September 21, 2012 Coats Museum News
In 1933, “Uncle Sam” continued to be plagued with problems and one of them was that people were hoarding their money rather than placing it into the banks where it could go into circulation (Harnett County News March 16, 1933). Because over 10,000 banks had failed since 1920, do you think that is why the people were not putting their money into the banks? I do know that over 1,007 men in Harnett County were given jobs from the Federal Relief Funds during the month of January 1933. Because of the relief program, these workers received over $6,500. The work was done on highway repairing, schoolhouse building and repairing. These projects would not have been possible without the funds (Harnett County News March 16, 1933).
The Coats Town Board met on April 10, 1933 with a mass meeting to nominate town officials. For mayor, W.E. Nichols was nominated. M.C. Stewart, A.C. Grimes, C.J. Turlington and T.O. Beasley were picked as commissioners (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, April 10, 1933).
The Harnett County Board of Education voted to spend funds available for transportation to go toward purchase of Chevrolet trucks to replace Model “T” Fords, then in bad condition. The principal of Lillington School had asked that the county rent space from the school to store buses over the summer. The decision was deferred. Wonder where buses were currently kept during the summer. Resolutions were adopted by the BOE favoring new buildings for Coats and Benhaven. When the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners met jointly, the commissioners rejected the proposition. The state cut funds for the schools which meant a 30 percent cut in teacher salaries (Harnett County News April 13, 1933).
At the Coats Town Board meeting on April 23, 1933, Mayor Nichols appointed O.A. Cobb to handle auto plates. A car without a plate had to be parked. Mr. John Moore’s license to sell beer was revoked by commissioners. Miss Edna Beasley was appointed list-taker by the town commissioners. She also had to make out the books. The Coats Drug Company was paid $5.22 for light bulbs, etc. The town was to have a cleaning day on May 1st.
The Harnett County Board of Commissioners received applications from those who wanted to sell beer and light wines. The towns determined who sold such inside of corporate lines, while the county board issued licenses to those outside of municipalities (Harnett County News April 27, 1933).
W.M. Keen was granted a license along with nine other men and one woman to sell beers. Keen decided not to sell beer (Harnett County News May 4, 1933). Wonder why?
The Harnett County Board of Commissioners had been forced into an uncomfortable position by reason of the demand of certain school districts for new buildings. Benhaven and Coats had no room for the increasing number of students. The situation at Coats had become tragic. From Coats came the story that deaths had resulted from disease contracted by students forced to pursue their education in the basement of the building. At Coats, patrons declared that they would not send their children to school unless conditions were remedied. You ask, “Why don’t they build a school?” The answer is the county had no school construction funds. The prominent people were having a difficult time paying taxes even if they were asked to set an example for other county citizens (Harnett County News May 5, 1933).
Are you familiar with the old saying, “When it rains, it pours”? That is likely how some residents of Harnett County felt. Small showers had fallen the past week and brought some relief from excessive heat and prolonged drought in Harnett County but hail had accompanied the rains in Grove and Black River and crops and gardens were in ruin in some parts of the county (Harnett County News May 29, 1933).
Mayor W.E. Nichols presided at his first Coats Town Board meeting when T.O Beasley, A. Clyde Grimes, Malcolm C. Stewart, and C.J. Turlington met on June 9, 1933. Clyde Grimes was picked at street commissioner. The board agreed to leave the town tax at 40 cents on the hundred dollars. A motion was made that all businesses be closed from 10:00 A.M.to 12:00 for A.M. for church services on Sundays. John Moore was granted a beer license for 1 year as long as he stayed in jurisdiction of the State Revenue Law (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, June 9, 1933).
Normally some of the readers respond to my questions in the columns, but no one responded if Coats had a jail in 1933? The Coats Town Board met on July 5, 1933 and asked CPL to continue with the same numbers of lights for the next six months. Coats Drug Store was paid $3.45 for bulbs and batteries. James Stewart, Crosby Liles, Jodie Whittington, Son Cromodie and Paschal Barbour were paid bills due. Owen Beasley and Malcolm Stewart were appointed to investigate the cost of building or probably repairing the old guard house (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, July 5, 1933).
The county board of commissioners chaired by J.B. Ennis of Grove Township appropriated $2,000 for conducting a campaign of vaccination against typhoid and diphtheria in Harnett. Twenty-five cents was fixed for each inoculation. Dr. Butler of Coats and Dr. Fred Fleming in Buies Creek were present in interest of the clinic. Eight cases of typhoid had been reported in Harnett. The Citizens Military Training Camp at Fort Bragg would open on July 15th for 1933. In accordance with General McCloskey’s policy of naming the camp each year after a soldier killed in action overseas, this camp that year was named after Jesse Munro Avery from Harnett County. Jesse Avery was born in Coats, Grove Township, Harnett County, on October 31, 1895. When he was 22 years of age, he went overseas with “M” 119th Infantry, 30th Division. This group was made up of Harnett men. While in a front line trench near Ypres, Private Avery was hit by a mortar shell and was carried to a first aid station where he died. Deputy Sheriff Ken C. Matthews helped carry Avery to the aid station and later helped bury him that night. After the Armistice, Avery’s body was brought back and he is interred at Prospect Church near Coats in Grove Township. The State Board of Education dropped the number of districts in Harnett County Schools from 21 to 10. Coats, Turlington, Oakdale, and Gregory were assigned to District #6. The colored districts were outlined in like manner (Harnett County News July 6, 1933).
It is a very exciting time around the museum. You might have noticed a sign indicating that the Coats Museum is the recipient of the Operation Roundup Grant from South River Electric. The grant will pay for part of the bookcases in the Research Library. Thank you goes to all the members of South River Electric. We also wish to give thanks to Wallace Pollard, Ann Beasley and Dovie Beasley for their generous contributions to the Coats Museum Building Fund. A contribution was also given to the Coats Museum Endowment to honor the memory of Wade Coats, a great-grandson of Coats founder, J.T. Coats.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2012.
In 1933, “Uncle Sam” continued to be plagued with problems and one of them was that people were hoarding their money rather than placing it into the banks where it could go into circulation (Harnett County News March 16, 1933). Because over 10,000 banks had failed since 1920, do you think that is why the people were not putting their money into the banks? I do know that over 1,007 men in Harnett County were given jobs from the Federal Relief Funds during the month of January 1933. Because of the relief program, these workers received over $6,500. The work was done on highway repairing, schoolhouse building and repairing. These projects would not have been possible without the funds (Harnett County News March 16, 1933).
The Coats Town Board met on April 10, 1933 with a mass meeting to nominate town officials. For mayor, W.E. Nichols was nominated. M.C. Stewart, A.C. Grimes, C.J. Turlington and T.O. Beasley were picked as commissioners (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, April 10, 1933).
The Harnett County Board of Education voted to spend funds available for transportation to go toward purchase of Chevrolet trucks to replace Model “T” Fords, then in bad condition. The principal of Lillington School had asked that the county rent space from the school to store buses over the summer. The decision was deferred. Wonder where buses were currently kept during the summer. Resolutions were adopted by the BOE favoring new buildings for Coats and Benhaven. When the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners met jointly, the commissioners rejected the proposition. The state cut funds for the schools which meant a 30 percent cut in teacher salaries (Harnett County News April 13, 1933).
At the Coats Town Board meeting on April 23, 1933, Mayor Nichols appointed O.A. Cobb to handle auto plates. A car without a plate had to be parked. Mr. John Moore’s license to sell beer was revoked by commissioners. Miss Edna Beasley was appointed list-taker by the town commissioners. She also had to make out the books. The Coats Drug Company was paid $5.22 for light bulbs, etc. The town was to have a cleaning day on May 1st.
The Harnett County Board of Commissioners received applications from those who wanted to sell beer and light wines. The towns determined who sold such inside of corporate lines, while the county board issued licenses to those outside of municipalities (Harnett County News April 27, 1933).
W.M. Keen was granted a license along with nine other men and one woman to sell beers. Keen decided not to sell beer (Harnett County News May 4, 1933). Wonder why?
The Harnett County Board of Commissioners had been forced into an uncomfortable position by reason of the demand of certain school districts for new buildings. Benhaven and Coats had no room for the increasing number of students. The situation at Coats had become tragic. From Coats came the story that deaths had resulted from disease contracted by students forced to pursue their education in the basement of the building. At Coats, patrons declared that they would not send their children to school unless conditions were remedied. You ask, “Why don’t they build a school?” The answer is the county had no school construction funds. The prominent people were having a difficult time paying taxes even if they were asked to set an example for other county citizens (Harnett County News May 5, 1933).
Are you familiar with the old saying, “When it rains, it pours”? That is likely how some residents of Harnett County felt. Small showers had fallen the past week and brought some relief from excessive heat and prolonged drought in Harnett County but hail had accompanied the rains in Grove and Black River and crops and gardens were in ruin in some parts of the county (Harnett County News May 29, 1933).
Mayor W.E. Nichols presided at his first Coats Town Board meeting when T.O Beasley, A. Clyde Grimes, Malcolm C. Stewart, and C.J. Turlington met on June 9, 1933. Clyde Grimes was picked at street commissioner. The board agreed to leave the town tax at 40 cents on the hundred dollars. A motion was made that all businesses be closed from 10:00 A.M.to 12:00 for A.M. for church services on Sundays. John Moore was granted a beer license for 1 year as long as he stayed in jurisdiction of the State Revenue Law (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, June 9, 1933).
Normally some of the readers respond to my questions in the columns, but no one responded if Coats had a jail in 1933? The Coats Town Board met on July 5, 1933 and asked CPL to continue with the same numbers of lights for the next six months. Coats Drug Store was paid $3.45 for bulbs and batteries. James Stewart, Crosby Liles, Jodie Whittington, Son Cromodie and Paschal Barbour were paid bills due. Owen Beasley and Malcolm Stewart were appointed to investigate the cost of building or probably repairing the old guard house (Coats Town Board meeting minutes, July 5, 1933).
The county board of commissioners chaired by J.B. Ennis of Grove Township appropriated $2,000 for conducting a campaign of vaccination against typhoid and diphtheria in Harnett. Twenty-five cents was fixed for each inoculation. Dr. Butler of Coats and Dr. Fred Fleming in Buies Creek were present in interest of the clinic. Eight cases of typhoid had been reported in Harnett. The Citizens Military Training Camp at Fort Bragg would open on July 15th for 1933. In accordance with General McCloskey’s policy of naming the camp each year after a soldier killed in action overseas, this camp that year was named after Jesse Munro Avery from Harnett County. Jesse Avery was born in Coats, Grove Township, Harnett County, on October 31, 1895. When he was 22 years of age, he went overseas with “M” 119th Infantry, 30th Division. This group was made up of Harnett men. While in a front line trench near Ypres, Private Avery was hit by a mortar shell and was carried to a first aid station where he died. Deputy Sheriff Ken C. Matthews helped carry Avery to the aid station and later helped bury him that night. After the Armistice, Avery’s body was brought back and he is interred at Prospect Church near Coats in Grove Township. The State Board of Education dropped the number of districts in Harnett County Schools from 21 to 10. Coats, Turlington, Oakdale, and Gregory were assigned to District #6. The colored districts were outlined in like manner (Harnett County News July 6, 1933).
It is a very exciting time around the museum. You might have noticed a sign indicating that the Coats Museum is the recipient of the Operation Roundup Grant from South River Electric. The grant will pay for part of the bookcases in the Research Library. Thank you goes to all the members of South River Electric. We also wish to give thanks to Wallace Pollard, Ann Beasley and Dovie Beasley for their generous contributions to the Coats Museum Building Fund. A contribution was also given to the Coats Museum Endowment to honor the memory of Wade Coats, a great-grandson of Coats founder, J.T. Coats.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS COATS MUSEUM NEWS APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2012.