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North Carolina!
GASTONIA
The whole structure of business
is making and doing useful
things for others.
— Harvey S. Firestone
VOLUME IX
GASTONIA, NORTH CAROLINA, JANUARY, I960
NUMBER—1
SOME NEW JOB TITLES
Nine Promotions
Due In February
W. G. Henson: To Keep Time With. . .
Timepiece Collection Offers
A Lesson For The New Year
Like the weaver’s shuttle,
1959 fled away and her days
were entered in the Ledger of
Life. Then came 1960, with her
treasure of new opportunities—
and horizons.
The calendar is a measuring
stick of the passing years, but
clocks are a more forceful re
minder of Time’s opportunities
nearest at hand, that
A new year is a magic chest—
The gift of Time is in it;
So guard it well and do not
lose
One precious golden minute!
This serious approach to an
other New Year was suggested
by plant engineer W. G. Hen
son and his collection of time
pieces, which span history from
1884 to the Space Age of today.
Mr. Henson launched his hob
by 15 years ago, after he built
a wooden case for an alarm
clock and presented it to his
mother. Today, a collection of
35 pieces represents many de
signs and three types: spring-
wound, weight-driven and elec
tric.
Appropriate to the New Year
and Tomorrow, Mr. Henson’s
most recent acquisition is a
Space-Satellite clock with a re
volving globe of the world. The
minute indicator is a miniature
satellite which circles the globe
each hour. A pronged red point
er notes the hours, and a rotat
ing world design at center
counts the seconds. The center
completes a cycle every minute.
This clock symbolizes the
spirit of our age, Mr. Henson
believes. “As man stands on the
threshold of new worlds to con
quer, Space and Time have be
come subjects of immense im
portance. . .”
Besides his “house of clocks”
display in the building which
also serves as backyard work
shop, he has several time pieces
telling the hours at the home on
Rotary Park road, and at the
family week-end retreat near
Crowders mountain.
Nine top-echelon promo
tions at the Gastonia plant—
announced in December by
general manager Harold
Mercer — will become effec
tive February 1. Along with
these changes in assignment,
some new job titles will be
introduced.
The personnel changes are be
ing made at the time general
superintendent Nelson Kessell
retires, after more than 35 years
with the Firestone company.
Francis B. Galligan, for sev
eral years superintendent of the
cotton division, will replace Mr.
Kessell, and assume the new
title of production manager.
Mr. Mercer has confirmed
these additional promotions.
Francis C. Martin, who has
been an assistant to Mr. Kessell,
will become production manager
of the synthetics division.
Homer G. Hall, assistant to
J. V. Darwin, manager of sales
and scheduling, will become
synthetics division assistant
manager.
Philip R. Williams, assistant
to Mr. Galligan as cotton divi
sion head, will be the new pro
duction manager of the cotton
division.
Clyde E. Moss, assistant to the
general superintendent, will be
manager of textile develop
ments.
Leonard B. McAbee, assistant
to T. B. Ipock Jr., manager of
industrial relations, will be
come cotton division assistant
manager.
Alvin V. Riley, safety direc
tor, to be assistant manager of
industrial relations.
—More on page 4
Kessell Marks
Anniversary
Many congratulatory messages
came to general superintendent
Nelson Kessell on December 13,
when he marked his 35-year
milestone of service with the
Firestone company.
More than 24 of these years
had been spent with the Gas
tonia plant.
Greetings on Mr. Kessell’s an
niversary came from many parts
of the world. His associates at
the company’s Akron, Ohio
headquarters, and at other Fire
stone plants in the United States
and Canada, sent good wishes.
Also included were representa
tives of the company’s opera
tions in South America, Europe,
Asia, and other installations of
Firestone’s international organ
ization.
On his 35th anniversary of
employment, general manager
Harold Mercer presented him
the commemorative diamond-set
service pin, and a $100 check,
traditional “appreciation gift”
for those who have worked for
the company 30 years, or more.
Mr. Kessell became associated
with Firestone in 1924, when he
began working in a plant at
Fall River, Mass., the first tex
tile mill to be operated by the
company. He came to the Gas
tonia plant as general super
intendent in 1936, a year after
Firestone purchased the mill
here.
☆ ☆ ☆
Progress Issue
Is Coming Soon
The company’s 1959
year - end survey of
progress and report to
stockholders will be
made available to em
ployees through the
special annual issue of
Firestone plant news
papers in February.
The special issue is
highlighted by the fi
nancial report present
ed each year by Harvey
S. Firestone Jr., chair
man and chief execu
tive officer of the or
ganization.
Gastonia’s Firestone
Textiles edition of the
publication will be
mailed to employees
around mid - February.
The progress report is
sue for the company’s
several plant publica
tions is produced in
Akron, Ohio. At the
company’s headquar
ters, members of the
public relations staff
and the Firestone Non-
Skid edit and publish
the report.
Featured in the prog
ress issue will be high
lights of significant
points of the company’s
history during 1959.
Customarily, a photo
graph from the Gas
tonia plant is included
in the special issue.
YOU PA Y MORE AND GET MORE
SS Tax Increase In Keeping With Earnings
You may not have noticed it
thus far in the new year, but
since January 1, a few addition
al pennies were deducted from
the pay of each employee. On
that date, Social Security tax
increased from IVz per cent to
3 per cent—both for employees
and their employers.
Under the revised SS law, this
tax will be paid on the first
$4,800 of the individual’s an
nual earnings.
The extra amount deducted
from your pay is in proportion
to annual earnings. For ex
ample, if an annual income
amounts to $4,200, the wage
earner pays $126 in 1960. You
recall that under the former
law, tax was $105 on this
amount of earnings.
If your income is $4,800 or
more, you will pay $144 in 1960,
compared with $120 paid in
1959.
The Social Security insurance
program affords protection for
most Americans against retire
ment, disability and death.
Today, more than 13 million
citizens are reaping the bless-
ings of this program—receiving
more than $800 million each
month in Social Security bene
fits.
Congress authorized the in
creased SS taxes to assure the
continuing self-supporting na
ture of the old-age and surviv
ors trust fund and the disability
trust fund.
Under the Social Security
program, the employer is a
“partner in security” with the
employee, in helping him to pre
pare against the hazards that
accompany old age. For every
penny the wage earner invests,
the employer matches it with
another penny.
MARKING completion of 35 years with Firestone, plant gen
eral superintendent Nelson Kessell received his service award pin
from general manager Harold Mercer. Among those congratulating
Mr, Kessell were (from left): cotton division superintendent F. B.
Galligan, sales manager J. V. Darwin, Mr. Mercer, and comptroller
E. J. Mechem.