GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
VOLUME XIV - NUMBER 8
^Tir«$ton«
JULY • 1965^
S5JISW
Your Symbol
of Quality
and Service
65 Years Of Progress
COMPANY
ANNIVERSARY
At the turn of the century when industrial life was
gaining momentum, but when much of the transpor
tation of the country was still hitched to 20 million
horses, Harvey S. Firestone founded a new business.
With a tire-mounting pat
ent, assets of $20,000 and a
full measure of vision. The
Firestone Tire & Rubber
Company was incorporated
on August 3, 1900. Purpose of
the company was to sell
solid-rubber tires for horse-
drawn carriages and the few
electric, steam and gasoline-
powered automobiles then in
use.
Firestone
Tires On Winning Cars
AT INDIANAPOLIS 500
looking
around From Camp Firestone
Sidewalk Art;
Spanish Village
Camp Firestone in the
Southern Blue Ridge is a fa-
'^orite recreation playground
on Lake James—the season
^or employees and family
^^embers now in full swing.
Camp Firestone is also
gateway to adventure, fun,
'variety and contrasts in a
far-flung empire of the
Southern Appalachians.
• The sidewalk arts-crafts
show is ‘trademark’ of the
fountain resort town in
Summer. This Firestone
^ews photo is of the show
on Asheville’s picturesque
^all Street, the next one the
first week in August. Hen
dersonville and Burnsville
^re among several other
towns with sidewalk arts-
^nd-crafts shows.
• One of the mid-South’s
newest ‘holiday packages’ is
9old Mountain near Frank-
hn, its hilltop attraction built
on the exploration stories of
®srly Spaniards in their
^uest for gold in Western
^orth Carolina.
A skylift hoists visitors 4,-
OOO feet up to an authentical-
v-reproduced Spanish v i 1 -
EXCITEMENT!
THRILLING SKYLIFT
TO THE
ROMANTIC PAST!
U. S. 23-441
franklin, N. C. ,
lage. Besides the village lay
out with its continuous In
dian and Spanish skits rem
iniscent of the times of ex
plorer Hernando D e S o t o ,
there are a cantina, gift shop,
photo shop, gold-panning ad
venture and other attrac
tions.
For the 42nd consecutive
year, winner of this year’s
Indianapolis 500-mile auto
race was on Firestone tires.
Jim Clark of Duns, Scotland,
rewrote the record books as
he came in first, nearly two
laps ahead of Parnelli Jones.
Clark set a record for the 2Y2-
mile track of 150.686 mph. Fin
ishing third was rookie Mario
Andretti; A1 Miller was fourth
and Gordon Johncock, fifth.
Eleven of the 33-car field fin
ished the race and nine were on
Firestones. Of the 11, nine drove
rear-engine cars and five were
rookie drivers. Firestone was
the only tire manufacturer able
to equip the heavier, front-en-
gine roadsters.
For the second year in a row,
the Firestone finishers went all
the way without a tire change
except Len Sutton who made a
precautionary change after a
spin caused a flat spot on a tire.
The designer of the Lotus
Ford car which Clark drove to
victory, said, “The tires per
formed great . . . they weren’t
even half worn at the end of the
race.”
Driver Clark said, “I felt se
cure and safe all the way on
the Firestones.”
Firestone fuel cells, on 25 of
the Indianapolis racers, were
credited with making the month
of May at the Speedway the
safest ever. The' cells were in
stalled inside metal tanks on
cars. The rubber cells contain a
Some Guiding Principles For Summer Safety
“Drive for a Safe Holiday” programs are underway
^his summer, being promoted nationwide by automobile
^nd tire dealers. The plan, developed by Auto Industries
Safety Committee, has been promoted twice a year since
1959. It highlights six good-driving principles.
Purpose of the program is to
®erve motorists with national,
Concrete tips that will make
^oliday-vacation driving safer
^nd more enjoyable.
It stresses courteous, thought
ful driving—whether motorist
going across town or on a
longer trip. Studies show that
^ out of 4 traffic deaths take
^lace within 25 miles of home
^^d half of all serious injuries
l^^ppen at speeds of 40 mph or
less.
Guiding principles of “Drive
for a Safe Holiday”;
CHECK YOUR CAR—It car
ries the world’s most important
people. Have it safety-checked
all over—brakes, tires, steering,
all lights, exhaust, glass, wind
shield wipers and washers, rear
view mirror, horn.
BUCKLE UP to safeguard
lives of passengers wherever
you drive. Seconds will buckle
a seat belt, an instsjnt will re
lease it.
TAKE A BREAK on long
trips. Frequent rest stops will
cellular material which keeps
fuel from sloshing.
WINNER'S CIRCLE — Ray
mond C. Firestone (right) con
gratulated Jim Clark and Colin
Chapman, designer of Clark's
winning car.
From that Akron, Ohio
beginning with a factory
force of just 12 men, the
Firestone company has
grown to a worldwide or
ganization producing and
marketing more than 12,000
products in diversified fieMs.
As it approaches its 65th
anniversary of “making use
ful things for others” (as the
Founder defined his c o m -
pany’s mission), it operates
factories, processing plants,
plantations, research and test
and marketing installations
in the United States and its
territories and some 22 for
eign countries.
Firestone plant publica
tions will note the company’s
65th anniversary with a spe
cial edition, to be distributed
by mid-August.
GO TO SCHOOL AND GET...
A Refund On Tuition
help you arrive relaxed. Allow
enough time so you won’t feel
rushed.
ADJUST your driving to
road, traffic and weather con
ditions. Posted speed limits are
for favorable driving conditions.
ADOPT GOOD - DRIVING
HABITS, such as merging
smoothly into traffic, keeping
pace with other vehicles, signal
ling well in advance of your
turn or change of lanes.
PRACTICE COURTESY
everywhere — at intersections,
when turning, while passing or
being passed, at night when
your headlights are bright . . .
Make courtesy your code of
the road—it pays!
Further your formal edu-
cation, and if you satis
factorily complete the study.
Firestone will pay you back
the tuition fees you have ad
vanced.
This provision for employees
who take college and university
courses, adult education classes
and approved correspondence
work is another of the several
aid-to-education benefits which
the company offers its people.
The program is subject to
certain restrictions and excep
tions, says industrial relations
manager Alvin Riley. His de
partment has details on the plan,
as well as information on
courses available at area and
state colleges and universities,
adult education programs and
correspondence schools.
Company training director
Glenn Cross writing to plant
manager Harold Mercer, noted:
"With new developments tak
ing place at an ever-increasing
rate in our business, it is most
important that we encourage
more of our people to continue
their formal education. Broaden
ing our Tuition Refund Program
to include correspondence work
should allow even more of our
employees to enroll for study."
In the Tuition Refund Pro
gram, courses are selected from
published schedules of approved
schools, and subjects are approv
ed by the company before tlie
student enrolls.
To meet approval, courses of
study must be related directly
to an employee’s current work
or to possible transfer or promo
tion, related to a college degree
program which in turn is relat
ed to Firestone’s business, or
subjects giving a general
broadening knowledge of value
on any Firestone job assignment.
Classwork and study are done
on the employee’s own time.
According to Mr. Cross, more
than 1,000 Firestone employees
continue their schooling each
year under the Tuition Refund
Program. The recent approval
of correspondence study and
establishment of Gaston Com
munity College have made the
plan of added interest to Fire
stone Textiles people.