September 22, 2017 Coats Museum News
The date on the Daily Record indicated it was October 20, 1964. The newspapers around the world likely headlined that former U.S. President Herbert Hoover had died. He was one of the great humanitarians of WW I and the post war period but will likely be remembered more for the great depression which occurred while he was president.
At Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital in Dunn, Mrs. Lula Jane Jackson Sorrell had died. She was the daughter of the late Henry Jackson and Lula Jane Howard. She was the wife of the late Willie Thomas Sorrell, Sr. Funeral services were held at the Hodges Chapel Church and burial was in the Devotional Gardens. She was survived by four sons -Howard Lentis Sorrrell, Sr., W.T. Sorrell, Jr., Clyde N.Sorrell, and Shirley C. Sorrell. Her eight daughters were Mrs. Lela Miller, Mrs. Naomi Massengill, Mrs. Velma Creech, Mrs. Mildred Barnes, Mrs. Sybil Mabry, Mrs. Dorothy Walton, Mrs .Laura Langdon and Mrs.Lula Jane Weeks (Daily Record Oct. 20, 1964).
Carson Gregory was reelected to the Farm Bureau’s top position (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1964).
Coats dumped Lillington 14-0. Wayne Matthews had pitched a strike to Marshall Walden for a touchdown to bring about a win (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1964). Sounded like base ball verbs-right?
A wedding made the news. The home of Mrs. Paul D. Pollard on Route One, Coats, was the setting for the wedding of Wanda Kay Pollard and Robert Sherrill Denning. The bride was the daughter of Mrs. Pollard and late Paul David Pollard. Wanda Kay was employed with the U.S. Treasury Department in Raleigh and Robert Sherrill was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Denning of near Benson and attended NC State University. Glenwood Pollard gave his sister away and Miss Linda Pollard was her Matron of Honor. Mr. Denning served as Best Man (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1964).
Shall we go back into time and visit September of 1952 and step into the old Coats High School? Ninety-one small first graders had begun their long hard journey of twelve long years to 1965 when they would receive their diploma which opened the door to opportunities in that era. During that long journey many memories were preserved in their yearbook.
Some of those cherished memories recorded were that Norfleet Gardner, Marie Salmon and Jane Recktenwald were freshmen homeroom teachers. Linda Ruth Barefoot and Sandra Flowers were class marshals. In the sophomore year, Cecil Fuquay, C.H. Cannady and Mrs. Recktenwald had guided them properly. Seven students had been inducted into the honor Beta Club. They were Sandra Flowers, Linda Ruth Barefoot, Joseph Turlington, Keith Parrish, June Powell, Judy Barefoot, and Edna Collier.
The sophomore marshals were Linda Ruth Barefoot and Sandra Flowers. Six more members of the class were inducted into the Beta Club. They were Freda Adams, Pam Clevenger, Sondra Ennis, Jerry Ferrell, Ann Johnson, and Joe Tart. Sandra Flowers, Edna Collier, and Linda Ruth Barefoot were marshals.
The junior year in 1963 had been filled with activities and Elaine O’Quinn, Faye Sauls and H.L. Sorrell, Jr. were there to guide them through it all. Putting together the Jr.- Sr. prom was the big event and had provided some good times as they had decorated for an “Evening in Paris.”
The senior year finally came and in the fall of 1964, the class elected Gary Denning as class president; Cathy Penny as vice-president; Cheryl Stewart as secretary and treasurers were Peggy Pollard, Sandra McKinnie, and Judy Williams. Pat Cook was picked as class reporter; Danny McLamb as testator; Beverly Langdon as historian; Ann Johnson as poet and Becky Fyre as prophetess.
The seniors of 1965 voted Cathy Barefoot, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Barefoot, and Rusty Styons, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Styons, as class mascots. Blue and white were the class colors and the flower was the rose. The class motto was “We took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” During the senior year two more students were inducted into the Beta Club. They were Connie Dorman and Judy Williams.
A major task of the seniors was to preserve the memories of their school days at Coats High in their yearbook, The Echoing Memories. June Powell was the editor and Linda Ruth was Business Manager. Assistant editors were Marcia Dorman, Larry Byrd, J. Keith Parrish, Frances Gregory, Wallace Pollard, Joseph Pollard, Joe Tart, Kenneth Davis, and JoAnne Tart Pope who helped June Powell. Those who helped Linda Ruth were Assistant Manager Mike Coats, Sondra Ennis, Judy Barfoot, Beverly Langdon, Ronnie Parrish, Cecil Stephenson, Pat Cook, Peggy Turlington, Joan Ivey, Judy Williams, Peggy Smith and Brenda Wilkins. Nancy Taylor and Roena Honeycutt were teacher sponsors.
Let’s test your memory. Most schools throughout NC had basically the same organizations in high school which afforded the opportunities for students to develop leadership. I will fill in the information about the students who attended Coats High School. If you attended a different school, you recall the students who held those offices or positions when you were in high school.
The Coats Student Council officers in 1965 were Joe Tart, president; Mike Coats, vice-president; Robert Pleasant, secretary-treasurer. This group sponsored turkey shoots to raise money to send the officers for training. The council sponsored the chapel programs and student of the month recognition. Who was the teacher advisor?
Did you recall your officers? Let’s try your memory on the Beta Club. At Coats the club selected J. Keith Parrish, president; Jerry Ferrell, vice-president; Sandra Flowers, secretary; Judy Barefoot, treasurer; Sondra Ennis, reporter; Joe Tart, sergeant at arms and Linda Ruth Barefoot, historian. The Beta Club teacher sponsor was H.L. Sorrell, Jr.
The Future Homemakers of America was made up girls who usually had classes in home economics. It stressed truth, love, security, and faith as a building block for the home. Those who won the most votes were Sandra Flowers, president; Hope Stewart, vice-president; Teresa Byrd, secretary; Sue Turlington, treasurer; Cathy Penny, reporter; Sondra Ennis, historian; Kathy Peede, parliamentarian; and Shelia Dupree, song leader and Joan Ivey, the county historian.
How are you doing so far? Let’s challenge your memory on the Future Farmers of America. At Coats the boys studied techniques of farming and soil conservation. They learned about livestock and building materials and developed leadership. Gary Denning, Joseph Turlington, Ronnie Parrish, Donnie Pollard, Kenneth Davis, Wayne Miller, Howard Penny, Devon Moore, Dwight Roberts, Leon Whittington, and Larry Stewart were voted officers. What position did those young men hold to work with M.O. Phillips?
Do you know who made up the Monogram Club? Its goal was to build school spirit and sportsmanship. Gary Denning, Cathy Penny, Becky Wilmoth, Beverly Langdon, Shelia Dupree and Andy Joyner were the leaders of that club. What did the members of this club have in common?
The “Yellow Jackets Buzz” gathered and compiled news to keep the students informed on school events. Brenda Wilkins and Christine Stewart were assisted by dozens of their classmates with the backup of Mrs. Betty Frazier and Mrs. Virginia Mears were the teacher advisors.
The class of 1965 certainly has favorite stories about the food enjoyed in the school cafeteria and memories of the nice ladies who had set their clocks at an early hour to prepare such lunches as the vegetable soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti, cherry cobbler and peanut butter cookies. As we slowly revisit the cafeteria that first served students in 1957, read to see if you can recall the faces of Mrs. Lillian Earp, Mrs. Evelyn Roberts, Mrs. Bessie Stewart, Mrs. Carrie Williams, Mrs. Almay McKoy, Mrs. Vernie Creech and Mrs. Geraldine Johnson.
Did these names remind you of when you were told not to run to the cafeteria but you did anyway to line up to wait for the cafeteria ladies to place the food on the rectangular trays of beige or blue with divided compartments to separate the cafeteria prepared foods. It surely was an improvement over those bag lunches brought from home in earlier years.
Can you see in your mind’s eye Jessie and Sally Terry as they smiled with their mops or brooms in hand to keep the building and grounds clean and safe? As you took on the jobs of keeping up your house and grounds after you left home and married, do you question how that couple was always so jovial after having to clean up after eight or nine hundred students.
Thank you goes to all those military veterans and families who honored the deadline to submit the military histories for the The Defenders of the Red, White and Blue. The volunteers are working to have the publication back by Veterans Day. Diane Allen has painted a second beautiful watercolor for our next exhibit in the museum. Thanks to Diane and all others who are sharing your talents with the Coats Museum and community. Thanks also, Diane, for donating a bag phone to go into our telephone exhibit and to Bennie Harmon for giving a mini replica of an old tobacco barn for the tobacco exhibit.
Thank you goes out to our board members who were up early for our quarterly meeting last Saturday morning. Many of them were up late for the Burlap and Lace event at the Senior Center but they were present with smiles and no complaints. Those in attendance were Patsy and Stacy Avery, Myrtle Bridges, Ralph Denning, Paul Parker, Tim Penny, Hilda Pope, Peggy Robinson, and Gayle Sorrell. The officers were Chairman H.L. Sorrell, Vice-chair Andy Cole and Secretary Becky Adams. Vacations and other obligations kept Robie and Lynda Butler, Kathy and Walter Weeks, Linda Cobb and Sandy Howard away.
The date on the Daily Record indicated it was October 20, 1964. The newspapers around the world likely headlined that former U.S. President Herbert Hoover had died. He was one of the great humanitarians of WW I and the post war period but will likely be remembered more for the great depression which occurred while he was president.
At Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital in Dunn, Mrs. Lula Jane Jackson Sorrell had died. She was the daughter of the late Henry Jackson and Lula Jane Howard. She was the wife of the late Willie Thomas Sorrell, Sr. Funeral services were held at the Hodges Chapel Church and burial was in the Devotional Gardens. She was survived by four sons -Howard Lentis Sorrrell, Sr., W.T. Sorrell, Jr., Clyde N.Sorrell, and Shirley C. Sorrell. Her eight daughters were Mrs. Lela Miller, Mrs. Naomi Massengill, Mrs. Velma Creech, Mrs. Mildred Barnes, Mrs. Sybil Mabry, Mrs. Dorothy Walton, Mrs .Laura Langdon and Mrs.Lula Jane Weeks (Daily Record Oct. 20, 1964).
Carson Gregory was reelected to the Farm Bureau’s top position (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1964).
Coats dumped Lillington 14-0. Wayne Matthews had pitched a strike to Marshall Walden for a touchdown to bring about a win (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1964). Sounded like base ball verbs-right?
A wedding made the news. The home of Mrs. Paul D. Pollard on Route One, Coats, was the setting for the wedding of Wanda Kay Pollard and Robert Sherrill Denning. The bride was the daughter of Mrs. Pollard and late Paul David Pollard. Wanda Kay was employed with the U.S. Treasury Department in Raleigh and Robert Sherrill was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Denning of near Benson and attended NC State University. Glenwood Pollard gave his sister away and Miss Linda Pollard was her Matron of Honor. Mr. Denning served as Best Man (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1964).
Shall we go back into time and visit September of 1952 and step into the old Coats High School? Ninety-one small first graders had begun their long hard journey of twelve long years to 1965 when they would receive their diploma which opened the door to opportunities in that era. During that long journey many memories were preserved in their yearbook.
Some of those cherished memories recorded were that Norfleet Gardner, Marie Salmon and Jane Recktenwald were freshmen homeroom teachers. Linda Ruth Barefoot and Sandra Flowers were class marshals. In the sophomore year, Cecil Fuquay, C.H. Cannady and Mrs. Recktenwald had guided them properly. Seven students had been inducted into the honor Beta Club. They were Sandra Flowers, Linda Ruth Barefoot, Joseph Turlington, Keith Parrish, June Powell, Judy Barefoot, and Edna Collier.
The sophomore marshals were Linda Ruth Barefoot and Sandra Flowers. Six more members of the class were inducted into the Beta Club. They were Freda Adams, Pam Clevenger, Sondra Ennis, Jerry Ferrell, Ann Johnson, and Joe Tart. Sandra Flowers, Edna Collier, and Linda Ruth Barefoot were marshals.
The junior year in 1963 had been filled with activities and Elaine O’Quinn, Faye Sauls and H.L. Sorrell, Jr. were there to guide them through it all. Putting together the Jr.- Sr. prom was the big event and had provided some good times as they had decorated for an “Evening in Paris.”
The senior year finally came and in the fall of 1964, the class elected Gary Denning as class president; Cathy Penny as vice-president; Cheryl Stewart as secretary and treasurers were Peggy Pollard, Sandra McKinnie, and Judy Williams. Pat Cook was picked as class reporter; Danny McLamb as testator; Beverly Langdon as historian; Ann Johnson as poet and Becky Fyre as prophetess.
The seniors of 1965 voted Cathy Barefoot, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Barefoot, and Rusty Styons, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Styons, as class mascots. Blue and white were the class colors and the flower was the rose. The class motto was “We took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” During the senior year two more students were inducted into the Beta Club. They were Connie Dorman and Judy Williams.
A major task of the seniors was to preserve the memories of their school days at Coats High in their yearbook, The Echoing Memories. June Powell was the editor and Linda Ruth was Business Manager. Assistant editors were Marcia Dorman, Larry Byrd, J. Keith Parrish, Frances Gregory, Wallace Pollard, Joseph Pollard, Joe Tart, Kenneth Davis, and JoAnne Tart Pope who helped June Powell. Those who helped Linda Ruth were Assistant Manager Mike Coats, Sondra Ennis, Judy Barfoot, Beverly Langdon, Ronnie Parrish, Cecil Stephenson, Pat Cook, Peggy Turlington, Joan Ivey, Judy Williams, Peggy Smith and Brenda Wilkins. Nancy Taylor and Roena Honeycutt were teacher sponsors.
Let’s test your memory. Most schools throughout NC had basically the same organizations in high school which afforded the opportunities for students to develop leadership. I will fill in the information about the students who attended Coats High School. If you attended a different school, you recall the students who held those offices or positions when you were in high school.
The Coats Student Council officers in 1965 were Joe Tart, president; Mike Coats, vice-president; Robert Pleasant, secretary-treasurer. This group sponsored turkey shoots to raise money to send the officers for training. The council sponsored the chapel programs and student of the month recognition. Who was the teacher advisor?
Did you recall your officers? Let’s try your memory on the Beta Club. At Coats the club selected J. Keith Parrish, president; Jerry Ferrell, vice-president; Sandra Flowers, secretary; Judy Barefoot, treasurer; Sondra Ennis, reporter; Joe Tart, sergeant at arms and Linda Ruth Barefoot, historian. The Beta Club teacher sponsor was H.L. Sorrell, Jr.
The Future Homemakers of America was made up girls who usually had classes in home economics. It stressed truth, love, security, and faith as a building block for the home. Those who won the most votes were Sandra Flowers, president; Hope Stewart, vice-president; Teresa Byrd, secretary; Sue Turlington, treasurer; Cathy Penny, reporter; Sondra Ennis, historian; Kathy Peede, parliamentarian; and Shelia Dupree, song leader and Joan Ivey, the county historian.
How are you doing so far? Let’s challenge your memory on the Future Farmers of America. At Coats the boys studied techniques of farming and soil conservation. They learned about livestock and building materials and developed leadership. Gary Denning, Joseph Turlington, Ronnie Parrish, Donnie Pollard, Kenneth Davis, Wayne Miller, Howard Penny, Devon Moore, Dwight Roberts, Leon Whittington, and Larry Stewart were voted officers. What position did those young men hold to work with M.O. Phillips?
Do you know who made up the Monogram Club? Its goal was to build school spirit and sportsmanship. Gary Denning, Cathy Penny, Becky Wilmoth, Beverly Langdon, Shelia Dupree and Andy Joyner were the leaders of that club. What did the members of this club have in common?
The “Yellow Jackets Buzz” gathered and compiled news to keep the students informed on school events. Brenda Wilkins and Christine Stewart were assisted by dozens of their classmates with the backup of Mrs. Betty Frazier and Mrs. Virginia Mears were the teacher advisors.
The class of 1965 certainly has favorite stories about the food enjoyed in the school cafeteria and memories of the nice ladies who had set their clocks at an early hour to prepare such lunches as the vegetable soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti, cherry cobbler and peanut butter cookies. As we slowly revisit the cafeteria that first served students in 1957, read to see if you can recall the faces of Mrs. Lillian Earp, Mrs. Evelyn Roberts, Mrs. Bessie Stewart, Mrs. Carrie Williams, Mrs. Almay McKoy, Mrs. Vernie Creech and Mrs. Geraldine Johnson.
Did these names remind you of when you were told not to run to the cafeteria but you did anyway to line up to wait for the cafeteria ladies to place the food on the rectangular trays of beige or blue with divided compartments to separate the cafeteria prepared foods. It surely was an improvement over those bag lunches brought from home in earlier years.
Can you see in your mind’s eye Jessie and Sally Terry as they smiled with their mops or brooms in hand to keep the building and grounds clean and safe? As you took on the jobs of keeping up your house and grounds after you left home and married, do you question how that couple was always so jovial after having to clean up after eight or nine hundred students.
Thank you goes to all those military veterans and families who honored the deadline to submit the military histories for the The Defenders of the Red, White and Blue. The volunteers are working to have the publication back by Veterans Day. Diane Allen has painted a second beautiful watercolor for our next exhibit in the museum. Thanks to Diane and all others who are sharing your talents with the Coats Museum and community. Thanks also, Diane, for donating a bag phone to go into our telephone exhibit and to Bennie Harmon for giving a mini replica of an old tobacco barn for the tobacco exhibit.
Thank you goes out to our board members who were up early for our quarterly meeting last Saturday morning. Many of them were up late for the Burlap and Lace event at the Senior Center but they were present with smiles and no complaints. Those in attendance were Patsy and Stacy Avery, Myrtle Bridges, Ralph Denning, Paul Parker, Tim Penny, Hilda Pope, Peggy Robinson, and Gayle Sorrell. The officers were Chairman H.L. Sorrell, Vice-chair Andy Cole and Secretary Becky Adams. Vacations and other obligations kept Robie and Lynda Butler, Kathy and Walter Weeks, Linda Cobb and Sandy Howard away.