I, Neva Maxene Coats, was born May 5, 1913 at our farm home, 3 miles south and 1/2 mile east of Raymond, Ks. My folds were Samuel Porter and Josie Belle Jones Coats. I went to all my school years, grade and high school 2 years at the Raymond Schools. We had ducks and geese and as water stood in yard, they had good swimming and I waded with them. Mom would have us bring her the geese to the Chicken house and she would pick the goose down as she made pillows and feather beds. She gave all her children and grandchildren feather pillows. I had 3 brothers, Lawrence, Kyle and Eugene and 2 sisters, Faye and Irene. Mom started me to school when I was 5 as 2 other girls started at 5. One day at school, I was told to go to brother Gene as he and another boy, Carl Nielson, had built a cave close to school and at recess would go play there. They had found some dynamite caps on leather pieces and as they wanted a light in the cave. They had a light for a few seconds as Gene held the cap in his finger and thumb and it blew them off and pieces found their arms and faces. I held his arm to take him to the doctor and helped the doctor clean up his hand. We 3 youngest ones always wanted to see what the oldest ones were doing, so Gene, Kyle and I would watch around the corners while eating our peanutbutter and jelly bread so we had dirty faces and the gals tried to scare us away. When Faye and Irene came home from dates, they would always use me to warm their feet on. When they brought home other gals, I wound up at the foot of the bed. Our room was off the kitchen and porch and rest of house, we always said "Down Yunder" for our room. One time, high water from the Arkansas River came down the road and we had to hurry and leave home. We were ready to eat supper and when we got back, we kidded Irene and told her, her gravy sure got stiff. Mom was helping us clean our clothes closet and there was a railing around it and a snake was on the railing. She just said get me the hoe and that was last of the snake. Dads wheat crop was ruined as water stayed on it so long. One time, Dad had Irene and Faye in car and as had 2 gates on farm drive, when he stopped for one to open the gate and as Irene couldn't get it shut, Faye got out to help her and when heard door shut, he drove on and when stopped at the next gate, no one got out to open it, so he looked in back and no one there - He went back to get them. One time Faye went to take her teaspoon of medicine, she picked up the bottle of iodine instead of her medicine, Mom ran to get the car out of barn and told Faye to go back and swallow a raw egg or a cup of lard, Faye took both, said later she didn't know how she had taken them. Mom got her to doctor and he said what she had taken had saved her throat. We would go to town on Saturday nights and my friends and I would walk around our 2 blocks of Main street. Of course looking for boys. No shows or anything else for excitement. After Grandma, Calista Stewart Jones divorce, she took her name Stewart again. We always liked to go to her house. She had an organ and I now wonder how she ever put up with all the noise we made playing on the organ, of course we got sent outside to play. We liked to have Mom drive as she drove the old Hupmobile faster than Dad. One time Mom got up quick after nap to come the 3 1/2 miles to get us from school and she didn't look down the railroad tracks and she hit the handcar and knocked it off the tracks. One time we went to Baptist Church to revival meeting and when came out to go home, Dad had to crank the car to get it started and crank flew off and hit Dad above eye and cut gash, but Dad wouldn't let Mom drive, even as blood was running down his face and as went over the railroad tracks, train was coming and us kids looked and as we got over the tracks, train went by. Some scared kids. We did our share of going to other towns playing basketball, as had boys and girls teams. Sometime we had to ride in the rumble seats as we called 'em. One time our landlord, Mr. Flagg, came by and admired our new gate at house and of course Kyle told him, "yes, had to make new one larger so Neva could get through". Once, when a young girl, I was staying with Uncle Neil and Aunt Clara and cousin Evalena Haynes, at Turon, Ks., Evalena took me riding on the horse and the horse caught his leg in wire and started to buck and off I went into a sand pile. Evalena got horse stopped and was scared to come see if I was hurt. I was setting up laughing as was funny to me but not to her. Kyle was the skiney one and was called Skiney Coats, Gene was called Bikus Coats to everyone at Raymond, but sure told us not to call him that out here at Plains. Uncle Walter and Uncle Ira Coats lived at Plains, so Dad moved us out here in 1930. We lived 5 miles East of Plains across the corner from the Berghouse farm. Now, one would never know a farm home had ever been there. I attended my Junior year of High School at Plains. I married Charles Jay Staples Sept. 2, 1931 and we lived in Plains rest of the time. Son Charles Jimmy was born on Nov. 1, 1932 at farm home of Samuel Porter Coats east of Plains. In 1935, the dirt storms were bad and son Jim and his cousin Therrol Elliott came running from the north, we knew something was wrong and when looked there was black clouds following them, my, it was bad dirt storm. There were times when dirt so bad, had to put damp wash cloth over Jims face as he slept. At the meal time, you hurried and cleaned table and get ready for a meal and when through eating, table was covered with dust. As for cleaning the house, we would wait until storm was over and then get out the sweeper and get at it. Out North, where folks lived, the fence rows were about covered and could walk over the fence. When one turned on light, it still didn't do much good as the dust so thick. Talk about bad times, to us those were bad times. Son John Porter was born Dec. 3, 1939 in the same home we now live in. Dad had died in March of same year. Charles had a major heart attact in 1963. Off work for a year, in hospital 3 weeks. Dr. Orrison said if he made it, he would have a better heart than before. We have lived here all but a while we lived in Calif. until war broke out. Pearl Harbor, I was at show with Jim and John and Therrol Elliott when came out and to the market where Faye worked, they told us the news. Charles was working at a plant, Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, Calif. He told them he had obligations at home, so they let him out of his job. Charles farmed with Dad, Gene and Kyle. Kyle went to war, Gene didn't on account of his last finger and thumb. Charles stayed and farmed. We hope all who read these pages will enjoy learning all we have worked for and know it has taken work, money and time to get it this far and maybe someone in years to come can take it on back to our first ancestors. In our search for our Coats Ancestors, we went to Missouri, where we stayed at Charles brothers, Dorsey and Ruby Staples in Greenfield, Mo. They knew the country, so a lot of our thanks to them for the cemeteries we had to go to, to find so much. The one older ancestor, Elizabeth Coats, we finally found after alot of hunting and looking, was buried on Coats land and known as Coats Cemetery. The stones were mostly gone and just very few still standing. I had all our families, Dorsey and Ruby, Rick Coats and a cousin, Dorothia Robinson, with sticks with points trying to find a stone and after we left, Dorothia found the large slab we sat on and all - they turned it over and her name was on it. In Mo., they would say if I had red hair, heart trouble and a Baptist, then I was related to the Missouri Coats. Charles & I, with Kirk & Kathy Coats in their new Winnebago Motor Home, left Plains on May 20, 1984 -- went through Missouri, part of Kentucky into Nashville & stayed at Lebanon, Tennessee. On 21st, we went to Shelbyville, Tenn. to visit relatives on Wilson Coats side. She was Virginia Cathy and she called her brother Marvin Simmons to come and he could tell us a lot about Wilson W. Coats. Marvin also took us next day to the Cemetery & found graves. Also showed us where they lived & their land. Went to court house & library. We stayed in Cleveland, Tenn. and found the Cemetery where brother Lawrence H. Coats was buried but no one could help us find his grave. On 24th, we drove to Greenville, Tenn., where we found the Ebenezor Church & Cemetery where our first Henry Earnest & wife are buried. A grandson had put up new stones as others quite old. Got to see Henry Earnest's first Fort House built in 1777 & land which was granted to him by State of North Carolina for his service in Revolution War. We also saw house of his son Felix Earnest where a descendent of his still lives. Then 6 miles S.E. of Greenville the old Bethesoa Methodist Church built in 1884, the older one was established in 1792. In the Harrison Cemetery we found stone of Isaiah Harrison, born 1762, died 1848 (wife Elizabeth died 1838). We drove by old home place where the middle of house where they left the one side of the log cabin and built the rest of house around the cabin. They were not at home, so didn't get to see inside. On the 27th, we were at Nashville, where Kirk & Kathy took us to dinner as was Charles' birthday. He had waitress fix up small cake with olives for eyes, lemon sticks for eyebrows, candle at nose & orange half slice for mouth. 3 gals sang "Happy Birthday" to Charles. Sure nice trip from Kirk & Kathy Coats. We celebrated our 50th wedding ann. Now have 7 grandkids and 7 Great Grandkids. Its been a good life most of the time and have enjoyed the years of working on the family histories and now thanks to son John, we can see our work into a book for all to read and enjoy it. Thanks so very much to John and Shirley Staples. Neva Maxene Coats Staples