P.C4-77.. I
GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
AN ALL-AMERICA CITY
VOLUME XIV - NUMBER 2
FEBRUARY • 1965
Tir«$ton«
f=SOJ
Your Symbol
of Quality
and Service
The cat belonging to Mrs. Stella Crisp sur-
'^eyed this scene from beside a rocking chair on
Ihe Crisp porch at 1126 West Seventh Avenue,
^rs. Crisp is the widow of Lonnie Crisp, who
J^etired from Firestone.
Wi
In a time Snow
Snow crept in with the darkness on the
^yening of January 15 and transformed the
fiedmont Carolinas landscape into a ghtter-
fairyland. The fall continued most of the
following day, leaving 12 inches underfoot
the Gastonia area.
And here, a cold seat near Boy Scout Ex
plorer Post House inside the Firestone Play-
Sround.
Hant Has Sixth UF Citizenship Citation
For the sixth consecutive
year, Firestone Textiles has
deceived the “outstanding
citizenship” award in recog
nition of employee-company
participation in the Greater
Gastonia United Fund fi
nancial program.
The plant was among 33 in-
^Ustries and businesses honored
the 12th annual UF awards
Meeting Jan. 22. Recognition for
®^ceptional contribution brought
^^ards of plaques or additional
^^ard bars to be attached to
Plaques presented in previous
^ears.
Firestone’s award this year
was a silver-embossed strip to
be added to the wall plaque re
ceived last year. The first award
plaque, given six years ago, has
attached to it strips represent
ing the second, third and fourth
years of outstanding participa
tion.
BASIS for the annual award
is that a firm with 15 or more
employees have a payroll sys
tem for UF contributions, and
that at least 80 per cent of em
ployees donate to the fund—
with this giving averaging at
least $10 per employee involved.
Firestone’s averaged contribu
tion in last Novembei-’s UF
plant solicitation was a record
$17.65, with 910 persons making
their gifts by the “fair share”
formula. Total Firestone gift
was $23,532. The giving pro
gram here was led by P. R. Wil
liams Jr. and J. G. Tino Jr.,
assisted by dozens of volunteer
solicitors throughout the plant,
offices and warehouses.
Among individuals honored
for UF volunteer service was Al
vin Riley, manager of industrial
relations, who led Industrial Di-
More on page 2
THE
FIRESTONE
WORLD
On Getting
Our Share
Of The Market
The Firestone company reported the best sales and
earnings in its history for the fiscal year which ended Oct.
31, and in forecasts for publication in the national press
Chairman Harvey S. Firestone Jr. predicts another banner
year ahead for the rubber industry and Firestone.
This is good news to Firestone More and more people are
people, because it means much coming to realize that profits are
to our future. But it also means
that all of us at Firestone must
become even more dedicated to
obtaining our share of the mar
ket and to achieving better
profits, because competition is
on the increase everywhere you
go.
A top executive of one of the
largest automobile manufactur
ing companies—a big customer
of Firestone — says: “I believe
we are in a permanent buyers’
market. Competition will get
steadily tougher. We will face
more competition from abroad,
more competition within domes
tic industries, and more compe
tition among industries.”
To meet the competition. Fire
stone and all other companies
must constantly make signifi
cant improvements in products
and services.
The company which continues
to make the same products in
the same way may face difficult
times in the growing buyers'
market in which the customer
wants new and better products
and better and more efficient
service for his money.
Report Benefits
On Tax Return
Did you receive sickness and
accident benefits last calendar
year? Internal Revenue Sei'vice
regulations require that such
benefits paid to employees be
reported.
U. S. Information Returns—
that’s Form 1099—has been sup
plied by the company for em
ployees who were paid such
benefits during 1964. Forms
show total amounts paid. All or
part of the amounts shown may
be excludable, depending upon
an employee’s circumstances.
Detailed instructions for fig
uring sick pay are included in
“Instructions for Preparing Your
Federal Income Tax Return
Form 1040 for 1964” mailed by
the Internal Revenue Service to
all taxpayers.
very important,
couraging.
This is en-
More on page 2
Top
Scout
Honor
To IR
Head
The highest Boy Scout award
for volunteer adult leadership
has gone to Alvin Riley, man
ager of industrial relations. He
received the Silver Beaver ci
tation in January, from the
Piedmont Cnunf'il, Boy Scouts of
America. The citation honored
the Gastonia community leader
for his contributions during 11
years of service to Scouting.
The award, one of eight pre
sented, came at the Piedmont
Council’s annual meeting at
Lenoir Rhyne College, Hickory.
Citation for Mr. Riley’s award:
“Served boys through Scout
ing for over 11 years as troop
committeeman, neighborhood
commissioner, district commis
sioner, and assistant district
commissioner. He was instru
mental in the organization of
Firestone Explorer Post and
served on that committee.
“He is a member of the board
of deacons at Loray Baptist
Church. As a community leader
he has worked on the advisory
board of the Salvation Army
and assisted with the Red Shield
Boy’s Club operation, worked
on the YMCA annual member
ship drives as top colonel and
top general, served in key posi
tions for the Greater Gastonia
United Fund Campaigns, and is
a director in the Gastonia Cham
ber of Commerce and chairman
of the safety committee for
1965. He has had the responsi
bility for promoting the annual
Harvey Firestone Jr. Scouting
Award Program.”
YEARS
Ago ...
Samuel
Plater
Relieved
In
Machines
There is a real and justifiable concern
with the sense of security industrial work
ers feel in the face of rapid technological
development such as we now have.
Today we call it automation. The word
and the ideas surrounding it cause fear in
some people. They think it is a threat to job
security.
The people who destroyed Richard Ark
wright’s first spinning system acted out of
misguided fear. It is also true of the early
textile workers who destroyed Jacquard’s
loom; and of the English officials of the 18th
and 19th centuries who jealously guarded
\heir textile machinery secrets because they
feared the consequences of the spreading of
such advancements.
Even today there is an element of fear in
those who look askance at automatic splic
ers, high-speed spinning equipment and
other new methods and machines.
The recurring theme in all of these ex
amples is that the textile industry has
known automation by one name or another
since the first days of the machines which
started the Industrial Revolution. Tech
nological change has been a way of life in
the American textile industry since Samuel
Slater turned on the water power of h’s
crude little mill in Rhode Island over 174
years ago—with five machines and four
employees.
Because this is so, we have the ring
spindle, the shuttleless loom, high-speed
machinery, greater production with less ef
fort, miracle fibers and fabrics—and above
all, a vital, vigorous industry that has al
most a million Americans in reliable and re
warding jobs. —THE TEXTILE EDITOR