PAGE TWO
?ire$ton« NEWS
MAY 25, 1954
Company Chairman
Takes Optimistic
Business Outlook
Prior To Sailing
HARVEY S. FIRESTONE, JR.,
Chairman of The Firestone Tire
& Rubber Company has sailed for
Europe aboard the “Queen Mary”
to participate in the Second In
ternational Conference of Manu
facturers in Paris. He was accom
panied by Mrs. Firestone.
While abroad, Mr. Firestone
will make an inspection tour of
Firestone factories in England,
Spain, Switzerland, Germany and
Sweden.
Speaking of business conditions
in Europe and in the United States
before sailing, Mr. Firestone said:
“Business is on an upward trend
in Western European countries.
The steady rise of production and
the strengthening of the economies
of these nations are encouraging
and are testimony to the success
of the long-range efforts of those
who have worked to restore the
individual free enterprise econo
mies of Western Europe.
“Personal and commercial trans
portation in European countries is
being expanded. This is being re
flected by substantial increases
this year over last year in the pro
duction of tires in our European
factories.
“The outlook for 1954 in the
rubber industry in the United
States appears to be more en
couraging than first-quarter pro
duction figures indicate. The an
nual seasonal surge in tire buy
ing by motorists is strong and
inventories of tires in manufac
turers’ and dealers’ hands are re
garded as normal in relation to
industry sales estimates.
“This situation, coupled with our
product diversification and the sta
bility of raw material prices, fur
ther contributes to the optimistic
appraisal we now hold for our
business through the rest of 1954.
“It is encouraging to note at"
this time the many indications that
the present mild recession in this
country is abating. To me, this
situation holds for American busi
ness not only hope and encourage
ment, but a challenge and an op
portunity.
“An essential ingredient in an
early resumption of our country’s
long-term rising trend of business
activity is confidence both by con
sumers and by business. We in the
business community have the op
portunity for leadership in this
regard. Aggressive plans for new
productive facilities, new and im
proved products, expanded distri
bution and stronger selling will
contribute both directly and in
directly toward the business up
surge which is so clearly indica
ted in the future.”
Company Honored For Safety And
Safety Information Achievements
THE Firestone Tire & Rubber Company has I’eceived the Na-
ational Safety Council’s Award of Honor, highest honor in industrial
safety, for the eighth time in nine years. The plaque which commemo
rates the award was presented by J. E. Trainer, Executive Vice-
President of the Firestone Company, to division managers of the
Company, Mr. Trainer is shown here (center) looking at the plaque
with J. A. Meek (right), Director of Industrial Relations, and Glen
D. Cross (left). Director of Safety and Supervisory Training. The
plaque reads: “National Safety Council Award of Honor. Presented
to The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company. All Plants in the United
States. For an outstanding safety performance. 1954.” It is signed
by Ned H. Dearborn, President of the National Safety Council.
l^'UK the third time in four years The Firestone Tire & Rubber
Company has been honored with a “Certificate of Outstanding Public
Relations Achievement” award by the American Public Relations
Association. The award for 1953, received during the association’s
tenth annual convention in New Nork City, was awarded to Firestone
for its employee safety information program. Here, Glen D. Cross,
Director of Safety and Supervisory Training for Firestone (center),
accepts the award from J. E. Drew, chairman of the award judges
(second from left), as Paul H. Bolton (second from right), chairman
of the awards committee, looks on with Stephen James (left) of the.
Automotive Safety Foundation, retiring APRA president, and David
C. Mearns (right), Assistant Librarian of Congress. The programs
receiving awards in various categories were placed in the Library of
Congress following the convention. Other awards received by Fire
stone were: For 1952, in the Labor Relations category, for the
Company’s employee publication program, and for 1950, in the
Manufacturing category, for the Company’s Fiftieth Anniversary
program.
FIRESTONE NEWS
Volume III, No. 9, May 25, 1954
Published at Gastonia, North Carolina
By Firestone Textiles
A Division of
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
Department of Industrial Relations
R. H. HOOD, Editor
Department Reporters
CARDING—Edna Harris, Jessie Westmoreland.
SPINNING—Mary Turner, Maude Johnson.
SPOOLING—Nell Bolick, Helen Reel, Rosalee Burger.
TWISTING—Hazel Foy, Grace Stowe, Annie Cosey, Dean Haun,
Corrie Johnson.
SALES YARN TWISTING—Fannie Humphries.
SYC WEAVING—Sarah Davis, Nina Milton, Vivian Bumgardner.
CORD WEAVING—Margaret Rhyne, Irene Burroughs, Mary
Johnson.
QUALITY CONTROL—Dealva Jacobs, Leila Rape, Catherine Isham,
Margaret Tate.
WINDING—Mazelle Lewis, Ann Stevenson, Christine Stroupe.
CLOTH ROOM—Margie Waldrop.
SHOP—Rosa Francum.
WAREHOUSE—George Harper, Albert Meeks.
PLASTIC DIP—Frances Huffman, Helen Guff«y.
MAIN OFFICE—Mozelle Brockman.
SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE—Sue Van Dyke.
PERSONNEL OFFICE—Barbara Abernathy.
L. B. McAbee Elected NCSSE
Vice-President At Conference
L. B. McAbee, safety director,
has been elected vice-president of
the North Carolina Society of
Safety Engineering. He was elect
ed by the society during the annual
North Carolina Safety Conference
in Raleigh, May 4-6.
Mr. McAbee headed a delegation
of supervisors from this plant to
the conference which included J.
H. Brooks, Trenton Ginn, and Mrs.
Lois Wooley. The conference was
held at the Sir Walter Hotel and
was highlighted by a speech from
North Carolina’s Governor William
Umstead.
MRS. HAZEL FOY, above, holds a bag with reporters’ names
inside as Sonny Brockman draws out names of door prize winners at
the picnic for reporters at Rankin Lake. Winners were Jane Francum
and Claude Queen.
Reporters And Families Picnic At Rankin
Lake; Play Lefs-Get-Acquainted Bingo
A group of 40 reporters and family members enjoyed an old
fashioned picnic at Rankin Lake, Saturday afternoon, May 15. Using
the indoor facilities there because of recent rains, the group howled in
laughter at the parlor games andO”
stunts introduced by Chairwoman
Hazel Foy and her committee in
charge of the event.
Starting with a bingo game that
required picnickers to get the
names of 24 others on their blank
bingo cards before they could play,
the fun continued without letup
for an hour prior to the picnic sup
per.
Mrs. Foy’s committee made all
the arrangements for the picnic
including the making of a delicious
fruit punch for the group. On the
committee in addition to Mrs, Foy
were: Mrs, William Cosey, Mrs.
Rosalee Burger, Mrs, Corrie John
son, and Miss Sue Van Dyke,
Employees’ Children
Participate In BTU
Memory Contest
A number of employees and em
ployees’ children figured in the Re
gional Baptist Training Union
Eliminations in Shelby, May 15,
Winning second place in the
speaker’s contest was Carl Stew
art, Jr., recent winner of a Fire
stone College Scholarship. He, like
all other participants in the May
15th event, had won previously in
district and associational contests.
Of the 75 boys and girls who ad
vanced to the finals in the memory
work contest, to be held in June at
the Baptist Assembly in Caswell,
N, C., were the following child
ren of employees:
Jane Francum, Ruby Givens,
James Givens, Neal Tate, Gail Mc-
Coig, Eddie Givens, and Dorothy
Givens. All of these boys and girls
are from Loray Church except
Miss Francum who is from the
East Baptist Church.
Another phase of the May 15th
event in Shelby was the choir con
test in which the Loray and Mari
etta Street Church Choirs, respec
tively, received “B” ratings. The
Loray Choir is directed by James
Moss, junior time study engineer;
the Marietta Street Choir by Clyde
Moss, assistant to the superinten
dent. Both choirs will par
ticipate in the state contest at the
Fruitland Baptist Assembly
Grounds sometime in June.
MRS. WILLIAM COSEY con
centrates on a get-acquainted
game of bingo at the picnic as
her husband looks on. The idea in
the game was for everyone to
get their blank bingo cards filled
in with names of people attend
ing the picnic. Following this,
an ordinary bingo game was
played—ordinary except that
names were substituted for num
bers.
Opens Baseball Season
PITCHING out the first ball
to open Firestone’s Little League
baseball season is Mrs. Helen
Bolick, above, of the Twisting
Department. The game, play®
against Gastonia Combed
at Todd Field, was won by Fir®
stone.