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GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
VOLUME XII-NUMBER 5
APRIL, 1963
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Classic
State House
Like the historic Capitol
Building, the elaborate new
State House at Raleigh is open
daily to the public. The design
☆ ☆ ☆
North Carolina’s new State House is the first building
lat^^ constructed by a state for exclusive use of its Legis-
Ure. The new structure, located a block north of the his-
Capitol in Raleigh, cost almost six million dollars, and
n^^P&cted to become the center of the state’s expanding
Vernment-building group.
From the promenade there are
views of other governmental
buildings, churches and old
homes in the city.
CHIEF purpose of the build
ing is to serve as a center for
lawmaking. It is designed for
convenience and efficiency,
making best possible use of
space. Furnishings—virtually all
of them manufactured in North
Carolina—are simple, contempo
rary design with plain uphol
stery and durable finish.
Already, North Carolinians
point with pride to their new
State House as they do the old
Capitol and other significant
buildings in the Raleigh area.
The building was designed by
Edward Durrell Stone. He was
architect for the American Em
bassy building in New Delhi,
and many prominent new build
ings in this country. Mr. Stone
has designed the proposed Na
tional Cultural Center in Wash
ington, D. C.
and landscaping blend with the
classic architecture of existing
buildings and contemporary
lines of those of the future. At
main entrance is a State Seal 28
feet in diameter and built of
terrazzo in colors with bronze
divider strips. The profile of
“Liberty” in the seal is recog
nizable as that of Queen Eliza
beth II of England.
. . . Promising Future
Record Sales, Earnings
For First Quarter
The Firestone company in March announced record
sales and earnings for the first quarter of the fiscal year
which ended Jan. 31.
Company chairman Harvey S.
Firestone Jr. and president Ray
mond C. Firestone reported sales
of $304,156,823, compared with
$286,509,558 during the first
quarter of last year—an increase
of 6.2 per cent. Earnings for the
period were $14,559,630 compar
ed to $14,534,412 in 1962.
FIRST - QUARTER earnings
amounted to $.52 per share of
common stock both this year
and last year. Provision of $14,-
500,000 has been made for do
mestic and foreign taxes on in
come, compared with $14,600,000
last year.
The company chairman ex
pressed confidence that the com
pany will establish another sales
record this year, and that profits
will improve. He said new prod
ucts and developments, coupled
with an expected increase in the
gross national product, should
result in record industry ship
ments of passenger-car, truck
and tractor tires this year. He
added:
“We are preparing for this
promising future with new tire
plants at Salinas, Calif., and De
catur, 111., and with expansion
of other facilities.”
Richard Tucker
On Plant Visit
Richard Tucker, Metropolitan
Opera's foremost performer, had
an inside look at the Gastonia
Firestone plant in late March,
while here to present a concert
at Ashley Auditorium.
The great singer, likened to
Caruso by many critics, for
years has been an artist on the
"Voice of Firestone" program.
He is known as "the greatest
tenor in the world", and called
—More on Page 3
he massive old State Capitol,
j^^^pleted in 1840, continues to
the Governor’s Office and
6r offices of the executive
of state government,
lin contemporary
^ of the new building are
anced by elaborate landscap-
^ which does not stop at
level but extends up-
g to terraces planted in
®^reens and flowering shrubs,
his enhances the square
podium which forms the
the^ ^^°or of the building, and
, promenade surrounding the
P floor. Indoors, fountains and
liters are extensively used,
of the building is glass.
°’^tside planting features
State flower—and
native trees and shrubs.
S^snd staircase leads to the
on the third floor,
visitors look down on
ber ^°^se and Senate cham-
str auditorium, and
out to the promenade.
^Vards For Safety Records
in work at production here has won two more awards
hoi ^^^gnition of employees’ long records of injury-free man-
during 1962.
to ® National Safety Council’s Award of Merit was sent
safety manager Raymond Mack, along with a
ho^^^^tation letter from NSC president Howard Pyle. The
an calls attention to 1,267,844 production hours without
resulting in lost time, in the period July 1-Decem-
l-k ’
Mutual Insurance Company’s Award of Merit
P^^sented to the plant here recently, marking an “out-
bej> injury-prevention record” compiled July 1-Novem-
We k year. During that period safety-conscious peo-
worked 1,061,799 hours without a disabling injury.
LANDMARK: The Firestone company's main
factory and offices, with famed clock tower at
1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron 17, Ohio.
KNOW YOUR COMPANY ...
12.000 Products
For Auto, Home,
Farm And Industry
Firestone people manufacture more than 12,000
quality products in diversified fields of industry,
including natural and synthetic rubber, metals,
plastics, textiles and chemicals. The company,
founded by Harvey S. Firestone in 1900, current
ly employs some 43,000 in the United States;
84.000 worldwide.
These are among the latest “Facts About Fire
stone”, presented in a folder issued by the de
partment of public relations of the company at its
Akron, Ohio, headquarters.
According to the latest count, the company op
erates 42 processing and manufacturing plants
in the United States and 38 similar installations
in other countries.
Firestone has 5 rubber purchasing-preparation
plants in foreign countries; also 4 rubber plan
tations and 1 experimental plantation.
In the United States it has 2 tire-proving
grounds, 7 research laboratories and operates 1
arsenal plant for the U. S. Government.
The company and its 10 divisions turn out
products for auto, home, farm and industry.
There are more than 150,000 Firestone Stores and
other retail dealers throughout the world.
Tires And Tubes: 1800 sizes and types of tires
for domestic and foreign cars, trucks, trailers,
buses, farm equipment, wagons, earth-moving
machines, industrial trucks and all other types
of wheeled vehicles.
Rubber; Natural rubber, latices and com
pounds; synthetic rubber, latices and compounds;
reclaim; cushioning; surfacing materials; ad
hesives; sealants; defense items; automotive
parts; and a variety of molded and extruded
rubber goods for home and industry.
Metal Products: Rims, wheels for trucks, buses,
tractors and other large vehicles; stainless steel
containers; anodized aluminum parts; stampings
for automotive and appliance industries; boat
trailers; farm wagons; shells, missile components
and launchers; and other metal products for a
wide range of uses.
Plastics: Resins, film, sheeting, and filaments
for thousands of home, transportation and indus
trial uses.
Textiles: Nylon and rayon tire cord fabric; ny
lon monofilament and cotton chafer fabric; heavy
and fine denier nylon for industrial and com
mercial products; lofted nylon filaments for
carpeting; polypropylene filaments; natural and
synthetic rubber elastic threads and yarns; span-
dex multifilament yarns.
Chemicals: Butadiene; styrene; polypropylene;
nylon resin; rubber-processing chemicals; latices
for paints and varnishes; resins for a variety of
extruded and molded products.