setting up our exhibits at the museum.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2012.
Who was allowed to drive an automobile in 1932? I do know that a bill was drawn providing for licensing for automobile drivers in North Carolina in that year. It was known as the “Uniform Operators’ and Chauffeurs’ License Act”. Thirty-seven of the forty -eight states already had such. Driver’s annual fees would be 75 cents; family licenses $1.50, and Chauffeur’s license $5.00. Examinations would be required for those who had not driven for six months. Licenses would be revoked for causes such as drunkedness, accidents, and recklessness (Harnett County News December 29, 1932). Who gave those examinations and what did it mean by family licenses and Chauffeur’s license? You did notice that there were only 48 states?
The former Sheriff Malcolm Fowler was named by the Harnett County Board of Commissioners as Director of County Relief. His job was to administer Federal Relief Funds and to distribute Red Cross flour and cloth (Harnett County News December 22, 1932).
Jailer Ken Matthews and Mrs. Matthews were allowed $20.00 per month and turnkey fees of 30 cents each to feed the prisoners. The county would furnish food. The Matthews couple would get board, lodging, and laundry at the jail (Harnett County News December 29, 1932). Did Ken Matthews ever live in the Coats area? Who formerly owned the Jeffrey Turlington house?
The year was now 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the new president. The Democrats had nominated him in 1932 and he had promised the American people a “New Deal”. Who was this second Roosevelt to serve as a president of the United States? FDR wanted for nothing as a child. All of his ancestors were rich, famous or beautiful. He was the fifth cousin to former President Theodore Roosevelt. He had married his cousin Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905. Does that date sound familiar to the folks in Coats? At the age of 39, Roosevelt had polio and lost the complete use of both legs. He worked hard to recover from his polio attack. He used crutches, leg braces, and a wheel chair. In spite of the polio, FDR was elected Governor of New York and was serving in that position when the stock market crashed. In 1932, he selected the campaign song, “Happy Days Are Here Again”. He won the election by a landslide. Roosevelt believed the government had a duty to help the people. To do this, he started a program called the “New Deal”. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was one of those programs. The program hired people to build bridges, dams, and roads. Government buildings were remodeled and new ones were built by WPA workers. Question-Was the 1936 Coats High School building constructed with the help of WPA workers? I do know that many of the murals in the public buildings were painted by out -of -work artists who were WPA workers.
Another program under the “New Deal “that affected the citizens was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This program gave jobs to unemployed men who planted trees, built dams, and fought forest fires. From 1933 -1945, two million young men served in the CCC. Another part of the “New Deal” was Social Security. By paying some out of the monthly paycheck, the citizen would have a steady monthly income after retirement. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was one of the largest projects of the “New Deal”. It allowed the people to own the electrical company from which they used electricity. Do you recognize any of these programs today?
Harnett County and the Grove area continued to experience troubled times during the Depression. The citizens of Grove had paid $3,227.21 toward the 1932 county taxes. The balance due was $23,404.68. To make matters worse, there was a prevalence of influenza. In fact, school was delayed a week after Christmas because of the flu. Also, the roads were in terrible shape and the delayed opening of school aided the road forces in getting the roads in better shape for the school bus operation (Harnett County News January 5, 1933).
Mules! Mules! Mules were everywhere going up for auction. Seventy-five were sold on Wednesday, January 25, at 10:00. Fifty of these were second hand mortgage mules and 25 were fresh, young mules. Cows were not exempted from sales. Some 50 head of cows and heifers-port to fresh right away-went up for sale. Some 1 and 2 horse wagons, farm tools and a riding cultivator were sold regardless of price. Rain or shine the animals were sold (Harnett County News January 19, 1933).Wonder where in Harnett County these auctions were conducted?
The Coats Town Board met with Mayor Bill Roycroft presiding. The purpose of the meeting was to pay bills. R.M. Coats received payment of $25.00 for labor on streets with mules. L.L. Glover was paid$10.75 for his labor. Coats Mercantile Company charged $93.86 for use of a truck and mule for street work and J.J. Adams earned $5.50 for street labor. C.V. Stewart labored on streets for $9.60 and B.L. Langdon was paid $117.30 for labor and use of a mule on street wash and T.D. Stewart was paid $24.60 for 123 yards of gravel at 20 cents. All of these gentlemen had to apply the checks toward their town taxes (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, February 27, 1933).
The Coats Board met the following week to elect a night watchman. Recall they had had CPL to cut off a large number of streetlights. The board hired Glen Coats who received $10.00 from the merchants and $20.00 from the town (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, March 7, 1933).
About 1,600 banks failed during 1932. Over 5,400 had failed since January 1, 1929. Over 10,000 had failed since 1920. Naturally, people questioned the banking industry and the ignorance of banking principles. Many citizens wanted Congress to prohibit the banking industry from controlling themselves and felt that restrictive measures should be passed to protect the thousands of people who banked and lost their money. Some citizens favored some form of insuring deposits. The banks opposed insurance plans because of cost saying it would discourage individualism and encourage “slipshod “banking. Congress addressed the banking problem and made efforts to protect depositors (Harnett County News March 9, 1933).
A special thank you goes to Hilda Pope for her contribution to the Coats Museum Building Fund to honor the memory of Jimmy Rose. Jimmy Lee came on board again to help remove the old water fountain from the school property which was given to the museum by the IGA McLambs—thanks to all of you. If you see John Willoughby (Sunny’s Cleaners) thank him for all the free dry cleaning he is doing on our military and school athletic and club jackets for display in the museum. Thanks goes to Mike Norris and his team at Mike’s Auto Parts who always respond to our many requests for use of tools and skills in setting up our exhibits at the museum.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2012.