PEOPLE
Willard P. Sliles
Weaving (cotton)
Francis Welch
Carding
Emily J. Canady
Weaving (syn)
Joseph H. Brooks James B. Beaver
Weaving (cotton) Weaving (cotton)
Scholarship
Deadline Near
High school seniors who
are sons and daughters of
Firestone families need to
hurry if they intend to ap
ply for company college
scholarships this year.
March 1 is Ihe Iasi day appli
cations will be accepted in the
company's headquarters at
Akron, Ohio.
Eligibility for a college
scholarship requires that an ap
plicant must be a high school
senior, the son or daughter of
an employee who had com
pleted five years of continuous
service with the company by
January 1, 1961; and the student
must be in the upper half of his
or her class, scholastically.
An applicant’s parents must
not earn more than $800 base
pay per month.
LAST YEAR there was a 25
per cent increase in applications
over the number the year be
fore. Since 1952, when the
scholarship program was begun,
an average^f 25 students have
won the educational grants
which pay cost of tuition, fees,
books and a substantial portion
Old-Timer Came
For A Visit
He toured the mill early this
year, stopping now and then to
watch the whirring machines,
note the efficient operators, and
here and there, to shake hands
with old acquaintances and get
caught up on the news over
the past several years.
John H. Clark, whose several
years' employment at Firestone
reached even back to the Man-
ville-Jenckes era, had journey
ed across the Smokies from his
farmstead at Tellico Plains,
Tenn., for a visit with kinfolks
and old ecquaintances. He re
membered them from his days
here when he labored as a weav
er, beam-hauler, and at other
jobs.
SERVICE YEARS
36 Observe
Anniversaries
In the honored annals of
the faithful who have com
pleted lengthy terms of serv
ice at the Gastonia plant, add
the names of 36 people for
records of from 5 to 25 years,
reached in January.
The five persons joining the
“Quarter Century Club” are
presented in photographs along
with this story. Others who have
received service pins are:
Twenty Years
Delia B. Buchanan, Charlie O.
Stiles, Weaving (synthetics);
Nelson Jackson, Shop; Deuel L.
Redding, Industrial Relations
(refreshment service); Truman
V. Lutz, Carding.
Fifteen Years
Dorothy H. Baber, Twisting
(synthetics); Pearl W. Chastain,
Monroe Smith, Anna Bell Blay
lock, Lala G. Rogers, Weaving
(cotton); Thurman B. Davis.
Shop; Vernon R. Martin, Sup
ply; Lloyd L. Maxey, Quality
Control; David Smith, Carding.
Ten Years
John D. Nix, Jack Barker,
James Burris, Tommy Taylor,
Lonnie J. Mitchell, Lowery M.
Cobb, Twisting (synthetics);
Ozell Neely, Weaving (syn
thetics); Francis S. Martin, Syn
thetics Division; Ethel F. Robin
son, Elress K. Liles, Weaving
(cotton); Edna E. Emmett, Beam
ing-Quilling; Flay D. Huffstetler,
Shop; Woodrow B. Wooten,
Quality Control.
Five Years
Lois B. Burchfield, Twisting
(synthetics); Robert H. Parsons,
Shop; Israel Good, Warehouse;
Carolyn W. Bohanan, Main Of
fice.
QUOTING OUR CUSTOMERS
34,000 Miles And Much More
NON-SKIDS OF OLD
Back in the Long Ago of auto
mobile history the Firestone
company began building its rep
utation of integrity on quality
tires — like the famous Non-
Skids, with the trademark sculp
tured into the tread design.
Because Firestone looked to
the future and preserved some
of the molds for old-timer tires,
many an antique vehicle is road
worthy today. Many a gas buggy
rides on Firestone tires in
"horseless carriage" caravans,
parades, to fairs, and at other
exhibit places. The bygone car
on which this tire was photo
graphed is owned by a Charlotte
collector.
Those of us on the manufac
turing “end” realize a sense of
pride for good work done, when
customers write to tell us how
much they are pleased with our
products.
Among recent letters is one
from Harry Schwal of Monsey,
N. Y., who tells us of his amaze
ment at his Firestone tires’ per
formance :
“In February, 1949, I bought a
new Mercury equipped with
Firestone whitewall tires. After
34,000 miles, I still have those
same original tires. That does
not seem to be too unusual, but
the amazing facts are that in all
the eleven and one-half years, I
have never had a flat tire or a
blowout.
“Now I will tell you some
thing that should headline Mr.
Ripley’s ‘Believe It Or Not’ col
umn. From the very day I took
possession of my car in 1949, I
have never had to put any air
into those tires.
“On many occasions when I
pull up to service stations, the
attendants ask me where I got
my tires. They notice the wide
whitewalls which were discon
tinued years ago. When I tell
them all about my tires, they
scratch their heads in amaze
ment, call some of the other
attendants and repeat the facts
to them. They bend down to in
spect the tires and are surprised
to see that they are far from
bald, that they still have plenty
of tread. Many people tell me
that in over eleven years it is
miraculous that the rubber did
not deteriorate enough to cause
a blowout.
“Now that I live in the sub
urbs, I am not going to press
my luck and these phenomenal
tires much longer. I am about to
buy a complete set, including
two snow tires, and you bet
they’ll be Firestone!”
Cronkite Back
On ‘Eyewitness’
CBS News correspondent Wal
ter Cronkite returned to the
“Eyewitness to History” series
as anchor man in January. He
left the position early last year,
after being anchor man during
1959 and 1960 for the Firestone-
sponsored news documentary.
CBS correspondent Charles
Kuralt, narrator for “Eyewit
ness” since it became a weekly
feature last fall, will become in-
the-field correspondent for the
series.
“Eyewitness” is presented on
WBTV, Charlotte, every Friday
night.
of living costs at the school of
the winner’s choice.
Over the years, seven of the
197 scholarships have gone to
members of Firestone Textiles
(Gastonia) families.
The industrial relations office
here reports that several stu
dents have applied for the
scholarships, and adds, “But
there should be more.”
Since scholarships are award
ed on the basis of proportionate
Firestone employment, each ap
plicant has equal opportunity to
win, no matter where he or she
may live.
For late applicants, the IR of
fice has details of the scholar
ship program.
To an old friend on the job,
the visitor allowed; “You fellows
don’t realize how good you have
things these days. Machines are
taking so much of the load off
your backs. Why, when I work
ed here, I lifted heavy beams
with a block and tackle, and did
a lot more of the back-breaking
jobs, common in those days.”
Mr. Clark’s sister, Bertha
Clark, is a Quality Control in
spector in Weaving (synthetics).
A brother, Tom Clark, is a Fire
stone retiree. John has lived in
Monroe county, Tenn., since he
left Gastonia around ten years
ago.
Once he had a “good-sized”
farm over there, but he has re
duced it to ten acres “so’s I’d
have time — after some truck-
farming—to do a good deal of
fishing, hunting, and camping.”
Some Reporting Helps
For Your Income Tax
This year millions of Americans will overpay
their Federal income tax bills, simply because
they'll fail to make all the deductions to which
they’re entitled. This is straight from the In
ternal Revenue Service.
To help you square away your tax obligation
and get credit for all that’s coming to you, the
experts have some basic suggestions. Sound
familiar?
Do Some Studying Study carefully in
structions that come with your tax form. They’ll
tell you about dozens of proper deductions that
never occur to most people. Example: You can
deduct medical and dental expenses for such
items as dentures, eyeglasses and hearing aids.
If you see deductions on the tax instructions that
you missed in making out your list, add them to
the proper category. Cross out any claims on
your list that don’t qualify as legitimate de
ductions.
Make a List List all your deductions ac
cording to categories required on the tax form.
This includes contributions to charity, interest
paid on debts during the year, and other deduc
tible taxes that you’ve paid to the city, county
and state. These deductible expenses add up
faster than you might think, so check to see if
they exceed 10 per cent of your family’s adjust
ed gross income or $1,000. If so, you’ll save money
by itemizing on the longer tax Form 1040.
Dig Up The Proof Collect all cancelled
bank checks and receipts for the year, making
sure you have one or the other to back each tax
$1$1
$
N
deduction on your list, for you might have to
justify your returns. Checks are recognized as
proof of payment in any law court.
Keep In Safe Place Since many tax
records can’t be replaced, it’s good to store them
in a safe deposit box at your bank. Keep these
in your deposit box for seven years: Bank pass
books—even if the account has been closed;
records of medical and dental expenses, con
tributions, interest payments; canceled checks
and receipts to prove you’ve filed a proper re
turn.
If you own stocks, keep a record of purchase
and sale of stocks for seven years after you’ve
sold them. Also, it’s a good plan to save in
definitely the canceled checks that show pay
ment of Federal and State taxes as well as copies
of your income tax forms for previous years, be
cause they provide a running record of your fi
nancial progress.
February, 1961 Page 2
Volume X Number 2
☆ ☆ ☆
Published by The Firestone
Tire & Rubber Company,
Firestone Textiles Division,
Gastonia, North Carolina.
Claude Callaway, Editor
Charles A. Clark, Photographer
?LANT REPORTERS
Carding—Payton Lewis, Jessie
Ammons
Cloth Room—Margie Waldrep
Industrial Relation s—Flora
Pence
Main Office—Bea McCarter
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 Cloninger. May-
zelle Lewis