GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
AN ALL-AMERICA CITY
VOLUME XIII-NUMBER 7
JUNE • 1964
Tir«$ton«
Your Symbol
of Quality
and Service
'ijhtseeing
Irom
camp
firestone
Daniel
Boone
Native W
garden
The company-operated retreat on Lake
pmes in the Blue Ridge “Holiday High
lands” is in its 29th season for employees
and members of their families.
. Camp Firestone at Bridgewater and five
^iles from Marion is in the midst of an im-
jnense mountain playground offering un-
l^^^ited sightseeing-recreation opportunities,
'-amp Firestone itself affords water sports,
Overnight accommodations, camping, nature
study and various other features for relaxa-
^lon or more active life “away from it all”.
Besides, it is a favorite takeoff point for
tours of the mountain region—all within
a few hours travel time. Typical of the sight
seeing attractions is Daniel Boone Native
Garden at Boone. Here is an unusual show-
place of wildflowers and other plant life ‘at
home’ in the highlands. Outstanding fea
tures are the Rockery and Squire Boone
Cabin.
The Garden is located near a recreation
park and next door to Daniel Boone Amphi
theatre where the outdoor drama “Horn in
the West” begins its season late this month.
Three miles away is famed Tvveetsie Rail
road with its frontier village.
I^eople Here Know A Good Bargain:
SAVINGS
BONDS
Purchase of U. S. Savings Bonds through payroll deduc
tion was being maintained at 100 per cent at the Gastonia
plant as of late May. The record mark was reached last
when Bonds buying rose from 88 per cent two months
Earlier to total employee participation, following a company-
Bonds promotion.
Payroll supervisor Mrs. Eula
^ilson notes the high level of
^onds purchased this month,
)^^hen during June the company
in a Savings Bonds campaign
its home offices and factories
at most U.S. plants other
at Gastonia.
The sales drive a year ago was
^ Part of the U.S. Treasury De-
^^rtment Freedom Bond Cam-
and this year, the Share
America emphasis.
Company president R a y -
^ond C. Firestone, leader in
Sa
^'ings Bonds promotion on the
national level, has congratulated
the Gastonia employees for their
outstanding record of Payroll
Savings participation.
In a letter to general manager
Harold Mercer, Mr. Firestone
noted:
“Please extend my congratula
tions to all Firestone men and
women at Gastonia. Their 100
per cent Payroll Savings partici
pation is a vital contribution to
the welfare and security of our
Nation, as well as an important
savings program for their future.
We hope you will put forth
dinners In
^^holarship
*^*^OGRAM
^ ☆
V. Darwin,
&rodi
C,
manager of
Action plan-
presented
v^®^*ificate of
and $50
bavings
to Bettye
Johnson; to
j!°^ert Hull Jr.
and James
j^^^Penter at a
luncheon in
l^estone Recre-
Center.
17th-Year Award
For Safe Production
When it comes to performance in industrial safety. Fire
stone Textiles is numbered among the leaders in North Caro
lina and the South. For the 17th consecutive year, the plant
here has been recognized by the North Carolina Department
of Labor and the U. S. Department of Labor, for its injury-
control record at production.
The honor came in May in the
annual safety-achievement din
ner meeting at Eagles Steak
House. Frank Crane, State Labor
Commissioner, presented the
awards to Firestone and to 34
other Gaston county firms, at the
Chamber of Commerce-sponsor
ed meeting.
It was the 14th consecutive an
nual meeting in Gastonia—but
Firestone first received its
award when the program for
safety recognition was begun 17
years ago.
The Gaston honored firms
earned their awards in one of
three ways: By having a safety
record with no injuries in 1963;
by maintaining a safety record
at least 50 per cent better than
the state average for a particular
industry; by reducing their dis-
abling-injury rate at least 40 per
cent during 1963.
Firestone qualified by a safety
performance 75 per cent better
than the state average in the
textile industry last year.
“Disabling - injury frequency
rates in North Carolina industry
have been reduced 50 per cent
during the past 15 years,” said
Commissioner Crane. “The rate
in all NC industry has dropped
from about 16 disabling injuries
per million manhours to a cur
rent 8 injuries per million man-
hours.
“The NC record is better than
the national average, and the
injury rate of the 35 Gaston
firms honored here is much low
er than the state average,” he
noted. “The splendid safety
work being done in Gaston
county is indicated by the com
bined low-injury rate of these
35 plants. In 1963, they had a
combined 8,238 employees who
worked 17,363,321 production
hours with only 46 disabling in
juries.”
every effort to maintain your
present outstanding record.”
A recent Share In America
poster featured Mr. Firestone
and 29 other leading business
executives endorsing Payroll
Savings. Their signatures ap
peared under the name of Share
In America honorary chairman
Douglas Dillon, U.S. Secretai'y of
the Treasury.
The executives, referred to in
the promotion as Stewards of
free American enterprise, urged
employers and employees to join
with them in cooperating with
the government “for our mutual
good by providing leadership for
the purchase of Savings Bonds,
promoting thereby the opportun
ity for all to enjoy a larger
share in a greater tomorrow.”
• Charles Hamrick (left) of the roller shop and James Reel of
weaving (syn) with 15-year award shield and 17-year shingle. This
and 16-year shingle will mount ladder-fashion under shield, as have
shingles on two other plaques awarded in past years.
Playground Season June-August
Children up to 12 years of age
can wade and splash in the pool;
and they can join with older
ones for fun and exercise at
ping-pong, horseshoes, see-saw
ing, swinging and chin-barring.
It’s all at the city-operated play
ground in front of the plant.
Each summer the company-
owned facility is loaned as a
public service to the Gastonia
Parks and Recreation Depart
ment. Opened June 8 for a 10-
week season, its hours of opera
tion are 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-
Friday; and 9-1 Saturdays.
The playground is among
more than a dozen recreational
facilities operated by the city
in summer months. Brenda
Carswell and Dick Hubbard are
city-employed attendants w h o
will be on duty during hours of
operation hei'e.
Special this season is instruc
tion in arts and crafts, with each
of the 10 weeks of the season
being devoted to a different art
or craft. This feature is part of
the instruction in the city’s gen
eral recreation program this
summer. More activities, at
places other than the Firestone
playground, are sports competi
tion, nature study, and dramat
ics.