When you feel too old to do a
thing—do it. As soon as you feel
critical, say something kind about
someone. When you feel neglect
ed, send a cheery note to a friend.
—Oliver Wilson
Tire$ton«
S3SW
GASTONIA
You are as young as your faith,
as old as your doubt. You are as
young as your self-confidence, as
old as your fear; as young as your
hope, and as old as your despair.
—Albert Ulmann
VOLUME VIII
GASTONIA, N. C., JANUARY, 1959
NUMBER I
Lift Truck
Operators
Honored
Three Warehouse men who op
erate fork lift trucks have re
ceived commendation for their
outstanding safety practice and
performance on the job during
1958. George Harper, Jr. was
awarded a $25 Savings Bond;
Ben Byers, a check for $10; Alon
zo Setzer, a check for $5.
This is the second award for
Mr. Byers. When the recognition
program was begun two. years
ago, he was the first to be hon
ored, as the plant's outstanding
fork-lift truck operator.
At the year-end presentation,
safety director Alvin Riley had
Words of praise for the drivers
who had shown a “growing con
sciousness of safety on the job.”
Warehouse manager Fred T.
Morrow commended the men for
“noteworthy achievement in op
eration practices.”
Mr. Riley pointed out that the
award-winning drivers had set
a good example in maintaining
the trucks assigned to them.
“Each truck,” said Mr. Riley,
“represents a company invest
ment of several thousand dollars.
TOP PERFORMANCE—Ship
ping foreman Harold Robinson
(left), presents a $25 Savings
Bond to George Harper, Jr.,
honoring him as the outstanding
fork-lift driver of 1958. Also
honored were Alonzo Setzer
(second from right), who receiv
ed a check for $5; and Ben
Byers, whose performance was
recognized with a $10 check.
☆
☆
Your excellent care of this
equipment actually represents a
tremendous savings in operation,
maintenance and replacement
costs.”
For the awards, the operators
honored are chosen on the basis
of each individual’s safety per
formance on the job. Among
points of consideration are: Ob
servation and practice of all
safety rules, alertness, mainte
nance of vehicle assigned to the
operator, and pride on the ap
pearance of the driver’s assigned
truck.
Throughout the year, fork-lift
truck drivers are under constant
observation on the job, and op
eration records are maintained
on each individual. To ascertain
the operators’ worthiness for the
awards, records of drivers are
carefully checked, with the top
three scorers being designated
for the honors.
New Term At Textile School
New classes in all departments
of the North Carolina Vocation
al Textile School near Belmont
began January 2. Departments
of instruction include yarn
manufacturing, weaving and de
signing, knitting, mill mainte
nance (machine shop), and tai
loring. Classes meet from 8:20
a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. For stu
dents who work in textile plants
until 3 p.m., classes are held
from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
When the new term at NCVTS
Opened, principal Chris E. Folk
emphasized the urgent need for
trained textile workers below
the college level.
“At the school here, an em
ployee in a textile mill may
Work a full shift in the mill,
3,178 SUGGESTIONS
Company Paid $69,340 For Ideas Last Year
The 40th anniversary of the
founding of the company’s sug
gestion system was marked in
1958 by the adoption of 3,178
new ideas and the awarding of
$69,340 to employees in plants
and offices throughout the Unit
ed States, Canada, and five
other countries.
In making the year-end an
nouncement, L. J. Alger, man
ager of the suggestion system,
pointed out that more than $1,-
185,000 has been paid out to em
ployees since the system was es
tablished in 1918.
Top award of the year, and
one of the largest on record,
went to Robert E. Weir of the
Plant 2 tread making depart
ment. Mr. Weir’s suggestion,
which earned him $2,500, in
volved the relocation of tread
slitting for more efficient opera
tion.
OTHER outstanding awards in
the Akron plants and offices
went to W. R. Ahern of defense
products, who received $1,000;
Vito Anello, Plant 1, $700; J. F.
Fitzpatrick, Plant 2, $650; A. G.
Murphy, Plant 1, $450; P. R.
Price, Plant 1, $400; and P. V.
Schember and K. T. Grosen-
baugh, voucher department who
shared $400.
Those who received high
awards at other plants include
G. L. Burkhart, Pottstown, Pa.,
$1,200; S. H. Place and A. P.
Ballog, Los Angeles, $1,000 and
$400 respectively; John DePaola,
Fall River, Mass., $500; A. Kor-
nov and M. Morris, Noblesville,
Ind., $475 and $450 respectively;
J. W. Krotzer and D. D. Haugh-
ton, Memphis, Tenn., $450 and
$400 respectively; and R. D. Cox,
Des Moines, Iowa, $420.
Participation amounted to 347
suggestions per 1,000 employees.
—Turn to page 6
Progress Report In February
The company’s 1958 year-end progress survey and re
port to stockholders will be made available to employees
through the special annual issue of Firestone newspapers in
February. The stockholders report will be presented by
Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., chairman and chief executive of
the organization.
The Gastonia Firestone Textiles edition of the publica
tion will be mailed to employees shortly after February 15.
This issue of the several plant publications is produced in
Akron, Ohio. Members of the Firestone Non-Skid and the
department of public relations at the headquarters offices
edit and publish the report.
Each February, this edition of Firestone Newspapers
highlights significant points of the company’s history during
the preceding year. The Gastonia plant is customarily fea
tured in the special edition in February.
1959
JANUARY
If 59
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study textiles in a technical way
three or four hours a day, and
still have time at home with
his family,” Mr. Folk said. He
added:
“We try constantly to make it
clear to employees that there is
no tuition for a resident of the
state of North Carolina, if the
student is a non-veteran. Quite
often we hear non-veteran stu
dents say that they are surprised
to learn there is no tuition fee.”
The only charge is the cost of
the books, which amounts to $12
to $15, depending upon the
course of study. Students attend
ing the school under the vet
erans educational benefit pro
gram have to pay tuition, which
is figured on the actual cost of
operating the school, Mr. Folk
pointed out.
1#
Snow Had Begun
In The Gloaming
In the Mid-Southland where spring is not
far away — even in January — snow some
times comes as an afterthought of Mother
Nature. But the white of winter did come
to the Carolinas in December, leaving both
states uncomfortably situated under a
pretty—if not snuggly—blanket of fluffiness.
And speaking of beauty, abody never laid
eyes on snow so appealing as that which de
scends upon the North State Mountain
Country, according to Silas Buchanan. A
boiler tender here, he was re-living in mem
ory the full-blown winters common to his
home county of Swain in the southwestern
corner of the state. “Up there, winter means
the whisper of a blizzard and the snow
romping along the fence rows, across the
garden patches and along the fir-clad hills
and about the barn,” he recalls. Mr. Bu
chanan—among a number of Firestone Tex
tiles employees from the Altamont region
of the state—lends his approval to the beau
ty of this highland snow scene, recorded for
the plant newspaper. The place; A few miles
from Blowing Rock on the Crest of the Blue
Ridge Mountains.