February 16, 1960
Tir«$ton*
Page 7
I
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT methods are
constantly being improved in order to provide new and
better products. Here M. J. Forster (left) and Robert
H. Kelsey, physicists in the research laboratories,
demonstrate one of the many improved methods in
research — a portable tape recorder installed in an
automobile to record noise and vibration in on-the-road
tests of experimental tires.
FIRESTONE OFFICIALS are con
stantly alert to and helpful with the
problems of independent tire dealers.
Here Earl B. Hathaway, vice president
in charge of sales, and other company
representatives are shown meeting in
Akron with officers of the National
Tire Dealers and Retreaders Associa
tion. Seated (left to right) are L. O.
Remde, Omaha, Neb.; J. S. Morrison,
Long Beach, Calif.; Mr. Hathaway;
L. L. Wilkinson, Firestone dealer in
Jackson, Miss.; and R. D. Thomas, tire
sales manager. Standing (left to right)
are R. W. Thorburn, manager of dealer
relations; W. W. Marsh of NTDRA in
Washington, D. C.; and C. L. Largent,
trade sales manager.
THE COMPANY’S SCHOLARSHIP Program
provides financial assistance to worthy sons and
daughters of employees who seek a college education.
Roger S. Firestone, director of the company and
president of the Firestone Plastics Company and the
Synthetic Fibers Division, presents a scholarship certi
ficate to 1959 winner Linda P. Leidy, while her father,
an employee in plastics printing at the Pottstown, Pa.,
plant, and her mother look on.
FIRESTONE AGAIN PARTICI
PATED in the nationwide voluntary
safety-check program of the Inter
industry Highway Safety Committee
and sponsored vehicle safety-check
lanes for employees and other motorists
in seven plant cities. Above, two South
Gate, Calif., high school students have
their car inspected by Los Angeles
plant employees (left to right) A1
Franz, methods and standards; Fred
Munroe, missiles; Wally Fitzgerald (in
specting tires), plant protection; Bob
Leonard, (in car) missiles, and E. W.
Juedes, methods and standards.
The nine publications of our plants in the United States received,
for the third time, the highest award of the Freedoms Foundation at
Valley Forge in the employee publications category for their contributions
to a “better understanding of our American Way of Life.” This was the
ninth .award the Firestone papers have received in the annual awards
program of the Foundation.
We continued our educational aids program for public schools by
distributing, for the use of teachers and students, booklets, motion
picture films and filmstrips on the history and importance of the rubber
industry. Our plants continued to attract thousands of visitors from all
sections of the country who were given guided tours through our
facilities.
* * *
AFTER NEARLY 31 years on radio and television, we were forced
to discontinue the “Voice of Firestone,” because none of the three
networks was willing to broadcast the programs at a suitable time.
Thousands of expressions of disappointment and regret at the loss of
this quality program were received from all over the nation.
In August, our Company began the sponsorship of an unprecedented
series of telecasts entitled “Eyewitness to History” which so far has
covered President Eisenhower’s trips to Europe, Asia and Africa and
Premier Khrushchev’s visit to the United States. This series enables
millions of Americans to see and better understand the highlights of
history in the making. Public response to this series has been very
favorable and the results have been most gratifying.
After fifty-one years of loyal and faithful service with the company,
John J. Shea retired last January as Vice President and Chairman of
the Finance Committee. Joining our Company in 1907, Mr. Shea rose
through the ranks and contributed materially to the growth and success
of the Firestone organization. He continues to serve as a Director. In
August, Earl B. Hathaway, formerly Vice President in charge of Trade
Sales, was made Vice President in charge of all Company Sales.
* * *
ON AUGUST 3, 1960, our Company will celebrate its sixtieth anni
versary. Plans are now under way for an appropriate observance of this
occasion, which will highlight the Six Fields of Firestone.
The rubber industry will continue to prosper in the coming year
and decade. Judging by the enthusiasm with which the new model cars
and trucks have been received, it appears that the demand for original
equipment tires will remain high during the 1960 fiscal year. Further
more, registrations of motor vehicles are constantly increasing, providing
a continually expanding market for replacement tires and for hundreds
of other products sold through our dealers and stores. As a result, we
expect to mark our sixtieth year in business with another record-breaking
volume of sales and profits.