PAGE 8
Tir«$ton«
OCTOBER. 1957
Mr. Mercer Cited
In Hospital Paper
The September issue of The
Capsule, institutional publica
tion of Gaston Memorial Hos
pital, featured a picture and
story on Firestone General Man
ager Harold Mercer.
Mr. Mercer began his term of
office as a member of the board
of trustees of Gaston Memorial
last January. Before that, he had
served as a member of the board
of Garrison General Hospital,
Gastonia.
Following is a portion of the
article which appeared in the
GMH Capsule:
In common with all other
board members, Mr. Mercer
takes pride in his service to the
community. He expressed grati
fication for an organization of
the quality of GMH, which is
able to attract to the community
doctors qualified in all fields of
medicine, so that Gaston Coun
ty residents can have hospital
treatment in their home area.
"THE PEOPLE in our plant,”
he said, “have the very best
medical care available to them
at home.”
Mr. Mercer continued: “Cit
izens of the county should be
very grateful for the foresight
of those persons who more than
ten years ago began the move
ment which has culminated in
such a fine service institution. I
have seen a vast and steady im
provement in the quality of
service rendered by the nurses
and doctors.
“I have been most favorably
impressed with the ability of the
organization to keep pace with
the increasing needs—indeed, to
anticipate these needs to ';>e
ready to furnish service to an
ever-growing and expanding in
dustrial community.”
A native of Seymour, Ind., an
alumnus of the University of Ill
inois with a bachelor of science
degree in commerce, Mr. Mer
cer came to Gastonia in 1935
from the home offices of Fire
stone in Akron, Ohio.
In the years since his arrival,
he has made himself a potent
influence for good in the entire
community.
Citizens can share with GMH
the assurance that its program
of services is well guarded and
safe in the hands of Board mem
bers such as Mr. Mercer.
Sgt. and Mrs. George Carr of
Washington, D. C., spent a Sep
tember week end with Leon and
Edna Dawkins, both of Carding.
Mrs. Carr is the Dawkins’
daughter.
4
J
Pratt Institute student Ted Bell shapes a piece of wood for
a design model. At upper right: Some of the paintings and sculpture
which Ted has prepared as class assignments. In his room, at right,
are built-in shelves and storage closets, designed and fashioned by
the student. The chair in front of the drop-lid desk was one of his
first woodcrafting projects. Ted holds the model which won hon
ors in a craftsman guild auto body design contest in 1955.
Ted Bell On Leave From Shop
To Study Industrial Design
Ted Bell of the Shop dynamic
balancing department is taking
time out from his duties here to
pursue his third-year studies in
industrial design at Pratt Insti
tute, Brooklyn, N. Y.
For the past three summers he
has worked in the Shop, the first
two bsing spent as a carpenter,
and last summer as a balancing
technician. He plans to return to
Firestone next spring for work
during the vacation period be
tween his Junior and Senior
years at the Brooklyn school.
At Pratt, Ted is working to
ward the degree of bachelor of
arts in xnuustiial dfcaigri,.
“When that is realized,” says
Ted, “and if things go according
to plan, I will study for the
master of arts degree in indus
trial design.”
The student-workman here,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry C.
Bell of 2000 Linwood road, was
a member of the 1955 graduating
class of Ashley High School.
Savings Bonds
—From Page 1
Bonds”; and Mrs. Barret Camp
bell, current “Mrs. North Caro
lina”, from Charlotte.
At Firestone, “Mrs. U.S. Sav
ings Bonds” and “Mrs. North
Carolina” joined Treasury De
partment and local Savings
Bonds program representatives
for a tour of the plant, before
participating in a rally in front
of the mill.
His artistic talents began to
manifest themselves when he
was in elementary school. Later,
it was through his ability at de
signing that he was enabled to
pass the screening which admit
ted him to Pratt.
THAT WAS in 1955, when Ted
entered an auto body design
model in the Fisher Body Crafts
man Guild competition. His
model, carved from laminated
wood and fitted with intricate
trim accurately cast and shaped,
won him third state prize. This
honor helped decide his ad-
mi''.t,ance to Pratt, where the
large volume of applications
must be carefully screened in
order to select the most quali
fied student body. Pratt, one of
the outstanding arts-and-design
schools in the country, cannot
accommodate all the applicants
for admission.
At his Linwood road home,
Ted maintains a well-equipped
woodworking shop, where he
turns out models and lends sub
stance to his furniture designs.
As a woodworking hobbyist, one
of his first projects was a
streamlined chair with plastic
webbing. Since that time he has
designed and built shelves for
books and models, a fold-away
desk, and storage cabinets for
his room.
Besides these, he has designed
and produced utility cabinets for
the kitchen at home and bed
room furniture for some of the
neighbors.
I
f ,•
AT PRATT Institute, the Gas
tonia student has distinguished
himself for his creation of vari
ous design models of objects for
manufacture, and for his pieces
of art and sculpture—done most
ly ar. class assignment‘s
The walls of the Bell home are
adorned with several paintings
which Ted has done in recent
years. Outstanding of these
pieces of art is a two-and-a-half
by five-foot painting of a forest
in casein tints and framed in
oak.
Ted explains that the various
projects of each student at Pratt
during the school year are as
sembled in a “judgment” at the
end of the term. This is one of
the several ways by which in-
striK'tors ?]pprai‘=:p the '^tiHent’s
progress.
“The field of industrial design
offers broad opportunities,” says
Ted. “I have yet to decide the
particular phase of the work I’ll
settle down to, but it will likely
be furniture or hand tool design
ing.”
Begins Assignment
As Social Worker
Betty F. Little is employed
as a social worker at the Baylor
School of Medicine, Houston,
Texas. She is the daughter of
Shop Lathe Operator Cramer L.
Little, and Mrs. Little.
Miss Little, who spent three
weeks with her parents here in
late summer, was graduated re
cently from Tulane University,
New Orleans. There, she re
ceived the master of arts degree
in social work.
At Tulane, she did graduate
study under a March of Dimes
scholarship awarded by the Na
tional Foundation for Infantile
Paralysis. The financial appro
priation under which she
studied was conferred upon
recommendation of a national
committee of leaders in medical-
social work.
Employees in the Carding de
partment express their deepest
sympathy to Marion Davis, can
hauler, in the recent death of
his brother.
FIRESTONE TEXTILES
P. O. BOX 551
GASTONIA, N. C.
SEC. 34.66 P. L. & R.
U. S. POSTAGE
PAID
GASTONIA, N. C.
PERMIT NO. 29
NEW LOOK—Sue Dodgen of the local Firestone Store shows
the DeLuxe Super Champion, low-priced nylon cord replacement
lire. The salesgirl points out the "new look" feature which is built
into the tire by reducing the width of the white sidewall.
Form 3547 Requested