Employee's Wife
‘This Light ...
Means So Much
To Me Now’
When a person has his sight
restored, words cannot begin to
tell of the glory of the light
breaking through. For Mrs.
Grady Johnson the darkness
had brooded almost 40 years. A
little more than two years ago,
a corneal transplant restored an
eye to almost 20/20 vision.
“It was just like being born
anew,” says Mrs. Johnson. “To
me, the world of light is still
something like a new and pretty
toy to a child. So exciting ... so
wonderful!”
As a child of six years at
home in Sylva, N. C., she lost
the sight of an eye in an acci
dent. The other eye affected, she
was in near-darkness six years
later. At the North Carolina
School for the Blind she learned
Braille and a variety of skills to
help her along in the lightless
years ahead.
MARRIED at 17, for the next
35 years she did not see her
husband’s face. All the while,
Mrs. Johnson carried on her
housework wit i remarkable ef
ficiency. In time, two children
were born.
After moving to Gastonia in
1936, the NC Commission for the
Blind helped her to start a small
general store in the back yard
at 2626 S. Calvary street. She
kept busy, making the best of
circumstances.
The road to sight began a lit
tle more than two years ago
when a neighbor, in a Durham
hospital, talked with a fellow
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--0-• »
after an eye transplant. That en
couraged Mrs. Johnson to in
vestigate the possibility of hav
ing a corneal transplant herself.
With a good stock of faith,
Mrs. Johnson went to talk with
an eye surgeon at Presbyterian
Hospital, Charlotte. Eleven
weeks later the operation was a
-Oih Jr.
Ben Hanna Jr.
Twisting (syn)
Leona Dameron
Quality Control
Of The Passing Scene
k
Firestone Movies In Industrial
Extension Library At NC State
MERCHANT:
Mrs. Johnson sells
a bar of candy lo
Terry McKeehan,
granddaughter of
Boslic Parson,
Filestore elevator
operator. Neigh
bor Gracie Harbin
is there, too.
SHOE HOBBY:
Mrs. Johnson and
her husband look
over some of the
several hundred
shoes in her col
lection.
success. It was followed with
another operation to remove a
cataract. She was fitted with
special plastic-lens glasses.
Her first reaction to the light
was to read everything before
her, catch the movement of all
things passing her way, to drink
in beauty everywhere she went.
Now she goes to the hospital
for I pcricdic ^hcchup. Con
sidered part-sightless because of
the permanent absence of one
eye. Mrs. Johnson continues to
receive help from the State
Commission for the Blind, in
operating her backyard business.
BESIDES her duties in the
store, the new world of sight has
opened to her many activities.
Three Firestone movies have
been added to the general-inter-
est section of the Industrial Ex
tension Service Film Library at
the School of Engineering,
North Carolina State College.
The 16mm films are: “The
Corporal Story”, tracing devel
opment of the Corporal guided
missile from drawing board to
launching: “Trail Blazers”, the
story of giant rubber-tired con
struction machines and how
they perform from frozen wild
erness to the tropics; and “Afri
can Rhythms”. This color film
shows vfcrious forms of dances
native to the culture of Liberia,
West Africa, where Firestone
has extensive rubber planta
tions.
lES film library has complet
ed a new catalog of titles for use
in industrial extension in the
state. The 16mm films are avail
able to North Carolina indus
tries as training-and-develop-
ment aids.
The film service, operated to
help meet the needs of diversi
fied industry, is offered in five
classifications: Supervision and
Human Relations, Industrial En
gineering, Industrial Economy,
Safety, and General Interest.
No one in the whole land ap
preciates more the beauty of
flowers—20 varieties of them in
her garden this summer.
For the past two years she
was able to join in the work at
South Gastonia Church of God,
where she has been helping in
the Bible school.
To finance her operation, the
joined by Mr. Johnson’s Fire
stone insurance.
“Of course, I don’t know who
was so good to give me the
cornea for the transplant,” says
Mrs. Johnson, in humble grati
tude. “Folks’ll never know just
what this new light has meant
to me.’
25-Year People
Emory Beaver Frank Brown
Carding Shop
Leonard McAbee M. E. Robinson
Synthetics Shop
'fir«$lone S3SW§
SEPTEMBER. 1961 PAGE 4
‘Long-Timers’
On Roster
For August
Six more employees at the
Gastonia plant joined the
“25-Year Club” in August,
Those who first came to
work here in August of 1936
are presented in photographs
on this page.
Also joining them for service
anniversaries were 23 others
representing 10, 15, and 20 years.
They are:
Twenty Years
Henry Barfield and John H.
Stevens, Twisting (synthetics);
William R. Rainey, Warehouse.
Fifteen Years
Juanita Eeddingfield, Twisting
(synthetics); Clifford A. Wald
rop, Weaving (synthetics);
David Loyd Hager, Weaving
(cotton); David H. McGinnis,
Beaming-Quilling; Mary Helen
Spencer, Payroll.
Ten Years
Dixie D. Griggs, Samuel A.
Grisson, Lawrence T. Humph
ries, Esther G. Butler, Bobby Joe
Smith, Dautha L. Lane and
Frances G. Deaton, all Twisting
(synthetics).
YMCA Membership
—From page 1
spiritual guidance; and interest
activities, such as crafts and
hobbies.
There are many more services
to youth and all other age
groups. Of the varied services in
the Y’s program for all ages,
some in the adult department
will be of particular interest to
employees here. Examples are
the day nursery for pre-school
ers; and adult square-dancing
classes in Western style twice a
week. J. D. Hicks, Y director,
notes that if there are enough
people i,G make up"a tecini, an
industry such as Firestone could
have its own folk-dancing
group.
A Bible club for systematic
study of the Scriptures and re
lated subjects such as archeolo
gy, is set to begin this fall.
Leading the study sessions will
be outstanding scholars to help
the student serve more effec
tively in his own church and
Sunday school.
Other scheduled activities
with pos5;ible appeal to Fire
stone people are a young-mar-
ried-couples discussion group;
and guided sightseeing tours of
historic places during summer
months.
Family Membership: A Bargain
A “bargain package” cost-
wise, family membership also
offers other advantages. To
make it easier to join this time,
families can sign up for six
months, pay one-third of the
membership fees, and be billed
for the remainder later.
Under this plan, the head of
the household pays the full
rate, and all others in the family
get a 50 per cent discount. Some
individuals have expressed an
interest in buying gift member
ships for children who other
wise could not belong to the Y.
“The Gaston YMCA is for
men and women, boys and girls
—everybody from babies to
‘what-age-have-you,’”, said the
Firestone membership chair
man. “There’s something of in
terest and value for everybody
at the Y on West Franklin av
enue. We believe you’ll want to
join during our membership
drive.”
Accident-Prone Have Definite Traits
Fred Boyd Sparrow, Weaving
(synthetics); Maxie Cary, Deza-
ree C. Crisp and Sarah Mae
Keever, Weaving (cotton); Wil
lie C. Kelly, Beaming-Quilling;
Tom J. Neal, Shop; Gaddis H.
Owens, Supply, James M. Coop
er, Industrial Relations.
Total production of broad- , Persons with a tendency to be involved in accidents have
woven goods in 1960 amounted » ^
to 12,028,544,000 square yards, & The Executive Analysis
according to the Department of Corporation has reached this conclusion, after extensive
Commerce. This included 9,332,- ivXv studies and testing. Among traits belonging to the accident-
587,000 square yards of cotton .-.v.-.y prone the EAC lists: Super abundance of (false) self-con-
broad-woven goods; 2,412,648,- 1 \ • 1 J- * iv. J
„ J .v.v. iidence (cockiness); aggressiveness leading to the attitude
000 square yards of man-made- »
fiber fabrics and 283,309,000 ;:v‘ teamwork is not necessary; the tendency to be easily
yards of woolens and worsteds. distracted; and little disposition to follow social customs.
FIRESTONE TEXTILES
P. O. BOX 551
GASTONIA. N. C.
POSTAL MANUAL
SECTION 134.1
U. S. POSTAGE PAID
GASTONIA, N. C.
PERMIT NO. 29
THE LIBRARY OF UNC
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
Form 3547 Requested