Firestone employees have re
peatedly agreed that one of the
best ways to save money is to buy
and keep United States Savings
Bonds. Join with the majority of
your fellow employees, join the
Payroll Savings Plan.
7ire$ton«
NEWS
GASTONIA
If you like photography — or
think you’d like it — you’re in
vited to join the Camera Club. The
photographic darkroom is available
to members each Tuesday after
noon for developing and printing
film.
VOLUME II
GASTONIA, N. C., MARCH 5, 1953
NO. 5
For A Job Well Done
February 20, 1953
Mr. Harold Mercer,
Firestone Textiles,
Oastonia, North Caroliiiu.
Dear Mr. Mercer:
Mr. Karl has just shown me youi' report upon the 1953 Community
Chest solicitation in the Gastonia plant. The result is a great tribute
to the wonderful community spirit of all the men and women in your
organization. They’re the kind of folks who make me proud to say
that I, too, am a Firestone man.
My best regards and congratulations.
Sincerely,
J. E. TRAINER,
Vice-President
Frank Davis Honored For 25-Year Firestone Service
■ —I. I I
I
Witnessing the presentation of Cotton Classer Frank Davis’ 25-year Service Award and check
$100.00, left to right, General Superintendent Nelson Kessell, Comptroller E. J. Mechem, Mr. Davis,
^^neral Manager Harold Mercer, and Superintendent Francis Galligan.
Firestone Wesleyan Methodist To Observe
Fiftieth Anniversary Of Church’s Founding
19, 1953 will be a red- I
J^jtter-day for the 179 members of
Firestone Wesleyan Methodist
^h^i'ch, located at 1001 West Sec-
Avenue in Gastonia. On that
th^ ^ double celebration will mark
fiftieth anniversary of the
^^Uich’g founding, and the fourth
i'niversary of the completion of
^ church plant.
TVi
^ people of the Firestone
Church including the
the Reverend Frank B.
proud of the progress
yea^^ has made over the
Pi'id^ its founding. Their
vainglorious, but is
feeling of thankfulness.
Vacation Plan Liberalized To Permit One
Week Vacation Anytime After Year’s Work
Among tlie several liberalizations in employee benefits which went into effect February 16th is a
change in the vacation plan for plant employees.
In the past the vacation period was from May 1st to December 31st of each year and an employee
had to have one year of credited service on or before May 1st to be eligible for a week’s vacation. This
meant that an employee had to take his vacation during this vacation period of eight months and
certain employees actually acquired almost two years of credited service before they were eligible for a
week’s vacation.
Under the new plan the vacation period is from October 31 to October 30th of each year and there
is no longer a specific eligibility date such as the prior May 1st date.
i The advantages are two fold.
First, it means that all employees
are eligible for a week’s vacation
immediately upon completing their
first year of credited service and
employees completing their fifth
or fifteenth year of credited ser
vice will be eligible for an addi
tional week’s vacation at that time.
The second advantage is that em
ployees will be allowed to take
their vacations at anytime during
the year that is mutually satis
factory with the employees and
their supervisors.
The requirement that vacations
be arranged with supervisors is
necessary in order to maintain
production without interruption.
Without this requirement produc
tion would be sevei'ely restricted
if large numbers of employees in
departments decided to take vaca
tions at the same time. Whenever
it is not possible to allow all em
ployees to take their vacations
during the periods desired, em
ployees with the most company
service will be given prefei'ence.
Except for the changes pointed
out all other provisions of the va
cation policy remain in effect—
chief of these is the provision for
vacation pay. As in the past, em
ployees entitled to vacations will
receive vacation pay as follows:
Those entitled to one week of va-
^^nkfulr
feathered the storms of de-
had for a church that
snd moral upheaval in
has around it, yet withal
strong and determin-
teaching of the funda-
IN the first 25-year service a-
ward presentation to be made at
this plant, Frank W. Davis, Cot
ton Classer for all Firestone Tex
tiles plants, received his 25-year
pin and a check for $100.00 from
General Manager Harold Mercer
on February 2.
Mr. Davis, who began his career
with Firestone on February 1, 1928
at Fall River, Mass., has been lo
cated in Gastonia since the plant
was acquired by Firestone in 1935.
He was cotton classer for Fire
stone’s New England plants until
moving to Gastonia. Upon his
transfer to Gastonia hs was placed
in charge of cotton classing for all
of Firestone’s textile plants in the
United States and in Canada. He
was also given the responsibility
for the sale' of waste in these
plants.
Prior to joining Firestone, Mr.
Davis was cotton salesman for two
years for the P. T. Jackson Com
pany of Boston. It was while so
employed that he became acquaint
ed with cotton buyers for Fire
stone’s New England plants.
(Continued on Page 6)
(Continued on Page 3)
^ntal
Virtues of Christian living,
forward with especial
■i m-
The WesltyTiTMlH^Church with ite pastor the Rev,
F. B.
o April 19 Anniver-
^ices are two charter
-uoers of the Firestone Wes-
Church; W. G. Waldrop and
E. Hill. These 50-year
Dennard shown in the inset.
members will be in their accus
tomed pews for these services, if
health permits. Mr. Waldrop work-!
Firestone’s Plant Newspapers
Win Annual Freedoms Award
THE Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and its Chairman, Harvey
S. Firestone, Jr., have received two high honors from the Freedoms
Foundation.
Mr. Firestone was awarded an honor medal in the Public Address
category for his talk, “The Bonds of Brotherhood”.
The Company’s seven publica-',
tions have been given the top award
in the Employee Publications cate
gory of the Freedoms Foundation
Awards Competition for 1952. J.
E. Trainer, Vice-President in
Charge of Production, accepted the
award for the Company at cere
monies at Freedoms Foundation
headquarters at Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania, February 22. Vice-
President Richard Nixon presented
the awards.
ed many years for Firestone Tex
tiles and before that for the Man-
(Continued on page 6)
The Firestone publications won
the award in competition with
several hundred other leading
Company publications. Mary
Kerrigan, supervising editor for
the publications, received a per
sonal honor medal.
* *
THE seven publications for
which the top award in the Em
ployee Publication category was
given was: the Firestone Non-Skid,
for employees of the home plants
in Akron, Ohio; the Firestone
Californian at the Los Angeles,
California, plant; the Firestone
Southerner, Memphis, Tennessee;
(Continued on Page 2)