The ideal state is that in which
cn injury done to the least of its
citizens is an injury done to
all. —Solon
T1r«$fon»
GASTONIA
We men and women are all in
the same boat upon a stormy sea.
We owe each other a terrible and
tragic loyalty.
—Chesterton
VOLUME VI
GASTONIA, N. C., FEBRUARY, 1957
No. 2
FORETASTE OF ANOTHER SUMMER
Someone has said that faith will never die so long as there
sre seed catalogs. To the Firestone gardener, the month of February
ttieans signs of Nature's reawakening and the lime for making prep
arations for another season of friendship with the Good Earth.
Here, Second Hand Tracy Whitener of Cord Weaving, third shift,
checks his supply of gardening materials against a catalog fresh
from the publisher, for a 1957 listing of seeds, bulbs, plants and
shrubs.
Revolution, Bright Outlook
Seen For Textile Industry
The textile industry in Ameri
ca is in the midst of a “second
industrial revolution.” Moreover,
outlook for the industry is
ij^creasingly bright for the next
years.
These were observations made
two speakers appearing on
the program of a recent Greens
boro meeting of the National
*^ouncil for Textile Education.
Marion Heiss, immediate past
president of the North Carolina
Manufacturers Association, said
that “every sign indicates clear-
Bloodmobile Visit
Set February 18
^hen the Red Cross Blood-
mobile visits the plant this
month. Firestone employees will
the privilege of giving to
^ave lives. The mobile unit will
at the Recreation Center on
February 18 from 12 noon to
® p.m.
^^lant bulletin boards will
^oon carry further announce
ment on the Bloodmobile ap
pearance here.
^^mpl oyees contributed 97
Pints of blood when the Red
. ’^oss unit last came to the plant
m May of 1956.
ly that textile manufacturing is
becoming more and more an ex
act science.”
“It is imperative that we keep
this fact in mind and prepare to
measure up fully,” he added.
THE SPEAKER said the stu
dent of textiles should have a
better concept of merchandising,
knowledge of cost, efficiency and
the economics of manufacturing;
should be trained in public
speaking, and personnel rela
tions, and in establishing produc
tion and quality controls; and
should be kept informed of new
equipment and processes.
Spencer Love, another speak
er at the NCTE meeting com
mented on the future outlook of
the industry:
“The textile industry will ex
perience boom years within the
next decade ... it will be the
greatest years the industry has
ever known . . . including the
good years around 1940.” The
textile industry will have as
much to do as it can possibly
handle within the coming 10
years, he predicted.
The Council for Textile Edu
cation is composed of 10 under
graduate and three graduate
schools devoted entirely to edu
cating men in the textile field.
MARCH 30
Former Harvard Grid Coach
To Address Sports Banquet
Event Honors Emplt^ees For Recreation Achievement
☆ ☆ ☆
N. V. “Swede” Nelson, one of America’s sports greats, will be principal speaker at the
21st annual All-Sports Banquet at the plant on March 30. The banquet, highlighted by
awards to employees for noteworthy achievement in the sports-recreation program here,
is one of the outstanding events on the calendar at Firestone Textiles each year.
Besides Mr. Nelson, a number of eminent per
sonalities of the sports and recreation world will
attend the dinner meeting as special guests of the
Company. Included also in this number will be
civic and industrial leaders, and personnel of
press, radio and television.
Following the dinner and the principal address,
more than 200 employees will be honored for
distinction they have won for themselves in the
sports and recreation program during the past
year.
THE SUPREMACY TROPHY is chief among
the laurels to be handed out. This much-sought-
after award will go to the department which has
won the greatest number of honors during 1956.
Traditionally, the Supremacy Trophy has gone to
the Spinning Department. For the past nine years
this department has taken the honor. In 1954
Spinning and Twisting tied for the award.
Included in the list of individuals and depart
ments to receive awards will be four men and
four women, representing all three shifts at the
plant. These will be lauded as “Ideal Athletes
of 1956.” Those so honored are each year chosen
by secret balloting of employees who take part
in the recreation program. Voters are required to
have participated in at least one sports and rec
reation activity during the preceding year. Points
considered when an individual votes include the
suggested Ideal Athlete’s sportsmanship, partici
pation and attainment in the sports and recrea
tion program during the year.
N. V. “Swede” Nelson, the Sports Banquet
speaker, is a graduate of Philips Exeter Academy
and Harvard University. He was a fullback on the
championship Harvard football team in 1919. As
backfield coach at Harvard for 15 years and head
coach of the College All-Stars for three years, he
distinguished himself as one of the outstanding
mentors in football history.
In World War I, Nelson was commissioned in
the Navy at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annap
olis, Md.
A FORMER PRESIDENT of the Gridiron Club
of Boston, he is Massachusetts state chairman of
the National Football Hall of Fame Association.
In business for years as a cotton merchant, he
is president of N. V. Nelson & Company. He is a
trustee of the New Bedford Textile School, New
Bedford, Mass.; the West End House, and the
Crippled Children’s Hospital School in Canton,
Ohio.
f
L
The Nelson Award for Sportsmanship is given
each year by the Gridiron Club of Boston. The
recipient is a college athlete who makes the
greatest sportsmanship gesture during a college
football season. To select this football player each
year, the Gridiron Club of Boston polls more than
1,000 coaches and newspaper sports writers
throughout the country.
The Nelson Award, first presented in 1946, has
gone to athletes at 10 different universities and
colleges and the U. S. Military Academy. Don
King of Clemson College is among those who
have received the Nelson Award.
Scholarship Application Deadline Is March 1
For the 1957 College Scholarship Awards, sons and daughters of Firestone employees
must have applications in the mail no later than March 1. Winners will be notified in
early May. Copies of the booklet describing the 1957 program and outlining procedures for
making application are available at the Industrial Relations Office.
High school seniors interested in applying for the educational grants may obtain a
copy of the booklet, or parents may pick up copies on the way to or from work.
Letters and booklets explain- the student must be a senior in month will be eligible. The fig
ure was originally set at $650.
The Scholarships
Each scholarship award pays
the cost of full tuition, fees and
books and a substantial part of
living expenses at school. Now
in its fourth year, the scholar
ship program provides that
—^Turn to page 3
ing the program have been sent
to all Firestone stores, division
and district offices, retread and
appliance shops, warehouses and
accounting offices throughout
the country.
On Eligibility
To qualify for consideration as
an applicant in the 1957 program
high school and must rank in
the upper half of his or her class
scholastically. The parent of an
applicant must have five or more
years of unbroken employment
with the Company. Only chil
dren of those employees whose
average base pay does not
amount to more than $700 per