A habit cannot be tossed out
the window. It must be coaxed
down the stairs a step at a time.
—Samuel Clemens
Tir«$tone
GASTONIA
The measure of a man's real
character is what he would do if
he knew he'd never be found out.
—Thomas Macauley
VOLUME VII
GASTONIA, N. C. MAY, 1958
No. 6
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NATIONAL-STATE AWARD
Safety Achievement In 1957
Earns 11th-Year Citation
For the eleventh consecutive year, Firestone Textiles has won high commendation
for its outstanding safety program. The plaque with 11-year engraved bar given jointly
by the North Carolina and the United States Department of Labor, was received by
plant safety director Alvin Riley, at the annual Industrial Achievement Awards pro
gram held at Masonic Temple, April 15. Presenting the award was the Honorable Frank
Crane, North Carolina Commissioner of Labor.
Firestone, Gaston county’s largest single employer, drew special praise from Com
missioner Crane.
“This is the highest award we can give,” he said, “because we have been giving
awards for only 11 years. Firestone is certainly setting an enviable pace for other in
dustries around the State.”
weet Spring, Thou Turnst
With All Thy Goodly Train
Folks who keep abreast of the calendar and the almanac
know that Spring arrives in March. But this year the Vernal
Season was tardy in bringing its warmth and full-bloom
signs of Nature’s resurrection. As April departed and the
Emerald Month arrived, earth and air became sun-warmed,
more plants flowered into bloom, and trees began to cloak
themselves in garments of living green. The distinctive
blossoms of the white dogwood stood out among them all.
Linda Calhoun (left), and her sister Vickie came close for
a more appreciative look at the official flower of The Old
North State. The girls’ father, Leon Calhoun, works in Syn
thetic Weaving; their mother, in Spinning.
At the dinner meeting, attend
ed by 150 officials of award-win
ning plants, and their guests,
certificates of recognition were
presented to 43 other industrial
concerns and service - industry
establishments for top perform
ance in accident-control during
1957.
Winners qualified for the
safety honors in three ways:
1. By reducing the plant acci
dent frequency rate 40 per cent
or more last year, compared
with the plant’s rate the year
before that.
2. By attaining a record of no
injuries resulting in lost-time
last year.
3. By maintaining an injury
rate 75 per cent below the state
average for a particular indus
try.
Firestone qualified on the
basis of its low-frequency rate
of accidents in 1957. Based on
the average number of em
ployees over the year, the plant
accrued a total of 3,591,306
workhours with only three in
juries that resulted in lost-time.
THIS placed the plant’s rec
ord at 89 per cent below the
state accident-frequency aver
age. With this attainment of the
safety program here last year,
Firestone was a generous con
tributor to the noteworthy safe
ty record in Gaston county in
dustry for 1957.
The 44 plants represented at
the awards meeting operated a
total of 12,255,214 manhours
with only 10 disabling injuries.
The 44 Gaston county award
winners recorded a combined
accident-frequency rate of 0.8
disabling injuries per million
manhours.
“Balanced against the state
wide all-industry accident rate
of 8.3 disabling injuries per mil
lion manhours, your combined
injury rate of 0.8 represents a
most unusual and outstanding
accomplishment in the field of
accident prevention. Your com
bined rate is only one-tenth as
high as the state average for all
industry,” said Mr. Crane.
The large-plant awards are
given to establishments having
50 or more employees. They are
sponsored jointly by the N.C.
and the U.S. Department of
Labor. Awards for the smaller
plants are from the North Caro
lina Department of Labor.
FREE VEHICLE INSPECTION MAY 19-23
Check Your Auto—Join The Circle Of Safety
Firestone Textiles employees
will have an opportunity to have
their automobiles inspected for
safety in a Company-sponsored
check lane from May 19 through
23.
The check lane at Gastonia
will be part of a nationwide pro
gram for Firestone plant em
ployees. Firestone is the first
business or industrial concern
to conduct a nationwide safety-
check for employees in conjunc
tion with the national voluntary
Vehicle Safety-Check for Com
munities, sponsored annually by
the Inter-Industry Highway
Safety Committee and Look
Magazine.
In announcing the program,
President Raymond C. Firestone,
said, “Safety-check lanes have
been proved by the Inter-Indus
try Highway Safety Committee
to be one of the most effective
ways to bring about traffic safe
ty. Our company wants to assist
with this program in every way
possible and to all make the op
portunity for safety inspection
Firestone Park
Opens In June
Firestone Park, one of more
than a dozen public recreation
facilities operated in Gastonia
during the summer, will open
Its 10-week schedule June 10.
The Company - owned play-
Sround in front of the plant is
operated by the Gastonia Park
Recreation Commission for
children of the Firestone com
munity. On the use of the swim
ming pool and wading pool,
there is an age limit of 12 years.
Other facilities include horse
shoe pits, swings, seesaws, a
chin bar, and a ping pong table.
The City Recreation Depart
ment furnishes supervisory per
sonnel during all hours of play
ground operation.
Hours at the park will be 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. monday through
Friday; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturdays.
available to all our employees.”
Free safety-check lanes for
the Gastonia plant will be set
up at the north end of the park
ing lot off Firestone street.
Lanes will be open from 9-12
a.m., and from 1-5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, beginning May
19. Hours have been set so that
motorists may bring their cars
in at times outside of their
working schedule.
Qualified mechanics and other
inspectors will be on duty to
check the following items of
your car; Brakes, front and rear
lights, tires, steering, exhaust
system, glass, windshield wipers,
rear-view mirror, and horn.
Besides Firestone employees,
motorists in the immediate plant
area are invited to have their
cars checked in the lanes.
“Complete the Circle of Safe
ty — Check Your Car — Check
Your Driving — Check Acci
dents,” is the slogan for this
year’s program in more tlj^n
—Turn to Page 2
Representatives from five departments of the mill admire the
10-year safety plaque, with engraved bar attached for the 11th
year. They are (front row, from left): Jerry Strickland, Rayon
Weaving, and Oscar Jacobs, Shop; (back row, from left); Ervin L.
Worthy, Warehouse; Robert Rhyne, Carding; and Marie Fogle,
Rayon Twisting.
Magazine Features Recreation Layout
The layout of physical facili
ties for plant recreation activi
ties was described in a full-page
feature with pictures in the
March - April issue of North
Carolina Recreation Review.
Entitled “Firestone of Gas
tonia Opens New Center,” the
story pointed out the importance
of recreation and Firestone's
leadership in this field of in
dustry. Four photographs of
Rayon amounts to one-fifth
of all man-made fiber produc
tion in the United States.
employees and members of em
ployees’ families were included
with the story. The pictures, by
Firestone News photographer
Charles A. Clark, featured eight
persons bowling, playing biL
liards, ping-pong and table shuf-
fleboard. They were Kenneth
Bell, Charles Dodgen, Ophelia
Wallace, Virginia Bridges, Hom
er Stephens, Leroy Thomas,
Jerry Jones and Ronnie DiU.
The Recreation Review, issued
from Raleigh, is official publica
tion of the North Carolina Rec
reation Society.