NEWS RELEASE
PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
PO Box 567, Buies Creek, NC 27506
Tel: (910) 893-1224 w Fax: (910) 893-1922
Historian Transforms Oral History into Book
|
Faulkner |
Who would believe that an outhouse could figure so
prominently in the history of the town of Coats? But outhouses were
fixtures during the town’s early days and provide some of the comic
relief contained in the upcoming book, The Heritage of Coats,
North Carolina, a composite of history, folklore, and
remembrances celebrating the town’s 100th birthday. Dr. Ronnie
Faulkner, director of Library Services for the Carrie Rich Memorial
Library and contributor to the book, shared some of its homespun
humor at a Luncheon Learn session Wednesday, February 11, on the
Campbell campus.
“As a native of Coats, I’ve heard anecdotes about the
town all of my life,” said Faulkner. “The stories contained in the book
come from relatives, friends, and various other people, as well as
newspaper articles and genealogical work.”
Some of the research took Faulkner to old cemeteries to
track down gravestones of the town’s forefathers and the oldest
Confederate widow in Harnett County, Addie Stancil Parrish. Some of the
research took him out of town in search of the only existing physical
evidence in the Harnett County area of an earthquake that devastated
Charleston in 1886.
With only one exception, Faulkner compares a story in
which a Coats resident overturned his family’s outhouse to that of
George Washington cutting down the cherry tree.
“‘How come George Washington’s father didn’t whip him
when he told the truth?’” Faulkner quoted the boy.
“‘George Washington’s father wasn’t in the cherry
tree,’” said the boy’s father.
Still in the process of being completed, The Heritage
of Coats, North Carolina, will also contain histories of the
families, businesses, and churches that built the town of Coats. The
book will be available in early 2005 and may be purchased through the
Coats Museum at a projected price of $50. Faulkner requests that anyone
with information about the history of Coats contact him at (910)
893-1461.
Faulkner received an undergraduate degree
in history from Campbell University and a master’s degree in history
from East Carolina University. He went on to obtain a master’s degree in
Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
a Ph.D. in history from the University of South Carolina.
He is the author of over 30 articles and book chapters
and has written articles for The Historian, the North Carolina
Historical Review, the Tennessee Historical Quarterly, and
Polity, among other journals. He is also the author of the book,
Jesse Helms and the Legacy of Nathaniel Macon. In addition to his
duties as director of Library Services for Carrie Rich Memorial Library,
Faulkner also serves as an associate professor of history at Campbell.
Founded in 1887, Campbell University is North Carolina’s
second largest private institution of higher education and the second
largest Baptist university in the world. Located in Buies Creek, NC,
just east of the center of the state, Campbell combines academic
excellence and Christian commitment.
Bulletin 0028 |
