Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Oct. 1, 1955, edition 1 / Page 6
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PAGE 6 MHWi OCTOBER. 1955 THIS SCENE, photographed by Nina Milton of SYC Weaving, is in the country between Chipley and West Point, Ga. West Georgia Area Popular As Employee Vacation Spot Near the “Little White House,” vacation home made famous by the late President Franklin Roosevelt, are the Ida Cason Callaway Gardens. Nina Milton, Firestone News reporter, was one of several employees here who spent a vacation at this newest attraction of Georgia’s Pine Mountain Country. Founded in 1952, to honor the memory of Ida Cason Callaw'ay, the Gardens cover about 2,500 acres. Included in this area are nine lakes, a golf course, facili ties for boating, dining rooms, fishing, swimming and picknick- ing. Its large horseshoe beach is said to be the finest and most spacious inland man-made beach in the world. The Gardens were planned as a sanctuary for plants and wild- flowers native to the Appalach ians. Eventually, many varieties from around the world will be included. OCTOBER IS HERE AGAIN Tenth Month Named By Romans The Slavs called it “yellow month” because it was associ ated with the fading of the leaf. The Anglo Saxons knew it as Winterfylleth, because with its full moon (fylleth), winter was supposed to begin. To us, October is the tenth month of the year, although it was the eighth month of the old Roman year, which began in March. The Romans usually be gan their military campaigns in March and ended them in Octo ber, with a festival. In the Julian Calendar, while retaining its old name, October became the tenth month and had 31 days assigned to it. ATTEMPTS have been made to name the month in honor of the emperors. It has been tem porarily called Gernamicus, An toninus, and Herculeus. But such attempts to rename the month have been unsuccessful. October, like February, is the month of presidents. Birthdays of Chief Executives of this coun try in October are: Rutherford B. Hayes, October 4; Chester Allen Arthur (5); Dwight D. Eisenhower (14); John Adams (19); and Theodore Roosevelt (27). Among other dates to remem ber in the month are: Birthdays —October 7, James Whitcomb Riley, “The Hoosier Poet,” lec turer and humorist; 16, Noah Webster, American dictionary compiler and scholar; 25, Rich ard E. Byrd, American explorer, aviator, naval officer and writer, discoverer of the North Pole. Other events: October 9, Fire Prevention Week; 12. Columbus Day, commemorating the anni versary of the discovery of America in 1492. Dixons In Kings Mountain Mrs. Dixon (Betty Jane Hovis) Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Lindbergh Dixon are living at their new home on Monroe avenue in Kings Mountain, after their mar riage in late August at Loray Baptist Church, Gastonia. Mrs. Dixon, the former Betty Jane Hovis, is the daughter of Mrs. Blanche Hovis, Rayon Weaving, and the late Jules L. Hovis. Mr. Dixon’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Dixon of Kings Mountain, Mrs. Dixon is a graduate of Ashley High School. Her hus band was graduated from Beth- ware High School, served for three years with the U.S. Navy, and is connected in business with his father. Rigid Tests Assure Quality Of Firestone Products A television set running without letup for 100 hours. . . . A battery coming out of a deep freeze. . . . A washer “laundering” a huge load of rubber pieces for 1,000 hours, the equivalent of 10 or more years of use in the home. . . . An outboard motor purring away for hours in a tank of water. THESE ARE just a few of the operations in the Quality Control Laboratory where the Fire stone Company tests all home and auto supply products under consideration for sale by Fire stone Dealers and Stores. Quality Control experts make thorough and exhaustive tests not only on all products except tires that are to be manufactured and sold under the Firestone name, but also on all products to be sold by Firestone Dealers and Stores bearing other manufacturers’ names and on merchandise being sold by competitors. PRODUCTS that are to be sold by the Com pany must pass all the tests and receive the Firestone Seal of Approval. The prime objective of the Laboratory is the satisfaction of customers who buy and use Firestone products, according to the experts who staff the Laboratory. “Our job is the protection of the customer,” says C. M. Lockenour, Manager of the Labora tory. “We approach all testing problems from the customer’s point of view.” After the Firestone Seal of Approval has been given a product which will bear the Firestone name, specifications are written for that product. Then and only then can the order be given for the manufacture of the product for Firestone. Often the product has features that no other brand has. As a result of the work of the Quality Laboratory in co-operation with other Firestone laboratories, there are numerous Fire stone “firsts,” such as new features on a home appliance or on some other product that are later adopted by competitors. OUTSTANDING examples of these “firsts” have been the numerous features originated by the Firestone Company in refrigeration. Among these have been the upright food freezer, easier to use and taking less floor space than conven tional freezers; and on refrigerators, the across- the-top freezer which provides greater frozen food capacity and more eye appeal, the built-in unheated butter compartment, porcelain meat chest, rapid chiller and door pantry shelf for “outfront” storage in the freezer, and the recent innovation, the two-temperature, two-door re frigerator which is actually two appliances in one. Some of these features are not found in every Deluxe model in the industry. THE QUALITY CONTROL Laboratory is lo cated at Firestone’s Plant 3, in Akron. It is divided into sections in which each product and appliance undergoes grueling tests both in actual operation and in examination of component parts under the direction of experts in various fields. In the Radio-Television workshop, television sets run continually for 100 or more hours. “If there is a faulty part or some weakness in a TV set,” says Mr. Lockenour, “it will usually show up in the first 25 hours of operation, but we run each one four times that to be sure.” Special sound-proof rooms are used to test the tone of radio and TV sets. Meters and other devices test the sensitivity, electrical character istics and each separate part not only of TV sets and home radios, but also of record players, portable radios and car radios. IN THE MAJOR Appliance section, washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers and ranges come in for their share of inspection and testing. A particularly interesting test is that made on the Firestone Deluxe Washer. Water and small pieces of rubber are placed in the washer, and the machine is allowed to run for hours with a huge load of wet rubber. At the same time, the wringer action goes through a tough ex periment as a long piece of rubber belting ap proximately six inches wide is run through the wringer hour after hour. Small pieces of rubber attached to both sides of the belting provide uneven thicknesses ranging from a quarter of an inch to more than an inch. This simulates a par ticularly thick bulk of clothes going through the wringer, THE WASHER and wringer take more punish ment in a few months at the Quality Control Laboratory than the average housewife could give it in years of normal operation. Lab men say that the washer performs excellently under the torture conditions at the Lab for 1,000 hours, the equivalent of 10 years or more in the average home. In a specially insulated room, refrigerators and freezers undergo thorough tests to see how they operate under different sets of conditions. Room temperatures can be controlled from 65 to 110 degrees and special equipment produces moisture and humidity to test for proper insula tion. The appliances are intricately wired to control boards outside the room. The various gauges on the panel show the amount of power needed to run the appliances, how long they operate each day and the temperatures in each section of the appliances. IN ANOTHER ROOM you may observe a spe cial tank of water containing sand and mud where Firestone outboard motors are checked for performance at various speeds, and gas consump tion and water intake are studied. Batteries come in for careful examination. In one test they are taken out of a deep freeze where the temperature is Zero and are checked for power. Auto supplies and chemicals such as anti freeze, polishes and others are tested in the Lab and by practical use before approval is given. Also thoroughly checked are the construction and operation of brake lining equipment, wheel balancers, air compressors and other equipment needed by Firestone Dealers and Stores to per form such services. For specialized help, the Quality Control Lab oratory can call upon the facilities and ex perienced technicians of other laboratories at Firestone—Research, Physical Testing, rubber, metallurgical and fabric laboratories. Hoosier City , automotive industry including such items as radi ator hose, fan belts, motor mountings, and other vital parts. MANY DIFFERENT kinds of semi-pneumatic tires are manufactured here, including those for farm implements, industrial trucks, garden trac tors, lawnmowers, and children’s toys. Wringer rolls, washing machine drain hose and other items for the home appliance field as well as thousands of other rubber parts are manufac tured for home and industrial use. One of the most unusual items manufactured at Noblesville is the Firestone developed air spring. Becoming increasingly popular, the air spring may now be found on all Greyhound Scenicruiser buses manufactured by General Motors as well as other buses, railroad cars, and in various industrial uses. Employees participate in various recreational activities in the community as well as those sponsored by Firestone. There is a bowling league for both men and women during the winter months, and in the summer a golf league and horseshoe league offer recreational opportunities to many. From an industrial standpoint Noblesville has benefited greatly from the continuing growth of the Firestone plant. At last count more than half of the city’s total industrial employment was as a result of Firestone’s location in Noblesville. Autumn Color 3 An outdoor theatre will be built in a cove four miles east of Gatlinburg, Autumn color in the mountains of Western North Carolina and along the Blue Ridge Park way into Virginia, is about to enter its full parade. Reports indicate that the peak of the color season this year will come just after mid' October. At higher altitudes, leaves have already turned. The tapestry of red, brown and, gold will spread down the mountains to the lower slopes until the mountains seem aflame. At the time of full color, asters, goldenrod and other flowers lend their beauty to the landscape, you go to see the fall parade, take your camera loaded with plenty of color film.
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Oct. 1, 1955, edition 1
6
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