APRIL, 1959
Tir^^fone SsJIlWi
PAGE 3
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Freedoms Foundation Honors
Nine Firestone Newspapers
The George Washington Hon
or Medal presented to Firestone
recently by the Freedoms Foun
dation of Valley Forge, Pa., is
the third such award paying
tribute to outstanding accomp
lishments of the company’s plant
newspapers in the United States.
The gold medal, given in the
employee publications category
of the annual awards program of
the Foundation, recognized the
nine domestic plant papers as
the “outstanding corporation
publications in conveying deep
appreciation for the American
Way of Life to employees and
to their communities.’'
☆
☆
Joseph A. Meek (right), Fire-
slone vice president in charge of
production, looks over the Free
doms Foundation award for his
company, with Dr. Kenneth D.
Wells (center), president of the
Foundation; and Admiral Arthur
W. Radford, former chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a
trustee of the Foundation.
A committee of 30 selected the
awards from publications repre
senting more than 900 com
panies. Among judges were 10
chief justices of state supreme
courts, 10 presidents of patriotic
organizations, and 10 presidents
of service groups.
The Foundation makes the
awards each year to citizens, or
ganizations, and schools for their
contribution to a better under
standing of the American Way
of Life.
Firestone publications previ
ously received top recognition
for accomplishments during 1952
and 1953. They have been hon
ored with awards from the
Foundation for each year since
1951. Last year a “distinguished
service plaque” recognized the
company’s having received
awards in seven of the nine
awards programs which the
Foundation had conducted up to
that time.
Employee papers are under di
rection of the various plant man
agers, and the company public
relations department at the home
offices in Akron, Ohio. A. E.
Brubacker is director of public
relations and Mary Kerrigan is
supervisor of employee publica
tions.
In addition to Firestone News
at Gastonia, company publica
tions sharing in the award are
issued at plants in Akron, Ohio,
Los Angeles, Calif., Memphis,
Tenn., Pottstown, Pa., Fall River,
Mass., Nobles ville, Ind., Des
Moines, Iowa, and Wyandotte,
Mich.
Chairman’s Article
Reader’s Digest
Company chairman Harvey S.
Firestone Jr., and national chair
man of United Service Organiza
tions (USO), is author of an ar
ticle appearing in the April is
sue of “Reader’s Digest.”
In the article, entitled “No
One Is Alone,” Mr. Firestone
points out the importance of the
USO and magazines like “Read
er’s Digest” in the field of in
ternational understanding.
The article, on the inside front
cover of the magazine, was
timed to appear during the an
nual observance of USO month
in April.
Textile Students Tour Plant
Several students and two instructors from the
North Carolina Vocational Textile School at
Belmont had a look at cotton and synthetic proc
esses at Firestone in late March. The students,
most of whom are employed in textile mills of
the two Carolinas, attend the Belmont school in
morning, afternoon and evening class “shifts.”
The Vocational Textile School is a state insti
tution, offering instruction tuition-free to resi
dents of North Carolina. Out-of-state students
and armed forces veterans pay tuition which is
figured on the actual cost of operating the
school. The price of textbooks runs from $13 to
$19.
Repeating courses at the school include Yarn
Manufacturing, Weaving and Designing, Knit
ting, Mill Maintenance (Machine Shop), and
Tailoring. For entrance, students must be at
least 16 years old, and are not required to have
a high school education. Chris E. Folk, the prin
cipal, points out that it is generally considered
an eighth-grade education is required, although
some students under that educational attainment
have done acceptable work, “If a person has
ability and a desire to learn and will give his
wholehearted cooperation, he will absorb the in
struction, and certainly make the practical ap
plications,” says Mr. Folk.
Class schedules at NCVTS are arranged so
that a person working in mills and factories
within commuting distances of Belmont may
put in a regular shift, attend classes, and still
have part of the day at home with the family.
The pictures here were made of the textile school
visitors during their look at both production divisions
of the plant. They were divided into two groups for
a morning and an afternoon tour, one conducted by
Raymond Mack of Quality Control, the other, by
Samuel Crawford, plant protection officer.
Below, from left: Vernon Heffner, Hoyle Brown,
and Cecil Carpenter, all of Belmont, were interested
in the safety posters at heavy-traffic points along the
production line.
James Arp, Belmont, and James Helms, Concord,
checked the weight of one of the larger packages of
nylon yarn.
This group studied the fiber properties of cotton
sliver in the Carding department. From left—Gary
Wilson, Gastonia; Tommie H. Spinks, Fort Mill, S. C.;
Ray Rowland, Gastonia; Verner L. Hovis, Cramerton;
Leland Andrews and Bobby Abee of Gastonia; and
Marshall Camp, Kings Mountain.
■■■ mm
Bottom, from left: Bobby Rudisill, Cramerton;
James Cannon, Belmont; and Kenneth Clubb,
Cramerton, studied a package of monofilament, a
plastic yarn.
The commemorative book of Firestone's first 20
years in Gastonia interested Arthur Crocker, Pine-
ville; William Brown, Fort Mill, S. C.; and Eulan
Mellon, Kannapolis.
Examining packages of nylon cable from doff boxes:
Bobby Weathers, Belmont; Harold Spake and John
E. Clary of Shelby; Marvin Gilbert, Lincolnton.
Firestone weaver Raymond Varnadore explains his
part in the production of high-qualiiy synthetic tire
fabric, to Robert London, Kannapolis; and NCVTS
instructors B. W. Gillespie and J. R. Young.