march 10, 1955
S31WI
PAGE THREE
Weaver Plans Active Life In Retirement
"X
GIFTS FROM FRIENDS in the SYC Weaving A VETERAN OF WEAVING, his last job here
apartment were presented by Overseer E. D. was the filling of batteries on the looms.
3gweII, on Roger’s last day at the plant.
When Bassie R. Rogers walked out of the plant at the end of the first shift on Friday,
January 28, he carried with him a record of a job well done, and a lot of cherished memories
his association at Firestone Textiles. As he passed one milestone in life, he looked into
the future of another, and listed as pursuits on the agenda of his days in retirement: truck
farming, catching up on long-overdue visits with relatives and friends — and even some
Cranium hunting and gold prospecting.
A farmer and timber cutter in
Cherokee County, N. C., Rogers
changed his occupation to textiles
^ years ago. Since coming to the
Job at Firestone in November,
939, he has worked as a doffer,
harper, weaver, and battery filler
the looms.
Rogers brought his family from
Andrews, N. C., to Gastonia in
, "22, and began work as a weaver
the plant here, which at that
was not under Firestone
ownership. He remained here un-
1928, then worked for the next
Several years, at different mills in
^orth and South Carolina.
Mrs. Rogers has also been em
ployed at Firestone for a number
years.
The Rogers’ have 7 children, two
and 5 daughters, all of whom
married. A son, Claude, is a
loom fixer in the Weaving De
partment here. With the exception
of one daughter, all the children
have jobs in the textiles industry.
To pass his leisure time around
the house, Rogers tends a garden
in the summertime, focusing
special attention on flower culture.
He takes special pride in his in
creasing number of rose bushes.
Then there is time devoted to
watching television, and listening
to religious and country music on
his large radio-phonograph.
On his final day at work, the
retired employee was asked, “What
has impressed you most during
your 15 years at Firestone?”
“The friends I’ve made here, and
the wonderful cooperation of my
fellow workers, including the
overseers.”
Future Farmers Appear On T V
DURING A “VOICE OF FIRESTONE” coast to coast simulcast
•u New York recently, the President of the Future Farmers of
America, William Gunter (right front) of Live Oak, Florida, was
*^terviewed bv Raymond C. Firestone (left front), Executive Vice-
i) .
•■^sident of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and former
Chairman of the Sponsoring Committee of the FFA Foundation,
appearing on the program was singing star Rise Stevens.
Other national officers of the FFA who were individually in-
^‘■o^uced on the national network program are (back row, left to
*^^Sht) Lowell Gisselbeck, Watertown, S. D.; Jay Wright, Alamo,
Bobby Futrelle, Mount Olive, N. C.; Phillip Brouillette,
^^'chford, Vt.; and Charles Anken, Holland Patent, N. Y.
Perry
(Continued from Page 2)
next five years in a plant at Kan
napolis, N. C.
In 1943 Perry went to Roanoke
to assist in the setting up of op
erations in the rayon-processing
unit there. After this temporary
assignment he was transferred, in
1946, to the Firestone plant at
Paterson, N. J., where he was
placed in charge of weaving.
He returned to the Firestone
plant at Roanoke in 1948 as an
engineering foreman until trans
ferred to Firestone Textiles early
this year.
Firestone Latex In Paving Material
Installation of a section of as-
phalt paving on MacArthur Boule
vard, Washington, D. C., in which
Firestone’s Synthetic Latex Com
pound Number R-504 was used as
a rubberizing agent, has been an
nounced by J. N. Robertson, Di
rector of Highways for the District
of Columbia.
The test section, which will be
subjected to the critical analysis
of both the Bureau of Standards
and the Research Division of the
Bureau of Public Roads, was in
stalled by Corson & Gruman Com
pany.
“This construction is in keeping
with the District’s policy of in
vestigating materials and designs
which appear to have merit and
to be of potential value in pro
viding better highways,” said Mr.
Roberts. “It is hoped that this pro
ject and similar studies will assist
in providing the answer to many
important problems that are con
fronted daily by the Department in
providing the best in highways for
the nation’s capital.”
Firestone’s Synthetic Latex
Compound R-504 was developed by
Firestone Rubber Paving Division
laboratories. For the past six
years the Kentucky Research
Foundation of Lexington, Ky., has
been evaluating the material in the
laboratory and field.
No special equipment is needed
to mix the rubberized material in
batch plants. Continuous mix
plants require accessory equip
ment. Asphalt rubberized with
Firestone’s R-504 compound has
been laid in many sections of the
country with almost every type
paving machine.
After the material is laid, roll
ers can follow immediately after
the paving machine. The newly
laid surfacing can be opened to
traffic immediately after being
compacted by rollers.
The latex is added to the mixture
after the aggregate has been
coated with asphalt.
The new material was made
available for installation after re
search indicated this latex com
pound was superior to various
foi’ms of natural, synthetic and
processed crumb rubbers as an
additive for asphaltic concrete.
The material has been introduc
ed to 26 state highway depart
ments and a majority are making
independent laboratory studies of
its properties. Many are planning
installations during 1955.
Say It This Way
* He who leaves the fame of good works after him, does not die.
—Arabic Proverb
* The secret of success is constancy to purpose, —Disraeli
Prejudice is opinion without judgment. —Voltaire
Charity—the one thing we can give away without losing it. —Horace
Smith
=■' Let me make the songs of a nation and I care not who makes its
laws. —Andrew Fletcher
In The News
ACCORDING TO THE READER’S DIGEST
for December, 1954, the new tubeless tire that is
standard equipment on most 1955 cars is “the
biggest news in the rubber industry since the
arrival of balloon tires in 1922.”
“Giving puncture and blowout protection, it
will practically eliminate the need for changing
tires along the roadside,” writes J. D. Ratcliff.
Stating that puncture-proofness is the point
of greatest interest to motorists, Mr. Ratcliff point
ed out that a Firestone check of standard tubeless
tires with a New York taxi fleet showed a reduc
tion of 82 per cent in the number of punctures,
blowouts or slow leaks per 100,000 tire miles. Con
sidering the fact that taxis run day and night,
frequently through littered back alleys and other
places where puncturing materials are prevalent,
they have about twice the tire trouble of other
cars. If taxi drivers averaged only four flats per
100,000 miles, the average motorist should do twice
as well—in other words about one flat every five
years for the motorist who drives 10,000 miles
annually.
The writer described the two types of tubeless
tires—one containing a sealant on the inside so
that when a nail is withdrawn from the tire the
sealant flows into the hole, sealing it automatically,
and the other containing an inner diaphragm so that
if the outer casing is gashed the tire drops on the
interlining.
Declaring that tires of this latter type are now
“the ultimate in safety” and that with them it is
“virtually impossible” to have really dangerous
tire failures” he said that Wilbur Shaw, famed
racing driver, tested such tires for Firestone on
the Indianapolis Speedway.
“The Casing was artificially weakened and
blew out on a curve while Shaw was hitting 80
miles per hour,” he said. “The tire dropped on its
interlining, and pressure fell from 24 to 18 pounds.
There was no tug on the wheel,”
“Drawbacks ? They are almost non-existent,” he
continued, Tubeless tires can be retreaded and re
paired with conventional equipment. In event of
severe injury a regulation blowout patch is vulcan
ized to the inside of the tire, , , . Everything con
sidered, the tubeless tire offers more trouble-free
motoring and new safety. If it doesn’t make the
flat tire completely obsolete, it’s the nearest ap
proach yet made to that idea,”
>i< * ii<
“IT IS REFRESHING TO HEAR of our lead
ing industrialists becoming active in promoting the
use of atomic energy for peaceful means,” editorial
ized the New Egypt, N, J., Press in a November
issue,
“Just recently the Rockefeller, Astor, Mellon
and Firestone interests, as well as a number of other
leaders have joined forces to study the possible
application of atomic energy to useful and impor
tant peace time industrial and commercial uses.
“It is said that they have also agreed to fi
nance any worth while project that might develop
from such study.”
“This is an important move in the right and
might well mark the beginning of a new era of
prosperity.”
* * *
“AMERICAN PROSPERITY IN A SELLING
Economy” is the title of an article by Lee R.
Jackson, President of the Company, in the magazine
Salesman’s Opportunity, “Every reliable sign in
dicates that our economy will remain strong and
healthy,” he concluded in the article, which dis
cussed the present economy and opportunities in
sales, “America is a wonderful land of opportunity
for those who are willing to invest extra effort. If
we keep it that way, if we hold fast to the things
that made our country great, no force on earth
can halt this nation’s continued prosperity,”
* * H<
IN TIDE MAGAZINE for October 23, Adver
tising Columnist Lester Leber had a compliment
for the Company and its Founder: “Digging back
into the past can be awfully boring, but Firestone
scored a ten-strike with its reprinting of a 1919
page headlined ‘Ship by Truck.’ It was inspiring
to see how right Harvey Firestone was 35 years
ago when he predicted that trucking was “The
future trend of transportation,’ ”