SEPTEMBER • 1968
GASTONIA
NORTH CAROLINA
Your Gift to Gaston County United Appeal
Helps 37 Community Services
Firestone people at the Gastonia plant will play
a major part in reaching this year’s United Appeal goal
of $435,000. In the upcoming financial campaign of
United Community Services of Gaston County, 37 peo
ple-helping community services combine their money
collections into a single effort.
The annual UA campaign is
the only general funds collect-
Funds collected in the Sept.
^4-Oct. 31 program make pos
sible services of the 37 partici
pating agencies during 1969.
Fireslone's UA drive will be
the first half of October. As
past years, volunteer helpers
^ere will receive contributions
through the payroll - deduction
Plan.
ing program among employment
in the plant here.
THIS year’s UA goal repre
sents a 25 per-cent increase over
the $348,000 figure for 1967. Ac
tually, last year’s goal was over
subscribed by almost $10,000.
Ik
Jw
, • Harold Mercer (center) received a souvenir ball after he
honored members of the Harold Mercer Little Tar
^^el League 1968 All-Stars in August. With him were coach
es Paul Lunsford (left) and Mack Hanna. Mr. Mercer pre-
^^iited each of the coaches a gift certificate in recognition
their outstanding work and leadership during the season,
^^ge 3: Group picture and story on retired textiles division
J^i“esident and his Little League boys.
^ Safety Honor for Bennettsville
A National Safety Council
recognizing safety
^chievement at the Firestone
®®nnettsville plant, was pre-
at an awards luncheon
^®cenily.
, R. Batche of Akron, Ohio,
hi
&ro
of the company's safety
^'^ogram, presented the letter to
®>^nettsville plant manager
f^lph L. King. The meeting,
at Branding Iron Restau
rant, was attended by Bennet-
isville staff members; also Gas
tonia plant manager John V.
Darwin and some members of
his staff.
Previous to the NSC award,
the Bennettsville plant in recent
months was presented a certifi
cate of recognition from the SC
Department of Labor, noting
Firestone safety performance
during 1967.
‘Textile News’: Three Stations
A highly-acclaimed radio program of textile news and
Comment has been extended from its original station in
Charlotte to a broadcast outlet in Greensboro and another
in Greenville, S. C. These locations are in the heart of the
textile industry of the Carolinas.
"Textile News With Ed Smith" features a 5-minute
daily survey of local and national reports and developments
in the textile industry.
The program began on WBT in Charlotte a year ago,
and is still heard on that station at 7:55 a.m., Monday-Friday.
In early September it expanded to WBIG, Greensboro,
7:40 a.m., Monday-Friday; and to WQOK, Greenville, 7:40
a.m., Monday-Friday.
CAMPAIGN
IN OCTOBER
Firestone people gave $32,-
240.29 in last year’s program,
with a high rate of “fair share”
contributors. Firestone in Gas
tonia was one of the first in
dustries to join in the United
Way when the “community
chest” program was begun here
15 years ago. Every year, Fire
stone people have been in the
forefront as major contributors.
Each year, scores of people in
all areas of plant management,
production and administration
lend volunteer service in the
Firestone UA drive. Also, a
number of Firestone people con
tribute leadership to the overall
county United Community Serv
ices program during the fall fi
nancial campaign and year-
round in planning and adminis
tration of participating services.
This year’s UA president is
Atty. Carl Stewart Jr., son of
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Stewart who
are employed at Firestone.
United Community Services of
Gaston County includes United
Way programs in Gastonia,
Stanley, Cramerton, Cherry-
ville, and Mount Holly.
Sight-Saving
• Alert the community to the
many causes of blindness before
they strike.
This is a primary aim of the
19th annual September Sight-
Saving Month campaign of the
North Carolina Society for the
Prevention of Blindness.
The state organization is an
affiliate of the National Society
for the Prevention of Blindness,
now in its 60th year of service.
NSPB is the oldest voluntary
health agency nationally engag
ed in blindness prevention.
It works through a compre
hensive program of community
services, research, public and
professional education.
Its headquarters address is 79
Madison Avenue, New York,
N. Y. 10016.
SEED PATTERNS—FIRESTONE NEWS PHOTO
Ready for a ride on the wind
• Late summer is migration time for seeds. The miracle
germs of continuing life journey about in many ways, air
borne ones being the far-travelers of the plant world. By
many a wayside at this time of year, the fluff-clad seeds
are ready to be caught up on the autumn wind. The downy
seeds of milkweed and butterfly weed—at home in neglected
fields and along roadsides—are examples of Nature’s com
monplace things which take on interest when observed
close-up. —
Scholarship Winner at NCSU
Richard Dale Carringer, Gas
tonia’s 1968 Firestone College
Scholarship winner, this month
enters NC State University at
Raleigh. The recipient of the
company educational grant plans
a four-year course leading to a
degree in mechanical engineer
ing.
Richard, a graduate of Ashley
High School, is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Willard Carringer. His
mother works in the office of
projects planning and control at
the Gastonia plant.
HE IS IN the 1968 group of
39 high-school seniors across the
nation winning Firestone schol
arships. Richard is the 15 th
Gastonia-area student to begin
study on a Firestone Scholar
ship, since the company began
the educational-aid program in
1953.
His Firestone scholarship rep
resents a full grant worth up to
$1,750 per year toward tuition,
fees, required textbooks and up
to two-thirds of the room and
board expenses during the four
years in college.
AT THE TIME Richard was
awarded the full scholarship
last spring, six daughters of
Richard
Dale
Carringer
Firestone employees here won
Merit Awards for outstanding
high-school records. All six plan
to enter college or other study
this fall. They are:
Penny Robinson — to Gaston
Memorial Hospital School of
Nursing, Gastonia; Nancy Moore,
University of North Carolina at
Greensboro; Mary Janice Spen
cer, Cabarrus Hospital School of
Nursing, Concord; Anita Polston
and Nancy Holloway, Gaston
College, Dallas; Brenda Stevens,
U of NC-Greensboro.
FIRESTONE
TIRES
The New-Car Changeover Plan
With the newest models of
cars in season as of Septem
ber, it is a good time to re
view the “switch to Fire
stone tires” plan for em
ployees.
Firestone people, mindful of
the “good buy” built into the
quality products the company
produces, often request Fire
stone tires when buying new
cars.
This is because the dealer gets
new cars equipped with many
brands of tires. So, the company
has an outstanding tire-chenge-
over policy for the benefit of its
employee purchasers.
Under the plan any employee
buying a new car which comes
equipped with tires wearing
competitive names, may change
over to Firestone tires for the
total charge of $1 per tire plus
any sales tax that may apply.
Another advantage: Wheel
balancing is free, including all
needed labor and balancing
weights.
MOST new cars delivered to
dealers without balanced
wheels, often making it neces
sary for the buyer to have the
wheels balanced at charges from
$3.65 and more, plus price of
weights. All this can run as
high as $6.
So, the company reminds em
ployee car purchasers: With
your new car, you’ll get a “good
deal” when you have Firestone
tires put on the vehicle.
What’s gained? In the change
over, you equip your car with
your company’s quality prod
uct and get free balancing, get
ting top performance and long
wear for tires.
NOTE this important points
of the changeover plan: Origi-
nal-equipment competitive tires
showing less than 100 miles of
wear will be replaced with Fire
stone DeLuxe Champion tube-
less tires. Even then, you have a
choice—if you want a higher-
priced tire, you can arrange
purchase at the additional cost
involved.