TEXTILES
IN
OUR TALK
All wool and a yard wide. Smooth
as silk. Soft as velvet. Living in high
cotton. The loom of life.
These expressions are a part of
everyday American speech. They
had their beginning in the textile in
dustry. The American Cotton Manu
facturers Institute notes that per
haps textiles more than any other
industry has originated more words
and expressions that have enriched
the American language. It may be so
throughout the whole English-speak
ing world, where textile terms and
idioms have added crispness and
color to the people’s speech.
Dyed in the wool, shuttle back and
forth, you can’t pull the wool over
my eyes, doff your hat, gather wool
(daydream), ‘cotton up’ to somebody,
spin a tall yarn. These are but a few
examples of how picturesque speech
from textile origins has been woven
and brocaded into the English lan
guage.
We “test the moral fiber” of our
nation, and speak of ‘‘the fabric of
American life.”
A man greets his neighbor on a
country road. “How’re you, Will?”
he inquires. “Fair to middlin’ ”, is
Jed’s reply.
Other examples of how textiles
have enriched the language are such
terms as spinster for unmarried
women, calico horse, distaff for
women generally, and homespun to
describe something that is without
frills, or homely.
We speak of a mountain or a task
looming, meaning to assume a prom
inent and impressive position, or
figuratively, to take on exaggerated
size.
The Bible has its share of textile
or related terms and expressions.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow; they toil not, neither do
they spin,” said Jesus in the Sermon
on the Mount.
Job, Patient Example in Uz, in his
immortal dialog between Good and
Evil, observed on the briefness of
The Warp and Woof of Our Speech
our earthside journey: My days are
swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.
Poets, novelists and other writers
have drawn upon textile words to
give expression to their message.
Thomas Gray, who lived in the 16th
century, in his poem “The Bard” had
the lines
. . . Weave the warp and weave the
woof,
The winding sheet of Edward’s
race. . .
William Shakespeare’s comment
on man’s earthly sojourn: “The web
of our life is of a mingled yarn, good
and ill together.”
And Goethe, Germany’s famed
man of letters and science, must
have been thinking of the New Year
when he penned: “Thus at Time’s
hurrying loom I ply.”
GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
VOLUME XI - NUMBER 1
JANUARY, 1962
Best Today
Still Better
Tomorrow
Rubber • Chemicals • Textiles
Synthetics • Metals • Plastics
MADONNA OF THE PINES by Mrs.
Mattie McCann was among the 13 blue-
ribbon entries. It is used here because its
theme is in keeping with the winter
season.
More Than 42 Years With Company
President Karl Retires
William A. Karl went home to 575 Delaware avenue in
Akron, Ohio on Dec. 29, with plenty of plans in mind that
would keep him active as a “graduate” of more than 42
years service with the Firestone company. For the last 13
years of this time, Mr. Karl was president of the Firestone
Textiles Company, a division of the parent organization.
In addition to its plant in Gas- Mr. Karl was born Sept. 22,
tonia, the division has a textile 1898 in New Bedford, Mass. He
~ Campbell was selected as most outstanding in
Eighteen Entries In “Madonna” Exhibit
® ^ +V.P +ViTPP vis- Chastain, prc
Grand winner in the year-end were _ flower - show
exhibit of art-flower arrange- 111 n g
ments on the general theme “In- judges. .^_tnrp of the pro-
terpretation of Legend of Ma- A special \y
donnas” was the entry “Madon- gram was
na o( the Fields” by Mrs. Yates Yates Campbell pastor y
Campbell. The special program Baptist Churc . .
by Variety Garden Club ol Fire- tary on
^tone^was held at the Recreation Ctastjan re
“::;eM- elies which art-flLer arrangements by^
They Have New Jobs
Five changes on the super
visory staff and one techni
cal assignment became effec
tive at the plant here Jan. 1.
These promotions are:
Alvin V. Riley—from man
ager of employee relations to
^^anager of industrial rela
tions. He succeeds T. B. sxausuccii 4ucxxx.j
Ipock Jr., who resigned re- supervisor of waste control,
cently. Alonzo Gaddis—from sec-
Raiph F. Johnson —from ond hand in carding to ma-
manager of safety to man- chines - equipment inspector
ager of employee relations. in statistical qua i y con ro
Raymond Mack—from su
pervisor of waste control op
erations to manager of safe
ty-
J. G. Tino Jr.—from man
ager of nylon treating to as
sistant plant engineer.
O’Neil Gamble — from
statistical quality control to
'■ —-L —i.—
W. H. Chastain, program coor
dinator for the Madonna show.
Th3 public was invited to the
program and showing of ex
hibits.
Besides Mrs. Campbell’s
sweepstake prize, exhibitors
winning blue ribbons for excel
lence, and the arrangement
theme included Mesdames H. A.
Cauthen — “Madonna of the
Sea”; W. H. Chastain— “Madon
na of the Hills”; Yates Camp
bell — “Madonna of the Fields”;
Zula Eisenhower — “Madonna
in a Silver Setting”; M. L. Foy —
“Meditation”; R. G. Hender
son — “I Am The Light”; C. E.
Honeycutt — “Madonna in a
Gold Setting”; E. J. Mechem —
“Spirit of Christmas”; Mattie
McCann — “Madonna of the
Pines”; W. R. Turner Sr. —
“Peace”; Carl Stowe Sr. — “Ma
donna of Harvest”; Mason Jol
ly — “Madonna of the World”;
and Fred Hoyle—“Silent Night”.
Those receiving red ribbons,
and their entries included; Mes-
factory at Bennettsville, S. D.,
Woodstock, Ontario, Canada; Sao
Paulo, Brazil and Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
As president, Mr. Karl super
vised more than 2500 employees
in Firestone Textiles’ home of
fice and its five plants, and di
rected production of cotton, ray
on and nylon textiles used in
Firestone tire manufacturing and
for sale to trade consumers.
He traveled widely and is well
known in cotton circles and the
textile trade, as well as to those
associated in rayon and nylon
production.
To Firestone In 1919
After a brief employment with
Butler Mills at New Bedford,
Mass., Mr. Karl joined Firestone
in December of 1919, as one of
the 12 fabric technologists the
company hired for the textiles
department it was then organiz
ing. He became head of the com
pany’s textile testing laboratory
in 1924, and transferred to the
purchasing department in 1927.
He was placed in charge of
textile operations in 1937 and
three years later was elected
vice president of Firestone Tex
tiles. He became president in
1948.
was graduated from high school
in 1916 and The New Bedford
institute of Technology in 1919.
He received the bronze medal
award for highest excellence
from the National Association of
Cotton Manufacturers upon his
graduation from the Institute.
—More on page 3
W. A. Karl, who has been
closely identified with the Gas
tonia plant from the time Fire
stone purchased it almost 27
years ago.
‘Excellent’ Record At Textile School
Freddie E. Elkins had a grade
rating of “Excellent” in his
course of yarn manufacturing at
North Carolina Vocational Tex
tile School, Belmont, when the
school reported grades to em
ployers near the end of 1961.
dames G. D. Gates — “Madonna
of Love”; Marlene Hinson —
“Madonna of the Forest”; W. E.
Pope — Madonna of the Lake”;
A. G. Burroughs — “Madonna
of the Christmas Rose”; and
George E. Robinson—“Madonna
of the First Snow”.
His outstanding record was in
the 90-100 grade bracket.
Elkins is a shift foreman on
the third shift in Twisting (syn
thetics) here. Mrs. Elkins is a
tie-in hand in the same depart
ment.
Commented the school prin
cipal, Chris E. Folk: “Employees
who work a full shift in the mill
and are ambitious enough to at
tend classes to improve their
value to themselves and their
employers, are to be highly com
mended.”