A cleaner Community is up to YOU
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KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL
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GASTONIA
VOLUME IX
GASTONIA, N. C„ JUNE, 1960
NUMBER 7
3J Scouts Honored
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Ralph Quinn Jr., Medallion Winner
OUTSTANDING SCOUT—Ralph Quinn Jr. receives from gen
eral manager Harold Mercer the Harvey S. Firestone Jr. Scouting
Award for 1960. Looking on: Winner's father (left), and Troop 35
Scoutmaster Lee McCarter. Silver Medallion is engraved with
names of all 15 winners since the awards program began here in
1945.
CAMP FIRESTONE
Lakeside Retreat In Season
areas and some picnic hide
aways, accessible only by boat,
add interest to camping and
hiking trips in the shore areas.
Principal fish are largemouth
bass, white bass, rock fish, crap-
pie, bream, catfish, and carp.
Camp Firestone opened its
25th consecutive season in May,
and will accommodate em
ployees and members of their
families into the “color” season
of October. Applications for
visits at the wildwood retreat
are made through the Industrial
Relations office.
Sign in front yard: "You are
welcome to use our lawnmower,
providing you don't take it out
of the yard."
Lake James, on the shore of
which is located Camp Firestone
in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is
one of eight Duke Power Com
pany lakes featured in a recent-
ly-published colorful booklet,
“Catawba River Powerland.”
In Burke and McDowell coun
ties, Lake James is the north-
westernmost body of water in
the Duke Power chain that ex
tends into South Carolina, ter
minating with Wateree Lake
above Columbia. Other lakes in
between are Rhodhiss, Hickory,
Mountain Island, Catawba, Fish
ing Creek, and Rocky Creek.
Lake Norman is proposed as the
ninth in the vast system.
The “Powerland” booklet de
scribes Lake James as contain
ing a surface area of 6,510 acres
and having 150 miles of shore
line. II has a generating capaci
ty of 25,000 kilovolt amperes.
But of particular interest to
Firestone employees is the fact
that Lake James is a sportsman’s
paradise. Boating, fishing and
aquatics are the leading attrac
tions. Regular family picnic
Chemical Fibers
On Increase
New specialized adaptations
of chemically-produced fibers
are expected to enter the textile
picture within the next few
years. An official of one of
America’s larger synthetics
producers said recently that as
much as two-thirds of his com
pany’s fiber products on the
market five or six years from
now would be developments or
additions to the fibers now be
ing produced. He foresees no
completely - new, general - pur
pose fibers; rather, expects new
fibers to be adapted to specializ
ed uses.
“Impressive.” That was the
word used more than once to
describe a record of excel
lence for Ralph E. Quinn Jr.
at the annual Scouting
Awards Banquet in the Fire
stone Recreation Center May
26. The 13-year-old Eagle
Scout became the 15th boy in
the Gastonia area to receive
the Harvey S. Firestone Jr.
Scouting Award.
A member of Troop 35 in Gas
tonia, young Quinn was pre
sented the engraved silver Me
dallion—symbolic of the award
named for the company chair
man and chief executive officer.
He was the first to enter the
contest for the top company
honor, based on excellence of
Scouting record during the past
year.
AT THE banquet, 34 other
Scouts of the area also came up
for commendation. Each receiv
ed from the company a Merit
Certificate and a check for
$27.75 to be applied on expenses
for a two-week stay at Camp
Lanier for Piedmont Council
Scouts, near Tryon—or for pur
chase of Scouting equipment of
the winner’s choosing.
The top winner this year is
the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph
E. Quinn. The father is a main
tenance engineer at North Caro
lina Orthopedic Hospital here.
In addition to the Medallion,
Ralph Jr. received a Certificate
THIRD YEAR OF PROGRAM
1,024 Autos In Checklanes
In the third annual auto safety inspection program at
the Gastonia plant, 1,024 motor vehicles were processed,
May 23-27. The project promoting safety on the highways
was conducted here as a part of a nationwide program dur
ing May and June in almost 1,000 communities within the
34 states which do not have a law requiring motor vehicle
inspection.
The Firestone company took
part in the extensive safety ef
fort in a number of cities where
it operates factories and main
tains sales facilities. This year's
program was a part of off-the-
job safely observance during
May.
At Gastonia, each vehicle
which passed inspection on all
ten points of safe-driving condi
tion got a “Circle of Safety”
windshield sticker. Most of the
cars which did not meet the
test were repaired and brought
back to the lanes for approval.
Every person bringing a ve
hicle through the lanes received
a record-of-inspection approval,
and printed materials on high
way safety.
For added interest, the com
pany sponsored a daily prize of
a $10 certificate, redeemable in
merchandise at the Firestone
Stores.
Awarded a $10 merchandise
certificate were James G. Dixon
Jr., Twisting (synthetics); Mrs.
Earl Nivens, Mrs. Roy J. Brad
ley, Cleo Screws and Frank
Grant, all of Gastonia.
Those Who Helped
Assistant industrial relations
manager A. V. Riley and plant
engineer W. G. Henson were
chairmen of the local checklane
program. Also assisting in the
free inspection for Firestone em
ployees and other motorists of
the general public were:
of Merit, a $100 U. S. Savings
Bond, and a check for $27.75 to-'
ward expenses for two weeks at
the Lake Lanier camp.
—More on page 2
Summer Recreation
Program Variety
Varied activities are on the
calendar of the plant sports and
recreation program for the sum
mer. Already underway are the
usual leagues in Little League
Baseball, prep baseball, golf,
summer bowling, softball, and
fishing club activities.
A wildlife and boating club, in
process of organization, is to be
a new feature of the year-round
sports and recreation program.
Tvv'o dozen men are participat
ing in partner’s golf league play
this season. The four teams of
the Harold Mercer Little Tar
Heel League are again repre
senting Firestone in inter-indus-
try competition this summer.
Firestone has teams in three
adult softball leagues: American,
Women’s, and Second Shift; and
Teener, for boys 13-15 years of
age.
‘We Need T & C
To Have ER’
A portion of the $225 in
merchandise money deposit
ed in the “piggy bank” for
this year’s safety contest
very well could be ear
marked for you. That was
the amount that went into
the general collection at the
end of May. It represented
close to 1,500,000 manhours
free of a lost-time injury at
the Gastonia plant.
“We’re glad to have well ex
ceeded our first plateau of safe
operation this year,” said safety
manager Ralph Johnson. “Each
person on the job deserves
praise for helping to make it
possible.
“To keep up with the contest,
we need to remember this
formula: T -H C = ER—Team
work and Cooperation from
everyone bring Efficient Re
sults.'”
In Second Year
This is the second-year ver
sion of a repeating safety cam
paign at Gastonia. Standing
rules of the contest provide that
the company contribute a “nest
egg” of $200 when the first mil
lion injury-free manhours is
reached. During the remainder
of the year, $25 is added for
each month the plant operates
without a lost-time injury. If an
accident occurs—no money in
the “piggy” for that month.
At year’s end, names of all
employees, excepting supervis
ory personnel, are included in a
drawing. The ten persons whose
names are drawn share ten per
cent each of the total money ac
cumulated, converted to mer
chandise.
Improved features of the 1960
contest over that of last year
are:
• More money for prizes —
$200 to begin with. Last year it
was $100.
• More winners — a total of
ten this year. Last year there
were five.
• Merchandise for prizes. Last
year it was a cash giveaway.
EARLY—Among those first to come through the checklane—
following the example set by general manager Harold Mercer—
was Mrs. Raymond Varnadore, whose husband works in the Shop.
Plant officer Samuel Crawford (left) and W. B. Nivens of Fire
stone Stores made sure the motorists had her record-of-safety
inspection card.
Ralph Johnson, safety super
visor; Bob Purkey, recreation
supervisor; Thomas A. Grant,
methods-standards engineer;
Samuel Crawford, plant officer,
and Charles Clark, photograph
er, both of industrial relations;
and J. L. Parks Jr., mechanical
department technician.
Also assisting were Charles
Moore, manager of Firestone
Stores here, and W. B. Nivens
of the company store; Alan Mat
thews and Larry Locke, stu
dents of the Gaston County In
dustrial Education Center.
The auto safety inspection
—More on page 5