The pathway of life is just
about like any other congested
street. If you don't keep going you
get crowded to one side.
—Charles Cowgill
Tire$lon«
GASTONIA
Many people take no care of
their money until they come near
ly to the end of it, and others do
just the same with their time,
—Goethe
VOLUME V
GASTONIA. N. C. MARCH. 1956
No. 3
Company-Wide Savings Bond
Drive, March 26 - April 4
lit-'"''
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Employee Contest Planned
Firestone Textiles will join other plants of the Firestone Company in a 10-day U.S. Sav
ings Bond drive March 26 through April 4. This will be the first Company-wide effort to
increase subscription to the Payroll Savings Plan since 1951. O, K. Forrester, Overseer
in Spooling and Winding, has been named Chairman of the drive. Mr. Forrester was
Chairman of the Bond-selling effort here in 1951 and in 1953.
MRS. CLAYTON B. WILSON, Payroll Supervisor, greets the
Reverend David F. Blue, Jr., at open house in the West Avenue
Presbyterian Church Manse. Looking on, at left are Paul, David,
and Mrs. Blue. At right. Miss Myrtle Bradley, Main Office, and
Clayton B. Wilson.
New Church Leaders Welcomed
To West Avenue Presbyterian Church
Open house at West Avenue
Presbyterian Church Manse,
U09 Spencer Avenue, was ob
served Friday evening, February
10, honoring the new minister
MeAbee A C of C
Director For 1956
Safety Director L. B. McAbee
is one of the 12-member board of
directors of the Gastonia Cham
ber of Commerce for 1956. In
^his capacity he will serve as
chairman of the safety commit
tee for the Chamber. McAbee
other 1956 members of the
Chamber were elected at a re
cent meeting in Masonic Temple.
and his family, and the recently-
chosen choir director at the
church.
Before the new minister ar
rived, the Manse interior was
redecorated.
The Reverend David F. Blue,
Jr., became resident minister of
the West Avenue congregation
in the Firestone community,
January 20. He came here from
the pastorate of Bayless Mem
orial Presbyterian Church in
Concord. The church leader suc
ceeds the Reverend W. C. Neel,
who is now pastor of the Pres
byterian Church in Saluda, N. C.
The new choir director is Mrs.
C. A. Eden, teacher at Myrtle
School and director of the glee
club there.
Honors To Be Given
At Safety Awards Meeting
Firestone Textiles will be
^iTiong Gaston County in
dustries represented at the
Annual Safety Award Din-
Meeting Thursday eve-
March 29 at Masonic
Temple.
The meeting, sponsored by the
l^sstonia Chamber of Commerce
cooperation with the North
Carolina Department of Labor,
will be the occasion for presenta
tion of awards to various indus
tries in the county which quali
fied for safety honors during
1955.
Attending the meeting will be
Frank Crane, North Carolina
Commissioner of Labor, who
will make the awards.
In the drive this year there
will be no quota, but a goal of
100 per cent has been set. Chair
man Forrester states that each
employee, both wage and salary,
will be contacted personally in
the interest of the Savings Plan
enrollment. Those already par
ticipating in the Plan will be
urged to increase their purchase
while new participants will be
sought.
IN CONJUNCTION with the
Bond drive, a letter-writing con
test will be conducted March 12
through April 4.
In reckoning success of the
Bond-selling program, the num
ber of employees subscribing—
rather than the total dollar
amount—is of primary concern,
particularly to the Government.
In the Firestone organization,
success of the drive will be
measured by the percentage of
employees who are enrolled as
purchasers of Bonds in the Pay
roll Savings Plan at the conclu
sion of the drive. Those in the
Plan already will be considered
among participants when the
percentage of employee coverage
is figured at the beginning and
end of the campaign.
Among the purposes of the
10-day Bond effort is the “rein
doctrination of ourselves in the
wisdom of saving a portion of
our earnings through the syste
matic Payroll Savings Plan.”
IN THE CONTEST, to be held
with the Bond drive, any em
ployee may submit a letter in
not more than 50 words, telling
why Firestone employees should
purchase U.S. Savings Bonds.
First prize in the contest will be
a $50.00 U.S. Savings Bond. Sec
ond and third prizes will each
be a $25 Bond. If the winner of
any one of the prizes is a Sav-
O. K. FORRESTER
ings Bond purchaser, either old
or new, that individual will win
double the prize offered. Details
of the contest will be made
available to employees soon,
IN 1951, when the last Com
pany-wide Bond campaign was
conducted, 80 per cent of all
Firestone employees were buy
ing Payroll Savings Bonds. In
the drive that year, the plant at
Bennettsville, S. C., had 100 per
cent participation, as did also the
plant at Des Moines, Iowa.
For its 64-per-cent subscrip
tion to the Savings plan in 1951,
the plant here received the
Treasury Award.
The high achievement in the
1951 drive helped to place Fire
stone among the first five largest
companies in the nation in the
purchase of Bonds through Pay
roll Savings.
Here in 1953, a plant-wide
Savings Bond drive boosted par
ticipation 22 per cent over the
high level attained in 1951.
In the interest of the Company
Bond program, Harvey S. Fire
stone, Jr., Chairman, addresses
the following statement—
TO THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF FIRESTONE;
Throughout the year, we
Americans are asked to con
tribute money to one cause or
another for the purpose of help
ing our fellow man. Most of
them are worthy and fully de
serve our support.
During the ten-day period be
ginning March 26 and ending
April 4, the men and women of
Firestone will be asked to make
an investment instead of a con
tribution. They will be asked to
purchase United States Savings
Bonds. May I remind you that
every dollar that you invest in
Turn to page 2
ZSlIRD TRIP ABROAD
Superintendent On Assignment In India
^.Creneral Superintendent
^^Ison Kessell and Mrs. Kes-
are now in Bombay, In-
where, for several
^onths he will be in an ad-
capacity where tire
^pi’ics are concerned at the
^ e s t o n e subsidiary tire
there.
KesseUs departed Gas-
January 29 for New York,
^uere they traveled by TWA
jj^'^liner, making short stops at
Rome, Athens, and Cairo.
They arrived in Bombay Febru
ary 1.
They will return to this coun
try by boat and will stop in
Spain enroute home in order to
visit briefly another Firestone
tire plant and textile affiliate.
THIS IS the third trip abroad
for the Kessells in the interest
of the Company. The Kessells
spent approximately one year
at Buenos Aires, Argentina, re
turning to Gastonia in July 1950.
On that return trip they stopped
at Sao Paulo, Brazil where Fire
stone operates a tire plant as
well as a textile plant. In May
1953 they went to Balboa, Spain
and visited the Firestone plant
in London, then returned to the
United States in September of
the same year.
Superintendent Kessell has
been with the Company for 31
years, having been transferred
to the plant here from Fall
River, Mass., in 1935 as plant
superintendent.
Help For Your Tax Reporting
Do you need help on filing your income
tax return? Many folks do. Beginning March
26, you can take your problems to the Special
Income Tax Department, where trained per
sonnel will be on the job at the Girls Club to
help you.
The schedule: March 26 through April 16—
absolute deadline on tax returns. The days
will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday from
1 to 5 p.m.
Those who will operate the free service to
employees make this reminder:
Bring with you the W2 Income Tax form
and the tax return form supplied you by the State and Federal
Governments. If you plan to fill in the long form, have with you
all information necessary for completing the form. This will include
all allowable deductions such as interest, contributions, and taxes.
Atomic Survival Literature Available
At Gastonia Civil Defense Office
Information on emergency action on how to fight atomic fires
and to administer first aid are among subjects treated in posters and
pamphlets being distributed by the Gastonia Civil Defense. This
literature was recently distributed to homes by members of the
Gaston Junior Woman’s Club. If you didn’t receive this vital in
formation, it is available from the Gastonia Civil Defense office, re
cently opened on the lower level of the city hall building.