w 1 0 1981
GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
VOLUME X NUMBER 4
MARCH, 1961
Tire$lon«
FOR CITIZENSHIP’
Another UF Citation
For liberality of sharing in the 1960-61 Greater Gastonia
United Fund, Firestone Textiles and its employees have been
awarded the UF citation “for outstanding citizenship.” This
plant was one of 13 firms receiving the award plaques at the
February eighth annual UF banquet in First Methodist
Church.
11 /T . - 1 P. - 7
iv±arcrj jiuoa
in the
Season’s Door
The Third Month — her
wind sweeping Winter aside
for a welcome to the Gentler
Season—reminds us that we
all live in our moment of
Time. March, with her asso-
“Modernization for Survival.”
This was the title of a panel talk
by Frederick B. Dent at a recent
meeting of the American Cotton
Manufacturers Institute.
Remarked Mr. Dent: “Those
three words are more than just
a slogan.-’ The speaker, head of
Mayfair Mills, Arcadia, S. C.,
and president of the SC Textile
Manufacturers Association, said
in part:
“Modernization is a way of life
by which strong textile firms
have become stronger. Moderni-
When illness or disability
comes to the employee fam
ily, records in the plant in
surance office are an impor
tant indicator as to whether
a benefit is payable on any
claim that may result.
So, it is vitally important
to keep your group insurance
records up-to-date. This re
quires the personal attention
Df each employee, since every
change in records requires
the personal signature of the
wage-earner concerned.
Insurance records need to
be changed immediately in
ciations of fireside reflections
and mellowed memories,
symbolizes the past, present,
and future. This picture, its
collection of subject matter
laboring under the burden of
age, would have us remem
ber that things and methods
serve well in their appointed
time, but must some day give
way to Change — and new
and better things.
Firestone News Staff Photo
zation touches every element of
a mill’s activities, including per
sonnel, fiber selection, quality
control, housekeeping, training
in job skills, supervision, indus
trial engineering, costs—to men
tion some.
“Modernization has been suc
cessful in developing working
conditions for employees ihat
will enable the industry to at
tract alert personnel in present-
day competition and to place
adequate technical challenges
before them.”
event of—for example—the
marriage of a single person,
change of name, birth of a
baby in the family, addition
of a beneficiary, when a de
pendent child becomes 19 or
marries. Correct the insur
ance records also when a
legal separation or divorce
takes place.
Negligence in changing
group insurance records can
mean financial loss when
you have failed to add a fam
ily member as an eligible de
pendent, or it can cause con
fusion and legal problems if
Last year there were five
firms accorded the honor. The
increase to 13 this year indi
cates a growing interest in em
ployee participation through the
united program, observed J. V.
Darwin, manager of sales at
Firestone, who was elected to
serve a second term on the UF
board of directors.
Gifts to 24 Agencies
This year’s plaque, accepted
by production manager F. B.
Galligan on behalf of employees
and the company, was in recog
nition of the $13,593.53 which
the people here contributed to
the Fund in the last-fall solici
tation. Those gifts are at work
this year, helpi’ig to operate 24
community, health, welfare, rec
reation and character-building
agencies.
Firestone Textiles was the
only major textile plant to re
ceive the award this year. It
earned the same distinction in
1959-60. Basis on which the
award this year was made was
Firestone Man
Heads AOA
Company executive vice presi
dent J. E. Trainer is the new
president of the American Ord
nance Association. He has long
been a prominent figure in this
patriotic technical society of
more than 43,000 leaders in in
dustry and government.
Since the time he became an
executive at Firestone in 1939,
Mr. Trainer has made note
worthy contributions through
the AOA. He has received ci
tations from the armed forces
and the government for his dis
tinguished service in the field
of ordnance.
The company official served
on the War Production Borird
and was assistant special direc
tor of rubber programs in 1945.
you have failed to change
your beneficiary when such
change is necessary.
This you need to keep in
mind:
® Now is the time to bring
your group insurance record
up-to-date.
• Records can be changed
only with your personal sig
nature
• To check the status of
your records, call 73, or stop
by the insurance office in
Main Office.
the fact that 1,356 employees
made an average gift of $10.02,
with 96.8 per cent of total em
ployment participating.
This was the second year that
the Citizenship plaque has gone
to Firestone of Gastonia. The
plant received printed commen
dations in 1957 and in 1958 for
UF employee participation, “for
service to the human needs of
our community.”
February and the Valentine
season were highlighted by a
dinner meeting at the Recrea
tion Center, when president
W. A. Karl recognized the Gas
tonia plant for its top safety
performance last year.
The gleaming award plaque
which was presented is a symbol
of accident-control competition
between all three of Firestone’s
textile mills in North America,
of which Mr. Karl is president.
Firestone Textiles at Bennetts-
ville, S. C. and Firestone Tex
tiles Ltd., Woodstock, Ontario,
Gastonia Names
In The News
Remember the picture repre
senting the 1960 vehicle safety-
check lanes at Gastonia, and
published in the February, 1961
Progress Issue of Firestone
News? Because this edition of
the annual report was produced
Co. Tires On
]New B-52H
Fabric from textile mills like
Firestone’s in Gastonia is team
ing up with other products in
the production of tires and fuel
cells for the new Boeing B-52H
missile bomber, said to have the
most mobile manned weapon
punch ever devised.
The tires are produced in
Akron, and the fuel cells are
turned out at the company’s
Los Angeles (Calif.) plant.
An improved version of the
B-52, the B-52H can fly more
than 10,000 miles without refuel
ing. It carries four Skybolt bal
listic missiles, and a formidable
bomb load.
Eight 56x16, 38-ply-rating
tubeless tires, with wire fabric
reinforced treads for high speed
requirements and a special wire
mesh which gives them an ice-
grip feature, are needed for
each plane.
TIRES must withstand takeoff
speeds of 250 miles per hour and
landing speeds of 165 mph. Each
must support a static load of 76,-
000 pounds and meet a taxi roll
—More on page 2
Canada, are competing with the
Gastonia plant in the year-to-
year rivalry. Last year, all three
plants tied for a record of no
industrial injuries leading to lost
time on the job.
The rivalry, begun in 1959 and
won the first year by Woodstock
and Bennettsville in a tie, is de
signed to run a maximum of 12
years. A participating plant win
ning the contest three years in
succession—or the most times in
the 12-year period—will gain
permanent ownership of the
polished walnut emblem, em
bellished with gold-plated trim.
in Akron, Ohio and aimed at a
company - wide readership, it
wasn’t necessary to identify all
people in photographs.
In case you didn't recognize
the Gastonia folks, they were
Louise Varnadore, wife of Ray
mond Varnadore of the Shop at
the time photo was made; plant
officer Samuel Crawford, and
W. B. Nivens of Firestone
Stores.
Textilist: Modernize For Survival
Your Insurance Records: Keep Them Current
GOOD GOING IN SAFETY—President Karl (right) presents
safely plaque to Gastonia plant safety manager Ralph Johnson.
Looking on are production manager F. B. Galligan (left) and gen
eral manager Harold Mercer. After its stopover here, the plaque
was on its way for presentation at the Bennettsville and Wood-
stock plants.
Plant Shares Safety Honor
With Other Textile Units