PAGE TWO
Tir«$tON* NEWS
AUGUST 25, 1954
School Days And Safety
THE advent of school opening always—and now more than ever—
brings with it reminders from various safety sources to the effect
that “the kiddies will soon be coming and going along our streets to
school, so please, please be extra careful Mr. Motorist.”
And why shouldn’t we be so re-O
minded ?
With more cars, more traffic
conjestion as a rule, and—this is
important—more children, it is
clearly the duty of motorists to be
on the lookout for school children
crossing streets as school opening
day approaches.
To help make your child’s walk
to school a safer one, the Gastonia
Police Department in cooperation
with local press and radio has
issued the following instructions
to parents, motorists, and school
children. The advice, if heeded, can
make the school year 1954-55 less
nerve rending for drivers, less un
easy for parents, less dangerous
for children.
For Parents
1—Select the safest route to school
and point out the dangers on
the route.
2—Teach the child to use the
streets safely. Warnings are
not enough—Instruct them and
tell them why and how.
3—Teach the child to play in safe
places.
4—Enforce home and legal rules
for safe conduct.
5—Make sure the child has the
necessary skill and maturity
before allowing him unsuper
vised use of a bicycle.
6—Always set a good example in
both driving and walking, a
good example is the best form
of teaching.
7—Cooperate fully with the police
and school officials in enforc
ing safety rules for the child.
8—Support the program of the
safety committee of your school
PTA.
For Motorists
1—Drive with extra care when
children are playing or walking
near a street or highway.
2—Slow down in residential areas
and near schools or play
grounds.
3—Watch out for youngsters on
bicycles, tricycles, scooters,
wagons.
4—Be prepared to stop on a mo
ment’s notice.
5—Obey all traffic laws and safe
ty rules.
For Bike Riders
1—Never treat your bike as a toy
but always as a means of
transportation.
2—Never let anybody ride with
you on your bike nor should
you ever ride on a bike with
someone else.
3—Keep to the right side of the
street or road when riding.
4—Keep a straight course, don’t
zig-zag.
5—Never hang on the back of
any moving vehicle.
6—Give proper hand signals
when making right or left
turns or when coming to a
stop.
7—Walk your bike across busy or
dangerous crossings.
8—Always have a bell or horn on
your handlebars, sound it to
warn pedestrians.
9—Never park your bike where
someone may fall over it.
10—Obey all traffic and safety
rules just as though you
were driving an automobile.
11—Keep bicycle in good mechani
cal condition.
For Child Pedestrians
1—Cross streets only at intersec
tions or d.esignated crosswalks.
2—Look both ways and for turn
ing traffic before crossing a
street.
3—Cross streets only on the green
traffic light.
4—Make sure the way is clear,
then, walk^—don’t run across
street.
5—Do not walk or stand between
parked cars.
6—Walk only on the left hand
side of a highway in rural
areas.
7—Wear or carry something
white at night.
8—Don’t play in the streets.
9—Be alert at all times—don’t
trust drivers too much.
10—Enter and leave cars on curb
side only.
11—Obey all police officers- and
school patrol boys when they
are directing traffic.
Textile School Opens
The North Carolina Vocational
School in Belmont opens September
1, offering morning and afternoon
classes in yarn manufacturing,
weaving and designing and other
textile subjects of interest to tex
tile people of this section. North
Carolinians may enroll free for the
fall session as late as September
13.
FIRESTONE NEWS
Volume III, No. 14, August 25, 1954
Published by The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
Firestone Textiles Division
Gastonia, North Carolina
Department of Public Relations
Editor R. H. Hood
Department Reporters
CARDING—Edna Harris, Jim Ballew, Jessie Westmoreland.
SPINNING—Ray Thomas, Mary Turner, Maude Johnson.
SPOOLING—Nell Bolick, Helen Reel, Rosalee Burger.
TWISTING—Hazel Foy, Annie Cosey, Dean Haun, Carrie Johnson,
Lorene Owensby, Dorothy Baber, Kathleen Clark.
SALES YARN TWISTING—Bonnie Dockery.
SYC WEAVING—Vivian Bum^ardner, Lucille Davis, Sara Davis,
Nina Milton, Juanita McDonald.
CORD WEAVING—Roy Davis, Irene Burroughs, Mary Johnson.
QUALITY CONTROL—Dealva Jacobs, Leila Rape, Catherine Isham,
Louella Queen.
WINDING—Mazelle Lewis, Dorcas Atkinson, Ann Stevenson, Chris
tine Stroupe.
CLOTH ROOM—Margie Waldrop.
SHOP—Rosa Prancum.
WAREHOUSE—G«orge Harper, Albert Meeks.
PLASTIC DIP—Frances Huffman, Helen Guffey.
MAIN OFFICE—Mozelle Brockman.
SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE—Sue Van Dyke.
PERSONNEL OFFICE—Barbara Abernathy.
Chairman Camments
(Continued From Page 1)
“Beyond the period of reason
able stability during the next few
months, the consenus of most
business leaders is that the pros
pects for a long period of growth
and expansion are favorable. I am
in complete agreement with this
point of view.
“THERE are three dynamic fac
tors which are contributing to the
long-range optimism regarding
business. They are the rapid
growth in population, the great
need for improvement in our high
way system, and the developments
in new industries such as atomic
power, electronics, aircraft, plastics
and new metals,
“The remarkable achievements
of California in recent years in
industrial growth indicate clearly
that this state will be an outstand
ing leader in this future era of
progress.
“The rubber industry is in good
condition. The demand for our
products continues strong and in
ventories are in good balance with
demand,
“In regard to the future: we are
optimistic. We anticipate that the
demand for tires to service motor
vehicles on the road and the farm
will be about one-third higher in
1960 than in 1954, This will neces
sitate further expansion in our
facilities for production,
“We expect the demand for our
products other than tires to grow
at the same rate. The demand for
foam rubber should be even great
er.
“Supplies of new rubber, both
synthetic and natural, and the de-
miand for it are in approximate
balance at this time. But we are
concerned with a prospective short
age of rubber in relationship to
the anticipated increase in demand
for rubber products. And unless
there is a substantial expansion in
synthetic rubber facilities and in
natural rubber acreage, there will
be a world rubber shortage in the
next five years,
“Early decision by the Govern
ment on the sale of the country’s
synthetic rubber facilities to pri
vate industry will make it possible
for synthetic plant owners to plan
for adequate expansion.”
Sports Quiz
(Answers On Page 3)
1, Three of the last five world
middleweight boxing champions
were not born in the Continental
United States. Do you know who
they are?
2, During the Yankees’ five
straight pennants, the Cleveland
Indians were runners-up three
times. Which Clubs finished second
the other two years ?
3, The winner of the Masters
Golf Tournament this year was:
a. Sammy Sneed
b. Ben Hogan
c. Billy Joe Patton
4, Match College and nickname:
Mississippi State Big Red
Cornell Crimson Tide
Harvard Maroon
Alabama The Crimson
5, Who is the Commissioner of
the minor leagues?
a, Frank Shaughnessy
b, Clarence Rowland
c, George Troutman
They Race Too. ...
Dan Seism Has Flock Of Winged
Wonders With Homing Instinct
The best aerial navigators in these parts own no compasses, in
fact have no visible means of long distance direction finding. But they
seldom get .lost on their cross country flights over unfamiliar territory.
Such navigators would be homing pigeons; and Dan Seism, 322 South
Hill Street, has a loft containing 25 of these uncanny creatures.
Sending boxes of his pigeons
to points as far away as Washing
ton, D. C., and beyond in compe-
tion with other local homing
pigeon fanciers, young Dan Seism
has developed a flock of strong
winged and directionally keen
birds, “Some of these birds,” he
points out, “have been flying ‘dis
tance’ for as many as seven years
and know the routes like airliners.”
Any flight outside of local exer
cise flying is a “distance” flight
as far as Seism is concerned,
Dan’s pigeons, for the most part,
are registered with the American
Racing Pigeon Union, an organiza
tion devoted to the encouragement
of uniform racing rules for homing
pigeons. Many of them, in addi
tion, are pedigreed, Dan, who is
the son of Mrs, Lillie Seism, win
der tender, started raising pigeons
four years ago.
Each pair of birds, according to
Seism, can raise 10 to 15 squabs a
year. Within eight weeks after
hatching, the fledgling is ready
for “primary” training, which
means the bird can be started on
a daily practice flight program
starting a block from the loft and
gradually increasing the distance
until the bird is at home in the air
within 5 miles of the loft. After
this phase, the pigeon is ready for
his first real cross country flight
of 25 to 50 miles.
Dan and his pigeon fancier
friends in Gastonia are thinking of
forming a club for themselves and
others who might become interest
ed in the hobby. With stop watches
I
HOLDING one of his favorite
birds, Dan Seism, above, stan’s
in front of his pigeon loft at his
home, 322 South Hill Street,
and sky-scanning eyes, and pigeons
that have only one consuming de
sire: to get home as swiftly as
possible, these pigeon racers find
thrills aplenty in their pastime.
Even the express agents seem
to get a kick out of pigeon racing.
They, according to Seism, willingly
free the birds shipped to them at
the exact time requested. No doubt
it’s because this is one item of ex
press that delivers itself automat
ically. “All they have to do is turn
the birds loose and throw away
the shipping crate. One circle
overhead and they’re on their way
home at 60 miles-per-hour,” con
cludes Mr. Seism,
Not bad, it should be said, for a
bird.
Bowling’s Forerunner. .
Ancient Game Bocce Gets Boost
From Enthusiastic Employees
WHEN the dozen or so men who play Bocce here gather at the
Bocce court next to the Girls’ Dormitory, they are keeping alive a
sport that dates back 4,000 years according to historians. It’s as un
usual as it is old, yet very simple to play.
The game as played here is play-°;
ed on a lO-by-50 foot clay court
surrounded by a 10-inch retaining
wall. The players (2, 4, 6, etc.,)
take turns rolling wooden balls
toward what is called the “jack”
ball, a smaller white ball which is
thrown out at the start of the
game to some point on the court.
The object of the game is to get
as close to the jack ball as possi
ble. To do so, other players’ balls
must frequently be knocked away
from the jack ball. After all play
ers have had turns, the one having
the closest ball to the jack ball
wins the point for that round. The
game continues until a player, or
team, has scored 12 points,
* * *
THE word Bocce is the Italian
equivalent of the early English
word “bowles”. Later the name be
came bowling and finally lawn
bowling to distinguish it from the
very popular game in which balls
are cast at wooden pins. Lawn
bowling and bowling, incidentally,
are now unrelated games.
In the current revival of interest
in the game in this country the
original Italian name, Bocce, is
coming back into use. And playing
the game throughout the country
are an estimated 2,000,000 people.
IN BOCCE, above, there are
no pins as in bowling; just wood
en balls which are rolled as
close as possible to a smallei
ball, called the jack ball.
Adding to that estimate aie
four leagues active in the game, at
this plant. What was practically an
unheard of thing here until las
year now has a small but en
thusiastic group of employee-play
ers who play like veterans. Thus i
appears that an old, old game has
come recently to Firestone; ant
seems likely to stay.