PAGE 2
MARCH, 1959
Main Office
Miss Helen Spencer of Main Office was organist at the Steele-
Edwards wedding in Gastonia’s Unity Baptist Church, February
7. Two others from Main Office, Misses Peggy Hanna and Doris
McCready, were bridesmaids at the rites which united Miss Mary
Katherine Edwards, who formerly worked in Main Office, and
Jack Edwin Steele Jr. of Burlington. The Steeles are living in
Burlington.
Bill McKee is a new employee in the Shipping department,
having come to work here in February. He lives at 322 Lin wood
road.
Miss Jerry Barton was back at work in late February, after
having undergone surgery.
Debbie Creasman, daughter of Mrs. Lane Creasman of Main
Office, marked her fifth birth anniversary recently. Thirty young
sters helped Debbie celebrate the occasion with a party in the
Creasman home at 1810 McFarland avenue, Gastonia. They had
ice cream, cake and soft drinks. Favors were balloons, hats and
candy.
Winding
Bernice Roland and members of her family were recent visitors
with relatives in Murphy, N. C.
Going recently to Columbia, S. C. were Bertha Dettmar and
her daughter, Peggy. There they visited Mrs. Judith Scott.
Ruby Seism was at home in late February, on sick leave from
her work in this department.
Faye Kennerly was admitted as a patient at Gaston Memorial
Hospital in February.
Warehouse
Rosevelt Rainey of the Cotton Office had his sister and nephew
as recent week-end guests from New York.
Ervin Worthy was back at work in late February, after hav
ing spent a week in the hospital. He is a fork truck driver in the
shipping department.
Employee Featured
In Progress Issue
Did you recognize Ihe Fire
stone Textiles employee featur
ed on the cover of the February
16 "Company Progress" special
issue of Firestone News?
The front-page layout of the
company's annual-report edition
featured Carl Smith in a weav
ing operation for synthetic cord
fabric at ihe plant here. Since
the special issue of the plant
publications was produced in
Akron, Ohio for U.S. and foreign
distribution, the cover layout
did not require identification of
employees appearing in the pic
tures.
The photo from the Gastonia
plant represented textiles—one
of the six major fields of the
Heavy Fire Toll
For Year 1958
Fire killed almost 1,000 per
sons a month in the United
States during 1958, according to
a report from the National Fire
Protection Association. Month
ly property losses ran to more
than $100 million.
US fire deaths for the past
year totaled 11,500 based upon
preliminary estimates by the
NFPA’s fire record department.
This was an increase of approxi
mately 200 over 1957, but under
the 12,100 record of 1954.
The property loss total — a
company's operation. Other
fields are rubber, metals, plas
tics, synthetics, and chemicals.
Wildlife Week
—From page 1
we require to live. Every citizen
has a stake in the future of our
resources. The job of caring for
them is one that our young peo
ple can best learn in school.
Their natural interest in nature,
science, and the outdoors pro
vides real opportunity to do
this,” he added.
HELP OTHERS
ItSTAY SAFE
NEVER PARK
V Double on the street
V Near a fire hydrant
V Beside a safety zone
V On a cross road, cross walk
or sidewalk
V On a highway, pull off on
the side
V With any part of the car too
far out into the street.
© AMERICAN MUTUAL LiAB. INS. CO.
This Employee Mixes
Fabrics And Books
Education leads upward to life’s opportunities,
said a wise man long ago. And perhaps no one
is more convinced of this truth than is Reggie
Davis, who works second shift in the Cloth Room.
Mondays through Fridays he comes on the job
straight from Ashley High school, where he is
rounding out his senior year.
Reggie had his first working experience here
when school was out in the spring of 1957. He
worked that summer, skipped the next one. Then
last August he came back for a regular job, which
he tucks into his compact schedule of school, and
a balance between some sleep, homework, and
recreation.
The student-employee works from 3 to 11 p.m.
At home, he sometimes catches brief snatches of
preparation for the next school day—then off to
bed. Up before 7 a.m., he is in class by 8:20,
working in his four subjects by the time the
2:05 p.m. bell rings.
Most of his time for class preparation is in the
school library, where he has as much as 45-min-
ute segments to study, read and to do research.
When he arrives at Firestone with a few minutes
to spare before 3 p.m., he brushes hurriedly for
a tomorrow’s lesson or a quiz.
With all this, somehow Reggie finds time to
kindle his interest in aeronautics, by adding to
his extensive collection of articles on airplanes
and pictures of aircraft which run into the
thousands on hand already.
At Ashley, he is most interested in mechanical
drawing. Upon this subject hangs the hopes of
his life’s work.
“I hope to attend Gaston Technical Institute
Reggie Davis: A page of American litera
ture before the second shift begins.
and major in mechanical drawing,” he says, and
adds: “Maybe some day I can be a draftsman at
Firestone.”
Reggie’s interest in the plant here follows in
the tradition of others of his family. A grand
mother, Mrs. L. C. Pope, used to be employed
here. An uncle, Clee H. McCaslin, is a loom fixer
in Weaving (cotton); and a great-uncle, W. E.
Pope, is a doffer in Spinning.
Sports Banquet
—From page 1
At the banquet, Mr. Grayson’s
address will come before the
presentation of awards to some
200 persons in the various sports
—including bowling, softball,
basketball, billiards, checkers,
cards, horseshoes, golf and shuf-
fleboard.
Honors will range from recog
nition for catching the largest
fish to the Supremacy Trophy—
top departmental cup for su
perlative achievement in recrea
tion here. The prized trophy will
go to the department which cap
tured the greatest number of
honors and acquired the most
outstanding record in all recrea
tion activities during 1958.
Last year. Carding won the
trophy—breaking a winning tra
dition in the Spinning depart
ment, which had captured the
honor for ten consecutive years,
except in 1954 when it tied with
Twisting.
AMONG other honors to be
handed out at the banquet will
be the title “Ideal Athlete of
1958” conferred upon four men
and four women selected from
among employees of all three
shifts at the plant. Ideal Ath
letes are chosen each year by
secret balloting of employees
who take active part in the rec
reation program. Those who vote
must have participated in at
least one approved sports and
recreation activity during the
preceding year. Employees are
selected for this honor on the
basis of sports participation,
sportsmanship, and achievement
in the sports-recreation program.
Those named Ideal Athletes
are not eligible for the honor a
second time.
Recreation director Ralph
Johnson and assistant Bob Pur-
key will preside at the April 4
program, scheduled for the lower
level of the Recreation Center
at 7 p.m.
United Press-International
Harry Grayson
here April 4.
coming
Textile Products: Today’s ‘Best Buy’
At the close of 1958 the wholesale price index showed prices
of cotton products to be 88.6 per cent of the 1947-49 level. Man-
made fiber prices were at 79.4 per cent on the index, prepared by
the US Department of Labor. In view of the 88.6 per cent figure,
a cotton textile item that cost $1 in 1948, cost 88 cents in December
of 1958.
Significance of these figures can be noted in light of the fact
that the index of all manufactured products had risen in late
1958 to over 125 per cent of the 1947-49 period.
Reviewing this picture, the American Cotton Manufacturers
Institute commented: “Textile products are still today’s best buy.”
staggering $1,305 milhon — was
the highest in history. It was an
increase of approximately $25
million over the 1957 figure.
f'6rt$lon# S3SW^
Volume VIII, No. 4, March, 1959
Published by The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Firestone Textiles Division,
Gastonia, North Carolina. Department of Industrial Relations
DEPARTMENT REPORTERS
CARDING—Edna Harris, Jessie Ammons.
SPINNING—Lillie Brown, Mary Turner,
Maude Peeler.
SPOOLING—Nell Bolick, Ophelia WaUace,
Rosalie Burger.
TWISTING—Elease Cole, Vera Carswell,
Katie Elkins, Annie Cosey, Catherine
Fletcher.
SALES YARN TWISTING—Elmina Brad
shaw.
SYC WEAVING—M a X i e Carey, Ruth
Veitch.
CORD WEAVING — Irene Odell, Mary
Johnson, Samuel Hill.
QUALITY CONTROL — Sally Crawford,
Leila Rape, and Louella Queen.
WINDING—Mayzelle Lewis, Ruth Clon-
inger.
CLOTH ROOM—Margie Waldrep, Mildred
McLeymore
SHOP—Rosie Francum.
PLASTIC DIP—Jennie Bradley.
MAIN OFFICE—Doris McCready.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS—Flora Pence.
WAREHOUSE—George Harper, Albert
Meeks, Rosevelt Rainey, Marjorie Falls.
Claude Callaway, Editor
Charles A. Clark, Photographer