There^s Room For Improvement
— When it comes to Quality
Since Firestone's beginning in 1900, the company's em
ployees have been dedicated to development and manufac
ture of the best possible product at the most economical price.
In this 60th anniversary year, we cannot afford to become
self-satisfied in this dedication.
Making the best today, still
better tomorrow.”
This Firestone slogan has a
twofold purpose; It serves as a
reminder to present and future
Firestone customers of our com
pany’s constant efforts to im
prove the quality of its prod
ucts. It is a reminder to our
selves as Firestone employees,
of the personal challenge and
responsibility to the customer.
Company vice president H. H.
Wiedenmann said recently:
“Already proved as the high-
est-quality product of its kind
on the market today, Firestone
tires can still be improved. With
greater and greater improve
ments in the quality of our
product, we gain more and more
sales. And sales make and se
cure jobs for Firestone people.”
Quality Begins With Me
From selection of materials
for our products, through every
step of processing along the
production line to final inspec
tion, each Firestone employee
has a real contribution to make
in improvement of our tires.
Note: The superior manufactured product is that one in which
the ingredient of quality is paramount. With this article. Firestone
News begins a series of commentaries on the importance of quality
as it relates to the manufacture of Firestone products.
Consider non-tire plants, such
as Firestone Textiles in Gas
tonia. Quality begins here, too—
if we would turn out the best
tires at the company’s factories
in other cities. Since a product
is no better than the sum of
CONSUMERS today are in
creasingly wise to value. That's
why the manufacturer must try
harder to put smiles on cus
tomers' faces.
Sept. Is ‘Join YMCA’ Month
Gaston County YMCA has
set September as “Join the ‘Y'
Month.” To acquaint prospective
members with the local program,
Y officials announce the 1960-61
Fall-Winter schedule which be
gins September 12.
Departments
Boys: Ages 6-15, supervised gym
and swim classes on Mondays, Wed
nesdays and Fridays from 3:15 p.m.
to 7 p.m. and on Salurdays from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Girls: Ages 6-15, supervised gym
and swim classes on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 3:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to
1 p.m.
Men: Those 16 years and upward
may use the Physical Department
each Monday, Wednesday and Friday
9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 7 to 10 p.m.,
Saturdays, from 1 to 8 p.m.
Women: Young women and women
16 years and over may use the Phy
sical Department each Tuesday and
Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
and 7 to 10 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 to
8 p.m.
Men's Health Club: Those 18 years
and over. Open Monday-Saturday, 11
a.m. to 7 p.m.
Women's Health Club: Those 18
years and over. Open Monday-Satur
day, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Activities—All Departments
Gym Classes—Include instruc
tion in trampoline, basketball,
track, tumbling, volleyball, cal
isthenics, fencing, wrestling, ju
do, weightlifting, gymnastics,
badminton, soccer, softball,
group games, leagues and con
tests.
Swim Classes — Weekly pro
gressive instruction in beginner,
intermediate and advance swim
ming.
Youth Clubs—Include Gray-Y,
Tri-Gray Y, Junior Hi-Y, Tri-
Junior-Hi-Y, Hi-Y, Tri-Hi-Y,
Leaders’ Club. Clubs meet week
ly during school months and are
designed to develop character
and leadership among youth.
Special Events — Conducted
throughout the year. They in
clude movies, English Channel
Swim, gym exhibitions, swim
contests, craft classes, Halloween
party, Christmas Party.
Family Nights—Conducted on
the first and third Fridays of
each month. This program in
cludes movies, games, athletics.
swimming, exhibitions, other ac
tivities for the entire family.
Free baby-sitting service provid
ed.
Adult Classes—Instruction in
crafts, folk games, chess, blue
print-reading, stock marketing,
automobile-driving, speed-read
ing, public speaking, poster art
and ceramics.
Adult Clubs—Membership in
Biblical Club, Y’s Men’s Club,
Oil Painting, Industrial Manage
ment, Photography, Language
clubs.
Membership Charges
Yearly membership fees, be
ginning October 1, 1960:
Boys’ Division — Senior (15-
17) $12; Junior (6-14) $10.
Girls’ Division—Same as in
Boys’ Division.
Women—Age 18 and over, $12.
Men—Young men (18-24) $12;
Senior men (25-up) $15.
Family Membership. The hus
band pays full membership, his
wife and each child under 18
years get 50 per cent reduction
of their fees. A family with
more than four children be
tween ages 6-18 pays only for
the four oldest children in this
age group.
Health Club. Men (18 years
and older) pay $85 extra;
women, (18 and older), $60. This
membership includes all privil
eges of the Y plus all privileges
offered in the Health Club. Each
member is limited to one mas
sage per week, and they do not
accumulate. Otherwise, services
in the Health Club are unlimit
ed.
Payment Plan. If you wish,
you pay one-third fee with ap
plication for membership, with
one-third due within 30 days;
remainder in 60 days.
Joining up? Need additional
information? Call the YMCA of
fice at UN 5-8551, or stop at the
Y, 617 West Franklin avenue.
all its parts, fabric made at Gas
tonia plays a tremendously im
portant role in the quality of the
tires we make and sell.
The best of workmanship in
compounding, Banbury mixing,
and all other steps in tire-build
ing would be wasted if the
fabric put into a lire measures
below a high standard of qual
ity.
At the company’s plants in
Gastonia, Los Angeles, Des
Moines, Akron, Memphis—or
any of the others—character of
the final product begins with
each individual on the job, after
the best of materials is selected.
"The Priceless Ingredient"
Suppose there are compound
ing of mistakes, absence of
sound judgment, poor job know
how, or just plain carelessness
in any one or more departments.
What happens then? There is
an inferior product at the end
of the line. If the “priceless in
gredient” of quality is missing
and final inspection does not
discover it, someone will eventu
ally buy it.
Sooner or later, the trust
which the customer has placed
in the manufacturer will be vio
lated. Our integrity as a com
pany will then be damaged. If
the situation continues, there
will be a loss of customers;
eventually," a loss ot jobs at
Firestone.
Company president Raymond
C. Firestone sees it this way:
“The consumer public is much
m.ore critical of shortcomings in
a product than it used to be.
That’s because the consumer has
more knowledge of what he
buys and uses, so he makes com
parisons. He knows values
better.”
Today, as never before, Fire
stone people are dealing with
consumers who are exceedingly
more demanding of first-class
quality merchandise. This so,
each Firestone employee as
sumes a task of tremendous size
every time he goes on the job.
A Contest Is Helping
In an all-out effort to con
tinually improve the quality of
our products and further satisfy
our customers, Firestone’s tire
plants in North America are en
gaged in a quality contest. Mr.
Wiedenmann outlines its pur
pose; “To stimulate thinking
and to impress employees in all
our tire plants with the im
portance of making quality
tires.”
But, you see, tire plants alone
can't accomplish this objective.
They need plants like Firestone
Textiles in Gastonia to help
them pack quality into every
piece that is put together as a
tire.
As a company, we are ever
striving to improve quality of
product and further satisfy the
customer. The big end of that
job begins with the people who
process the materials of produc
tion. They play an outstanding
part in helping everyone—them
selves, the company at large,
and the customer—to put mean
ing into the slogan:
“Best today, still better to
morrow.”
Sign
up
October 29 is the last day you
can register, in order to vote in
the November 8 election.
know issues
study in order to better un
derstand the issues. Know what
candidates stand for.
then vote
Your vote helps to make the
rules of government. Said
Thomas Jefferson: "Of our vari
ous duties, none causes more
concern than that of putting the
welfare of our fellow citizens in
the hands of honest men."
National Anthem
First In 1814
It was 146 years ago this
month that Francis Scott
Key watched the British
attack on Baltimore from
the deck of a ship. He and
others anxiously waited
through the night for the
bombardment to die with
the dawn of September 13,
1814. Had Fort McHenry
survived? They did not
know until “the dawn’s
early light” assured them
that “the flag was still
there.”
Out of this battle near
the close of the War of
1812 Francis Scott Key jot
ted on a scrap of paper the
words of The Star Spangled
Banner. The song immedi
ately became popular, and
later the army and navy
adopted it as the national
anthem.
Strangely enough,
though, it was not until
1931 that Congress enacted
legislation officially mak
ing it the National Anthem
of the United States.
This anniversary of The
Star Spangled Banner
forcefully reminds us that
as Americans we have great
reason to love and defend
our Homeland. It calls forth
our gratitude that she has
been and promises to re
main unshakably “the land
of the free and the home of
the brave.”
—THE MASTER WEAVER
IN CONSTITUTION
Responsibilities
There Also
When September 17-23 is observed as Constitu
tion Week, the American people will be remind
ed anew of a great document and the principles
with which it deals.
September 17 is the 173rd anniversary of the
Founding Fathers’ signing of the Constitution at
Philadelphia in 1787. Rights promised citizens by
the original document were further expanded
when the Bill of Rights amendments were added
in 1791.
Of late, public discussion has dealt much with
constitutional questions. However, the dispute
involves not the document itself, but its interpre
tation and application.
As we mark Constitution Week this year we
are reminded that this great document which
says much of our rights, has nothing to say of
our responsibilities as citizens. But the obliga
tions are there, for we cannot escape them, even
in a society based on democratic principles of
freedom.
Today, with much being debated on the guar
anteed rights of the individual, we so easily
forget the obligations of our U.S. citizenship.
In this election year of great decision we need
to re-dedicate ourselves to the responsibilities of
citizenship. One way is to exercise our voting
privilege. With our vote we can help to make
the rules of government—rules which vitally ef
fect our lives and the lives of future generations.
It’s our America. Let’s share in it.
September, 1960 Page 4
Volume IX Number 9
☆ ☆ ☆
Published by The Firestone
Tire & Rubber Company,
Firestone Textiles Division,
Gastonia, North Carolina.
Claude Callaway. Editor
Charles A. Clark, Photographer
PLANT REPORTERS
Carding—Edna Harris, Jessie
Ammons
Cloth Room—Margie Waldrep
Industrial Relation s—Flora
Pence
Main Office—Doris Corella
Quality Control—Sallie Craw
ford, Louella Queen, Leila
Rape
Spinning—L illie A. Brown,
Maude Peeler, Mary Turner
Spooling—Nell Bolick, Rosalie
Burger, Ophelia Wallace
Mechanical Department — Rosie
Francum
Twisting—Vera Carswell, Elease
Cole, Annie Cosey, Katie El
kins, Catherine Fletcher
Twisting (Sales)—Elmina Brad
shaw
Warehouse—N a n c y Cloninger,
George Harper, Albert Meeks,
Rosevelt Rainey
Weaving (cotton)—Ruth Veitch
Weaving (synthetics)—Mary E.
Johnson, Irene Odell
Winding—Ruth Cloiiinger, May-
zelle Lewis