The Succulent Goodness
Of ^Gritted’ Bread
Several veteran employees here — especially
those with a country background — revel in
pleasant memories when you mention such
“good-old-days” subjects as cornbread. And
many a person here with a few summers behind
him and an acquaintance with the mountain coun
try of the South, recalls the succulent goodness
of “gritted bread”. That’s a roasting-ear corn
mixture which the American Indians taught our
ancestors to bake.
Now that corn is in the ear, one employee
thought you would like this original recipe. Mrs.
Oscar Grimsley of Winding came to Gastonia
three decades ago from Newport, Tenn., in a
pioneer area where folks live close to the land.
Her father used to operate a water-powered
gristmill there.
Uncommonly Good Eating In 1766
On the subject of cornbread, Mrs. Grimsley
says the original recipe was written down by
an English soldier, Jonathan Carver, who in
1766 traveled the historic route from Green Bay
to Prairie du Chien, Wis., through the land of
the Outtagami (Fox) and Sauk tribes. Carver
set down in his diary:
“Among this people I eat of a very uncommon
kind of bread. The Indians, in general, use but
little of this nutritious food. Whilst their corn is
in the milk, as they term it — that is, just before
it begins to ripen — they slice off the kernels
from the cob and knead them into a paste.
“This they are enabled to do without the addi
tion of any liquid, by the milk that flows from
them; and when it is effected, they parcel it out
into cakes, and enclose them in leaves of the
basswood tree, place them in hot embers where
they are soon baked. And better-flavored bread
I never eat in any country.”
Comments Mrs. Grimsley: “Follow this old
recipe and you’ll discover something mighty
good. Even if you skip the basswood leaves so
as to bake the bread in your modern oven, it’ll
still be a delightful treat. Of course, if you want
to bake cornbread by your usual method, you
can substitute the grated roasting ear and its
milk for the meal and a portion of milk in your
recipe.”
SKILLET GOOD — Mrs. Oscar Grimsley al
802 Linwood road knows from experience that
cornbread tastes better if baked in a cast-iron
skillet. This one she brought with her from
Tennessee.
Plants Winning Safety Race
All three participants in the
continuing safety contest of
Firestone’s North American tex
tile plants, were winning as of
August 1.
Contestants — Firestone Tex
tiles at Gastonia, the Bennetts-
ville, S. C., and Woodstock, Can
ada, plants were tied for a rec
ord of no lost-time industrial
injuries.
The interplant rivalry re
wards the winner with a plaque,
presented by W. A. Karl, presi
dent of the company’s North
American and South American
textile manufacturing facilities.
The competition, begun in
1959 and won the first year by
Wocdstock cind Beniiettsvillc ir
a tie, is set up to run for as
many as 12 years. Last year, all
three plants tied for the plaque.
Under the rules, a participat
ing plant winning the contest
three years in succession — or
either the most times in the
12-year period — will gain per
manent possession of the pol
ished walnut emblem, embel
lished with gold-plated trim.
Fun At The Park
Firestone Park is scheduled
to operate its recreational facili
ties for youngsters in West Gas
tonia into late August. The com
pany-owned playground in front
of the plant is made available
free as a public service to the
City of Gastonia for a 10-week
season each summer.
It is operated by the City
Recreation Department which
furnishes supervisory personnel
during all hours the playground
is open to children up to 12
years of age.
City Recreation employees
working at the park here this
season are Brenda Carswell and
Darrell Conrad.
As in past seasons, play facili
ties at the park include the wad
ing pool, swings, seesaws, and
horseshoe pits. Before the sea
son began this year, the com
pany made major improvements
on the wading area which in
cluded completion of a concrete
walkway around three sides of
the pool.
Hours are 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.,
Monday-Friday; and 8 A.M. to
2 P.M. Saturdays.
HUGE BAG, inflated
with 40,000 gallons of water, re
places a conventional concrete
dam on Turtle Creek, a tribu
tary of the Monongahela River
in Pennsylvania.
Nylon Takes To The River
Nylon fabric, rubber and neoprene have teamed up for
another huge, collapsible dam built by the Firestone Coated
Fabrics Division at Los Angeles, Calif. This latest one is a
big help to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the
flood-control program at its plant in East Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Fabridam is a giant nylon bag coated with neoprene syn
thetic rubber and inflated with water. It can be deflated quickly
in case of a flood to permit unobstructed runoff and increase the
carrying capacity of the stream. The dam also maintains the neces
sary water level upstream to provide enough water to condense
steam from turbines in the Westinghouse plant.
SHAPED like a teardrop, the 6,300-pound dam is stretched
95 feet across the creek bottom and anchored to the bottom at
the upstream edge with stainless steel bolts set in concrete.
The Westinghouse dam is one of five completed installations
fabricated by Firestone at Los Angeles. Two are located in the
Los Angeles River, one serving as a canal gate and the other as
a main diversion dam.
Others are located on the spillway of the Austrian Reservoir of
the San Jose, Calif., Water Works and on the spillway of the
W'lhiawa Reservoir in Honolulu, T.H. Numerour: other installations
are under consideration throughout the United States and other
parts of the world.
The D. D. Poseys
Live In Gastonia
Mr. and Mrs. Darrell D. Posey
are living at 403 S. Hill street
in Gastonia, after their early-
summer wedding in Firestone
Wesleyan Methodist Church.
Mrs. Posey, the former Miss
Ruth Elaine Deaton, is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. R.
Deaton of 1128 W. Fourth Ave
nue. Both parents are employed
at Firestone.
Mrs. Darrell Posey
AUGUST, 1961 PAGE 4
FIRESTONE TEXTILES
P. O. BOX 551
GASTONIA, N. C.
Boating Club
Plans Handicap
Members of Firestone
Boating Club have planned
handicap races on the Ca
tawba River for the after
noon of September 4. A note
on location of races will be
posted on plant bulletin
boards, said club president
Woodrow Wooten of Quality
Control. The boating group,
organized among employees
and members of their fami
lies early this year, had its
first races June 17.
In this picture, from left:
George Plyler, William Fen
der, James Massey, William
Massey, Charlie Plyler, Jer
ry Jones, Jessie Jones, Bob
Jones, James Slechta, Carl
Guffey, Woodrow Wooten,
Donnie Hull, Robert Hull.
Club members not appear
ing in picture: Claude Car
penter, John Fender, Ernest
Mauney, Leon Dawkins and
Furman Pearson.
POSTAL MANUAL
SECTION 134.1
U. S. POSTAGE PAID
GASTONIA, N. C.
PERMIT NO. 29
THE LIBRAHY OF UNC
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
Form 3547 Requested