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AMCO NEWS, April 1984
Page 7
Retirement Tribute
Calls Mrs. Mabe
More Than A Boss
From The Kernersville News
By Teri Capshaw
“She’s supervisor, psychia
trist, doctor...a little of
everything. A well-rounded per
son,” said Jean Dillon.
“She’s sympathetic too. If
you’ve got a problem she’ll cry
with you...We make her sound
like a saint,” added Phyllis
Church.
But to Mrs. Dillon and Mrs.
Church and their fellow
employees in the Pairing Depart
ment of Adams-Millis’ Kerners
ville plant, their supervisor, Mrs.
Dorothy Mabe, is more than just
a boss. And what better time to
pay tribute to Mrs. Mabe than
upon her retirement on April 1,
after almost 30 years.
“She’s the first boss I ever had
that you could call at home and
she’s more than glad to talk with
you,” said Mrs. Dillon who has
worked with Mrs. Mabe for 15
years.
“You know to obey the rules,
but you can always go up to her
office to talk. Even though she’s
supervisor, she can be one of your
best friends,” said Regina
Newman.
For Ms. Newman who has no
family members living nearby,
Mrs. Mabe has been especially
important for the seven years she
has known her at Adams-Millis.
“To me she’s like a second
mother. There’s nothing I can’t
talk to her about. She’s straight
with me and I’m straight with
her,” she said.
“Some could say I have a
temper, but she’s taught me to
look at things from both sides and
to think before I speak. It seems
like she has a special way with
young people,” she added.
“Her job doesn’t stop here at
the mill,” said Mrs. Dillon who
received a concerned call from
Mrs. Mabe while in Florida
several years ago with her hus
band on his deathbed.
“She called to say she was
there if I needed her...that just
makes you feel really good.”
Mrs. Mabe joined Adams-Millis
in September, 1955 as a spot in
spector in the pairing room. And
although she said she had never
thought much about being a
supervisor, she accepted the posi
tion in 1960 becoming the first
woman supervisor in the
Kernersville plant, she said. And
she has held that position for
almost 24 years.
“I’ve always liked it there and
wanted to stay there. I didn’t feel
like I had any reason to go
anywhere else. It just seems like
I’m suited to it,” she said.
And although she was inex
perienced at being a supervisor,
she has always tried to follow a
fellow supervisor’s advice.
“John Vanhoy, supervisor of
the seaming dept., (now retired)
advised me to go ahead and try
the position. He said as long as I
was honest and fair with people I
wouldn’t have any problems, and
I’ve always remembered that,”
Mrs. Mabe said.
Mrs. Mabe also recognized that
a good supervisor was one that
could be a good listener and
80th Year
Mrs. Dorothy Mabe Talks With PhyUis Church
counsel people on “whatever
their nee^ are, for the good of
the company and the person.”
“You have to know what to talk
about and what to keep confiden
tial. You have to earn their
trust,” she said.
“I have learned a lot. I’ve just
tried to be to the people in my
department what I would want
them to be to me,” she said.
And she talks as highly of the
employees in her department as
they do of her.
“The job wouldn’t be easy or
enjoyable without a good group of
employees. They are good friends
and co-workers....”
And it will be her co-workers
that she’ll miss the most when
she retires.
“I do have mixed feelings
about leaving, but now that the
time is here I’m ready, but I
know I’ll miss everyone,” she
said. And "she hopes, she added,
that retirement will not mean an
end to the many friendships she
shares with her co-workers.
After almost 30 years with
Adams-Millis, Mrs. Mabe, 62,
said the most memorable event
at the plant for her occurred on
March 19,1981 when two-thirds of
the Ed Millis Plant on North Main
Street was destroyed by fire.
“I was just so shocked...!
couldn’t do anything. At the time
I thought it was the worst thing
since World War II. It had the
same effect on me, you just felt
helpless,” she said.
Mrs. Mabe never really
thought about retiring, she said,
until her husband’s own retire
ment two years ago from Bob
Neill Pontiac in Winston-Salem.
“There’s just so much we
wanted to do that we haven’t been
able to with me working,” she
said.
And what she wants to do most,
besides spending more time with
her family, is travel.
“Next to Walkertown I’d rather
be in Myrtle Beach,” she said.
And come this fall, that’s where
she’ll be.
A resident of Walkertown since
1939, Mrs. Mabe is very in
terested in the community and is
a strong supporter of its incor
poration drive. Retirement will
allow her to get involved in more
activities, she said, and that
could include Walkertown
politics and possibly being a
mayoral candidate, after incor
poration.
A-M Reaches
Plan Ahead To Make Vacation Safe
Several significant anniver
saries are being observed in
North Carolina this year and
Adams-Millis is among those
celebrating as the company
reaches its eightieth year of
operation.
Some of the other anniver
saries include the 400th Anniver
sary of the Birthplace of English
America, which will celebrate
North Carolina’s 400 years of
history, the 50th anniversary of
the Great Smoky Mountains Na
tional Park, the 25th anniversary
of the reopening of Tryon Palace
in New Bern and the 25th anniver
sary of the Charlotte Motor
Speedway.
More information on Adams-
Millis’ 80th Anniversary obser
vance will be announced later.
As you plan your vacation there
are some things to keep in mind
to assure that it will be a safe and
pleasant one.
Before You Go
Your car should be in safe
operating condition
1. Have your brakes checked by
a competent mechanic.
2. Be sure the mechanic removes
the wheels and checks the brake
lines and fittings.
3. Check your tires for tread
depth. Smooth tires can result in
a blowout at high speeds or loss of
control of your car on wet pave
ment or in other high-risk situa
tions.
4. Be sure your tires are ade
quately inflated. Tires low on air
will have less grip on the road
and can have excessive sidewall
flexing that increases tire wear
and possibly lead to a blowout.
5. Clean off all windows inside
and out.
6. Be sure windshield wiper
blades are in good condition and
that you have plenty of wind
shield washer solution.
7. Don’t block your vision with
decals or stickers on the rear win
dow, or items piled up on the rear
window shelf or bags and boxes
on the rear seat.
8. Have a mechanic check to see
if there’s excessive play in the
steering wheel and make any ad
justments necessary.
9. Check headlights, brake lights,
taillights and directional signals.
Planning eliminates trouble
Idtcr***
10. Know how to get where you’re
going.
11. Write or phone ahead and
reserve a place to stay to avoid
driving around after dark looking
for accommodations.
12. Take along duplicate keys,
your driver’s. license, vehicle
registration, hospital insurance
card, medical information oarc^
auto insurance card, motor club
card, names and addresses of
next of kin.
13. Pick up a good map before you
start. They aren’t so easy to find
when you’re traveling these days.
On The Road
14. Don’t try to drive too far too
fast in any one day.
15. Be sure everybody has their
safety belt fastened at all times,
and that smaller children are
protected by the proper child
restraints.
16. Never mix drinking and driv
ing.
17. Keep in mind that it’s strictly
a myth that black coffee has
sobering-up powers. Ditto for
cold showers or a few whiffs of
fresh air. The only antidote for
alcohol is time.
18. Reduce speed in rain or fog.
19. Remember that a little rain
can cause a lot of trouble. It
doesn’t take much rain to mix
with oil and grease residue and
create a slippery film on the
road.
20. Take a break when you get
tired of driving.
21. Always expect the other
driver to make a mistake.
22. Be quick to yield the right of
way.
23. If you’re pulling a trailer,
make sure it’s in good working
condition.
24. Keep in mind that with the ex
tra length and weight of the
trailer you’ll need extra time to
stop and you’ll have less
maneuverability.
25. Allow extra seconds—at least
one extra second for each 10 feet
you’re pulling.
When You Get There
Around water...
26. Acquire a suntan gradually
27. Remember that water-
reflected rays of the sun burn
faster than direct rays.
28. Use a suntan or sunscreen lo
tion before venturing out in the
sunlight.
29. If you’re starting from
scratch, increase your exposure
to the sun a little each day.
30. Never swim alone unless
there’s a lifeguard on duty.
31. Use the buddy system—go
swimming with a friend.
32. Know your swimming ability
and stay within its limits by not
swimming too far from shore.
33. If you have small children
with you, keep checking on them
frequently, whether they’re on
the beach or in the water.
34. Always wear a life preserver
or personal floatation device
when you’re in a boat.
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