The heart of a wise man should
resemble a mirror, which reflects
every object without being sullied
by any.
—Confucius
Tire$tone
GASTONIA
So long as one does not look
upon life bitterly, things work out
fairly well in the end.
—George Moore
VOLUME VII
GASTONIA, N. C., NOVEMBER, 1958
NUMBER 12
W
-
ERE GOLDEN DA YS ARE ENDED
For all its tangy disposition and the richness of its har
vest glory, there’s a gloomy note in November’s 30-day
tramp across the stage of the seasons. For ere long, the
curtain will come down on the greatest show in the land.
The coming of October has already brought the fall festival
of Nature’s colorama down from the Carolinas hill country
into the Piedmont—and onward to the Coast. Here and there,
November has laid out her trademarks of Winter—rustling
leaves, the chill breath of frost, and a quickening touch to
the air not yet experienced in September and October. On
a sunny afternoon at Rankin Lake, Judy Shehane and Gene
Dodgen are agreed that November has a nice way of balanc
ing off the transition from the “Golden Days” of Autumn
to the months of cold moons ahead. Judy’s father, Jesse L,
Shehane, works in Twisting (cotton); Gene’s mother, Mrs.
Harold Dodgen, in Twisting (synthetic).
December Is Off-Job Safety Month
In an effort -to promote safety
in the home and on the highway,
the Gastonia plant will join
other Firestone factories in the
United States to again observe
December as “off-the-job safety
month.”
During this period, employees
'Don't you know better than to
leave o loaded weapon where
a child can find it?"
NATIONAL SAfETY COUNCIL
United Fund Contribution
Pledges Total $15,920.70
☆ ☆ ☆
Employees here reached new heights of sharing in the Greater Gastonia United Fund,
when they pledged $15,920.70 in the plant’s seventh annual campaign during October.
Contributions promised this year through the payroll deduction plan will be allocated
to the support of 20 community, health, welfare and recreation services.
As in past years, volunteer solicitors distributed contribution cards among employees
in the UF campaign, headed again this year by Nelson Kessell, general superintendent; and
F. B, Galligan, superintendent of the Cotton Division.
The chairmen of the fund- munity responsibility,” they
gathering effort were enthusias
tic in their praise of every em
ployee who contributed toward
the success of the drive.
“The UF response this year
once more bespeaks the deep
concern that our people have
for their neighbors in need,”
they said.
“We wish especially to ex
press appreciation to the dozens
of volunteer solicitors whose
help made it possible for Fire
stone Textiles to ‘go over the
top’ in measuring up to its com
added.
As this edition of the plant
newspaper was being prepared,
the Greater Gastonia United
Fund was in the final stages of
its campaign which sought to
raise $119,500, under the slogan
“One Goal, One Gift, One
Time.”
Employees contributing to the
fund on a “fair-share” basis
were given tickets for prizes, in
a drawing held at the end of
October.
Winners of the prizes were:
First Prize: Roy Carver, Ship
ping, deep-freeze unit.
Second: Miss Phoebe Pearson,
Shop, high-fidelity radio and rec
ord combination.
Third: Mrs. Eula Wilson,
Main Office, vacuum cleaner.
Fourth: Carl Rape, Carding,
electric blanket.
Fifth: Charles Clark, Indus
trial Relations, electric food
mixer.
Sixth: Mrs. Lois Woolley, In
dustrial Relations (first aid
nurse), electric clock.
will be reminded of safety prac
tices concerned with life away
from the job. This will be done
through personal contact by su
pervisors, employee publications,
posters, bulletin board notices
and other means of communica
tion.
“By making safety a vital,
day-to-day living activity, our
employees have become safety
conscious on the job,” executive
vice president J. E. Trainer
points out.
The December emphasis on ac
cident control aims to convince
the employee that it is vitally
important to take home from the
job the safety - consciousness
practiced while at work.
“A worker injured by care
lessness on the way home from
his job brings on suffering and
hardship for his whole family,”
Mr. Trainer adds.
“Firestone people have proved
that they can work safe on-the-
job. Let’s meet the challenge of
being safe off-the-job also,”
Textile World Gets
1888 Card Manual
James M. Cooper, chief engi
neer of Methods and Standards
at Firestone Textiles, has pre
sented the library of Textile
World with a collectors volume
on cotton carding.
The manual, published at Phil
adelphia in 1888 by the Textile
Record of America, is titled
“Practices in Cotton-Carding: A
Complete Guide for the Card
Room of the Cotton Mill.” It is
authored by John Lindsay, card
ing master.
The paper-bound book of 142
pages features a front and back
section of advertising announc
ing the latest in machinery, sup
plies and equipment for the in
dustry at the close of the 19th
century.
The Textile Record, publisher
of the book, described itself as
“a practical journal for the fin
isher, merchant, manufacturer,
planter, artisan and the flock-
master.” The Record was merged
in 1905 with what is now Textile
World, a leading trade magazine
of the industry. This year Textile
World is celebrating its 90th
year of publication.
Heads Industrial
Nurses’ Group
Mrs. A. T. Newton, a Firestone
first-aid nurse, has assumed
duties as president of the North
Carolina Association of Indus
trial Nurses. The third-shift
nurse took office at the last regu
lar quarterly meeting of the as
sociation, held at Charlotte on
October 11.
Some 50 registered nurses em
ployed in North Carolina in
dustries attended. The program
was highlighted with two talks
by physicians. Also included was
a question-answer period in
which the whole group con
sidered topics pertaining to vari
ous phases of industrial nursing.
Contrary to popular belief, owners of industry do
not get the lion’s share of profit from products mar
keted. Actually, about 90 per cent of the amount of
the product goes to the workers.
The amount that accrues to the owners of the tools
(investors) is about 10 per cent. Yet the tools do more
than 95 per cent of the work of production.
Production VP Speaks In Gastonia
Joseph A. Meek, vice presi
dent of production of The Fire
stone Tire & Rubber Company,
visited the plant November 6.
He came to Gastonia to deliver
the principal address at a semi
annual joint meeting of the Ad
visory Council of North Carolina
State College of Engineering
and the Engineering College
Staff.
The meeting was held in
Gastonia at the invitation of
General Manager Harold Mercer,
who is chairman of the Advisory
Council. Among events of the
two-day meeting were tours of
three local industries and a
luncheon at the Firestone Rec
reation Center.
Nine-Month Report Shows
Sales And Net Profit Down
Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., chairman, and Raymond C.
Firestone, president, made the following announcement,
Thursday, September 11:
“Net sales of the company and its subsidiaries
amounted to $759,719,839 for the nine months ended July
31, 1958, compared with $844,603,697 for the same period
last year, a decrease of 10.1 per cent. Estimated net profit
was $35,118,046 compared with $44,583,808 for the same
period last year, a decrease of 21.2 per cent. Provision of
$34,400,000 has been made for domestic and foreign taxes
on income as compared with $44,250,000 for last year.”
Nine Months Ended July 31
1958 1957
NET SALES $759,719,8^ $M4|603^7
OTHER INCOME 2,521,208 2,097,005
TOTAL INCOME $762,241,047 $846,700,702
Deduct:
Cost of Goods Sold,
Depreciation, Selling,
Administrative and
General Expenses,
and Interest $692,723,001 $757,866,894
Domestic and Foreign
Taxes on Income 34,400,000 44,250,000
$727,123,001 $802,116,894
ESTIMATED NET INCOME $ 35,118,046 $ 44,583,808