September 4, 2015 Coats Museum News
The Daily Record had printed that Hurricane Hazel had hit the area digging trees up by the roots, shattering plate glass windows and neon lights and tearing awnings from buildings. Surely the death of John Rufus Pope, 88, had shattered the hearts of many locals in the Coats area. He had died at Good Hope Hospital on Friday afternoon. Funeral services were held at Gift Primitive Baptist Church. Elder J.T. Lewis and J.S. Collins had officiated. Mr. Pope was buried in the Coats Cemetery and was the son of Rufus and Spicey Beasley Pope of Coats and a native of Johnston County. The retired farmer was survived by six sons-Lonnie of Silver Dove, William, Joe Ben, David B., Sam, and Willis. His three daughters were Mrs. J.R. Roberts, Mrs. Lessie Bryant, and Mrs. Spicey Ann Pope. He had 64 grandchildren and 80 great-grandchildren. His wife was the former Sara Frances Wood who had died several years earlier (Daily Record Oct. 16, 1954).
How proud and happy Mr. and Mrs. Pope would be to see how successful those grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great- great-grandchildren are in the Coats area. Someone else who would have had reason to be proud would be Mrs. W.T. Howard who was honored on 45th birthday with a bountiful dinner spread out of doors. The children- Mrs. R.E. Allen, Mrs. Edgar Norris, Jr., Bill, Jessie Ray and Bobby Sherrill Howard were all present. Does anyone know some of her grandchildren who live in the area? They, too, have been very successful.
I also know that a neighbor of Mrs. Howard's had been very ill according to the paper. Mrs. Bronnie Ennis was showing some improvement after being seriously ill for several weeks. The same issue of the paper wrote that the figures were in for the damage caused by Hurricane Hazel. The numbers were 60 million dollars. Was that just for Harnett County? The Dunn Tobacco Market had sold almost 10 million pounds of tobacco for an average of $54.09 per pound. Tobacco was all cured and in the barns when Hazel came through-right?
The Harnett County Stabilization and Conservation Committee for Grove Township were Chairman T.D. Stewart, Nealie Matthews, Alton Overby, R.E. Turlington and Woodrow Langdon. Mack Reid Hudson was selected chairman for the other Grove Township. Jarvis Pleasant, Walter Barnes, Dallas Jones, and Joe Penny, Jr. were members of the committee.
Surely the students at Coats School reacted to the news that their principal, R. Hal Smith, had suffered a head injury in an accident of two pickup trucks. Anyone remember that accident? Maybe someone remembers that Mrs. Reta Whittington had honored Miss Marilyn Jackson, bride –elect of Darwin Whittington. Rosalie, Rebecca and Mrs. Millard Whittington had attended the event (Daily Record Oct. 21, 1954).
Little Walter T. Weeks celebrated his first birthday (Daily Record Oct. 22, 1954). Was his father a Coats businessman at this time?
Mrs. Howard Godwin of Benson, Route 1, had died at the age of 38. Mrs. Godwin succumbed on Sunday afternoon; arrangements were by Overby Funeral Home of Coats. Another family who experienced the pain of death was the Lonnie Pollard family. Mrs. Pollard's brother, Wiley West, of Benson had died. Elsewhere in the area, parties continued to honor Miss Marilyn Jackson. A dessert canister party was given in her honor by Misses Rebecca and Rosalie Whittington (Daily Record Oct. 25, 1954).
Another death was recorded in the paper. This one was for Mrs. Minnie King of Willow Springs. Mrs. King was the mother of Mrs. Howard Gregory of Coats. The funeral services were at Mrs. King's church, White Memorial Presbyterian Church. The Penny family of the Pleasant Grove area also experienced the loss of a loved one. Mrs. Jamie Penny, who had many relatives in the Coats area, lost her brother, Willis Rayvon Beasley, 23, in automobile accident.
How many of you recognize the name B.F. Gentry? Did you know there was a Coats connection to the gentleman? Was he a former superintendent of Harnett Schools and was Gentry School named in his honor. Miss Sue Cobb Bullock was the niece of Mrs. B.P. Gentry. Miss Bullock had attended a family reunion with her aunt (Daily Record Oct. 26, 1954). Does anyone remember this lady?
I do know that The Old Man and the Sea was once on the required reading list in some school districts. Those of you who attended places of higher learning surely remember it from American Literature and that Ernest Hemingway had won the 1954 Nobel Prize for this short book (Daily Record Oct. 28, 1954).
Parties continued to honor the bride-elect of Darwin Whittington of Coats. A surprise party and shower were given by Mrs. Calvin Johnson and Mrs. Corbett Autry for the young woman (Daily Record Nov. 2, 1954).
Did farmers continue to clear new ground for plant beds in 1954? Did they mix the seeds in cotton seed meal or some other powder to note where the seeds were sewn? Did they use bamboo reeds to keep the canvas off the young seedlings? Next week you will learn about the Roanoke-Holiday Tobacco harvester.
The volunteers at the Coats Museum are all about preserving local history. For many years we have been collecting the names of our locals or spouses of our locals who have served in the various branches of our armed forces. From going through scrapbooks, newspapers, family histories and sponsoring several military events, we have compiled hundreds of names and pictures in alphabetical order and placed them into volumes in our Coats Museum Research Library. Some of the forms contain only the name from an obituary or tombstone while others contain wonderful pictures from those years in service.
We want to complete this military collection by sponsoring an event on November 14th on the Coats Heritage Square where each veteran, active service military person, or spouse or child of a deceased veteran will be recognized individually on the deck of the community building by sharing with those who attend, the honoree's name, rank, branch of service and places they were stationed. The honorees will walk through an opening in the crowd to place a small American flag in their honor on the lawns in front of the Coats Museum and Cotton Museum. After all honorees have completed the walk, the Coats Museum will be opened where those individuals who have uniforms and military items from the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan will stand near them to share and hear stories with everyone who attends the event.
There will be food and music but no chairs will be provided, so if someone needs to sit, bring a chair. Parking will be on the museum property behind the museums. In order to prepare for registration materials, food, and parking, we would really need to hear from you if you can be a part of this event. Every veteran is equally important to us in preserving the military history of our Coats Community.
Forms can be obtained in the museum on Thursdays and Sundays and at the Coats Barber Shop.
The Coats High Class of 1965 celebrated their 50th Reunion last weekend. This is truly an outstanding group of Baby Boomers. Chris Johnson Freitis, who joined her classmates in touring the museum on Friday, shared this class had the largest number of students to enter and later graduate from the old Coats School. What an afternoon it was learning that so many of them fought in the jungles of Vietnam.
The museum folks really appreciate Judy and Stacy Williams for adding their names to the donor wall in the Kress and Nell Penny Williams Exhibit Hall. Our research library chairs were upholstered by Stacy and Judy's family business and that too was a big contribution-thanks Judy and Stacy. Also thank you goes to H.L. for remembering Bill Pope and H.A. Turlington with memorials to the Coats Museum Endowment. Both of these gentlemen will long be remembered. A thank you goes to Beverley Howard for a copy of The Wall which is a beautiful addition to the collection of military books in the research library.