PAGE 6
FEBRUARY, 1957
m
Busy Season For Plant Square Dance Team
The Firestone Square Dance Team, now in its
second year of organization, is in much demand
this season for appearances at schools and col
leges, civic functions and sports events in North
and South Carolina.
Next on the schedule, for February 8, is an ap
pearance at a Pfeiffer College basketball game,
Misenheimer, N. C. This will be a return engage
ment at Pfeiffer. There are a number of other ap
pearances, with dates undecided, during the
season which lasts into early April.
In addition to the first appearance at Pfeiffer
College, the team has put on folk dancing ex
hibitions at a number of places, including a March
of Dimes rally at Winnsboro, S. C.; the Dixie
Basketball Classic, Raleigh; the annual meeting
of the South Carolina National Guard, Gaffney;
Belmont Abbey College, Belmont; Davidson Col
lege, Davidson; Lowell (N.C.) High School; and
a number of industrial and business firms in
the Gastonia area.
The Square Dance Team is made up of eight
couples. In the picture, from left, are: George
Martin, Louise Sutton, George Plyler, Vivian
Plyler, Junior McCarter, Annie Lou Harmon, Bob
Purkey, Doris McCready, Mitchell Wooten, Shir
ley Ammons, Woodrow Wooten, Paul Ingle, Ann
Jenkins, Lola Mae Harmon, Robert Jenkins, Don
Dixon, Margie Harmon and Joe Harmon. After
the photo was made Betty Atkinson, Viola
Broome, Phyllis Moore and Earlene Creasman
joined the team.
Traffic Perils Increase After Sundown
Hours of darkness increase
traffic perils. Major W. B. Lentz
of the N. C. State Highway Pa
trol voices this reminder of one
of the greater traffic dangers
faced by drivers and pedestrians
during winter months.
Major Lentz is especially con
cerned with pedestrian safety,
recalling that in 1955 about half
of North Carolina’s auto acci
dents happened after sundown.
According to Major Lentz,
good advice for night-time hours
is: Sharpen up your caution and
cut down on your speed. The
Highway Patrol officer has this
additional information on night
time traffic safety:
WHEN DRIVING at night, a
motorist cannot see an object
until it comes within range of
his headlights. If he’s driving at
a speed that won’t permit him
to stop within that distance,
naturally, he’ll hit the object.
But lowered speed is not the
whole solution. In order to see
danger quickly and act im
mediately to avoid it, the driver
must step up his alertness.
The walker is handicapped at
night, too. But he has the ad
vantage of being able to see a
vehicle’s headlights long before
its driver can see him. So, the
major responsibility for the
pedestrian’s safety rests with
himself.
When walking at night, one
IN MEMORIAM
Funeral for Mrs. Bertie Lytle
Spencer was held in West Ave
nue Presbyterian Church in the
Firestone community January
15, and burial was in Hollywood
Cemetery. She was the wife of
J. Ed Spencer, who retired a
few months ago after more than
20 years as employment manager
at the plant.
Besides her husband, those
surviving Mrs. Spencer are two
sons, Albert of Gastonia and
Bernett of Kinston; two daugh
ters, Mrs. Irene Plonk of Dallas
and Mrs. Frances Wilson of Ran-
lo; a sister, Mrs. Nellie Cannon
of Gastonia; eight grandchildren
and one great-grandchild.
Funeral service was held in
Gastonia on January 4 for Mrs.
Tom Meeks who died in New
York City last December 31. Mrs.
Meeks was the sister-in-law of
Albert Meeks, conveyor man in
the Warehouse.
Local Minister On Mission To Cuba
The Rev. George W. Bum
garner, pastor of Covenant
Methodist Church in the Fire
stone community, left Gastonia
January 27 for Cuba, where he
was scheduled to participate in a
preaching mission.
The local minister joined a
party of more than 100 protes-
tant church leaders to conduct
the Methodist-sponsored evange
listic campaign throughout the
West Indies island. The mission
will continue into early Febru
ary.
The Covenant Church minister
pointed out that since Cuba won
her independence in 1898 the
Methodist and other Protestant
denominations have made rapid
strides in Cuba—largest island
of the Antilles—as to the found
ing of churches and in the in
crease of membership, and also
in the establishment of schools
throughout the island.
One Retiree Not Sentimental
Over ‘Old Days’ In Textiles
☆ ☆ ☆
Spinning Overseer W. S. Guf
fey sat down and figured.
“Thirty-five million—that’s a
lot of bobbins to doff,” he con
cluded. “Why, that would make
a mound as big as Crowders
Mountain.”
It was the occasion of Horace
W. Butler’s retirement from
Spinning, after more than 21
years on the job as a doffer in
the plant here.
Butler, whose long period of
employment ended with the year
1956, had well earned his place
among the “old timers” of the
textile industry. Glancing back
ward across the years, he re
calls that he first started doffing
spinning when he was nine years
old. That was when he had to
climb on the frame to keep his
job on the go.
Besides his work at Firestone,
Butler has been a doffer in spin
ning at other local mills. He has
a son who is a textile worker
and another son who used to be
a loom fixer at Firestone.
THE RETIREE thinks that the
number of industrial advance
ments on his job alone have been
too many to list. The 109 South
Weldon street resident wants
nothing of “the good old days”,
when it comes to weighing his
tory against progress in textiles.
“In those old days, I worked
11^2 hours for little pay—and
without a lot of the benefits that
are often taken for granted to
day.”
The retiree now looks forward
to an unrestricted schedule in
which he can pursue his hunting
hobby. Besides this, and “just
taking life easy,” he may do
some traveling, including a trip
to the residence of one of his
daughters in Alameda, Calif.
should wear something made of
white.
If not this, wear something
made of material which reflects
light. Carrying a flashlight, or
even a newspaper, helps drivers
spot pedestrians sooner.
The night driving and walking
picture is complicated by rain
and other bad weather. If you
want to stay safe under such
conditions, stay alert every sec
ond, while driving or walking.
Stamp Collectors
Rate High On IQ
The U. S. Postal Service News
reported in a recent issue that of
all popular hobbies, collecting
ranked number one. And that
among those who have collecting
as a major hobby, stamp collect
ing is in first place.
The article quoted a well-
known writer in a national mag
azine as saying: If you are a
stamp collector, you are “apt to
have a high I.Q. and an un
quenchable thirst for either gen
eral or specialized knowledge.
The odds are better than even
that your inquiring mind seldom
permits you to be bored. You
tend to be level-headed, and not
easily upset. And—this is par
ticularly true if you are a stamp
collector—you tend to be happier
and better contented with life
than the majority of your fellow-
men.”
The writer went on to say that
studies have shown that stamp
collectors not only score ap
preciably higher on world
knowledge tests (history and
geography) than non-collectors,
but that they possess mental
ability that is greater than that
of the general population.
ON HIS FINAL workday, Horace Butler ended a long career
as a spinning doffer. His fellow employees in the department pre
sented him with a gift of clothing.
A GIFT from fellow employees and best wishes from Spinning
Overseer W. S. Guffey went to Lohr P. Stroupe (right), upon his
retirement.
Lohr P. Stroupe retired from
the plant near the end of 1956,
after having swept acres and
acres of floor. Upon his retire
ment he rounded out 10 years
of employment, all spent as a
sweeper on the West Wing of
the Spinning Department.
Besides his work at Firestone,
he put in three years at a similar
job assignment in two other
Gastonia textile mills. His plans
for the future embody some
small-scale farming on his East
Seventh avenue place. He will
be no newcomer to the land, be
cause he spent a number of years
as a farmer before his employ'
ment began at the plant here.
There is no danger of develop
ing eyestrain from looking at the
bright side of life.
You can get almost anything
done that you want, so long 3^
you don’t care who gets the
credit for it.
The road to success is dotted
with many tempting parkiii^
places.