Newspapers / Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.) / Aug. 1, 1969, edition 1 / Page 2
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CARL SMITH He Set Himself A Goal And Reached It Resigning to the notion that “it’s too late to begin” has robbed many a person of achieving worthwhile goals in life. Carl E. Smith looks at it this way, and his experi ence reinforces the view point. A weaver in tire-cord produc tion, he has nearly 19 years of Firestone service. He started out in spooling, moved along to other jobs and has been in weaving the past 15 years. Some months ago. Smith's wife and three sons shared his pride when he completed work for a high-school diploma. Smith got the late start because an ill ness interrupted his schooling when a teenager. But in the ensuing years he’d kept faith in returning to school. And he did. It took three years in evening classes at Clover, S. C., High School to achieve his purpose. AFTER EARNING that di ploma, Smith moved on to eve ning adult education work at Gaston Community College, where he has completed a course in human relations and ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ • “Sheltering a Heritage- North Carolina’s Historic Build ings” is a new 32-page booklet of text and pictures treating 56 historic buildings in the State, many of them open to the pub lic. You can request a free copy from Travel & Promotion Di vision, Raleigh 27602. another in education through visitation. He plans to begin an other course in the GCC pro gram which is sponsored by the local Industrial Management Club. The Smiths get their mail on a rural route out of Kings Moun tain, but their home is located just inside the York County, S. C. line. The sons attend Clov er schools. David will be in the 11th grade this fall. Also in the upcoming term, Ronnie will be gin the 9th grade; Charles, the 6th grade. The boys have plans for edu cation beyond high school, with their parents lending strong en couragement. Mrs. Smith (Geneva) used to work at Firestone. Her father, J. N. Crawford, is retired from mechanical service. Geneva is a sales representative for a cos metic retailer. This summer David is work ing at Firestone. In the same de partment with his father, he handles creeling and other as signments. He is representative 9 Carl Smith and son David on the job in weaving-TC. of the many youth who are em ployed here during summer months. Tell The Glamor • We are not making full use of the inherent glamor of our textile industry. We ought to do a “better selling job,” believes Charles Myers, president of the American Textile Manufactur ers Institute. In a recent speech, Mr. Myers asked: “Do the youth of our com munities know of the industry’s vital role in the nation’s econ omy and defense? “Do they know of the indus try that has raised wages eight times within the last eight years? “Do they know of the indus try that has increased minority employment four times faster than any other industry? “Do they know of the tre mendous growth potential that textiles has for the coming 10 years—that it could become 50 per cent larger than now, by 1975?” Radiator Hoses To Radial Tires • Comfortable riding in an automobile is depending more and more these days on products of the U.S. textile industry. Looking at some figures from last year, we note that in a year’s time the auto industry uses the equivalent of almost 2 million 500-pound bales of textiles for everything from radiator hoses to radial tires. Examples: More than 225 mil lion square yards of fabric go into headlinings and upholstry; 72 million yards are used for seat covers; more than 30 mil lion yards make up convertible and landau tops, and about 60 million yards of carpet cover floorboards. Well more than half a billion pounds of cord and fabric are used in tires. In 1968 nearly 100 million motor vehicles traveled 1 trillion and 10 billion miles on the na tion’s roads and streets. That amounts to near 40 million trips around the world. Industry Exhibits Producis made in Gaston County will be exhibited at this year's Spindle Center Agricultural Fair, Sept. 8-13. The Fair will be a salute to Gaston manufacturers, with almost all locally-originated products being represented. Spindle Center Agricultural Fair, through its name, gives continuing recognition to textiles. In terms of persons employed in the industry, Gaston usually leads all other counties in North Carolina's "Metrolina" region. Spindle Center Agricultural Fair location is east of Gas tonia, off U.S. 29 near Lowell. They Liked What They Saw Kathleen Hodge Twisiing-TC Ernest Jolly Weaving-TC Maxine Calhoun Weaving-TC Warren Jackson Chafer Weaving Mary Lankford Twisting-TC Long Service Of long service records, Kathleen Hodge led the list in July at Gastonia, having begun her 31st year of em ployment. Seven others join ed her last month to mark work anniversaries of 15, 20 and 25 years. Pictures here are of 25 and 30-year em ployees. Not pictured of July group: Rosie Parson, twist- ing-TC, 25 years. The others on July service list: Twenty Years • Will Roosevelt Howard, chafer weaving. Fifteen Years • Annie Devern Humph rey, twisting (tire cord). The 25 and 30-year record holders were presented the com pany “standard” $100 check as a token of appreciation for long and faithful service. Also, in ap preciation, the engraved service watch goes to those with 20 years. Beginning at 5-year records and at 5-year intervals there after, all persons are awarded the lapel/blouse pin denoting length of service. • Schools providing instruc tion in the various processes of textile manufacturing are locat ed from Massachusetts to Ala bama. A leading one is North Carolina Vocational Textile School at Belmont. It offers in struction in the technology of weaving & designing, mill main tenance, tailoring, knitting, yarn manufacturing. Also there are They knew of the Firestone Los Angeles plant which pro duces tires and industrial prod ucts. But Mr. and Mrs. James L. Fore of San Gabriel, Calif., wanted to see the tire fabric in production. So, while they and their three children were visiting in Gas tonia last month, they took time out to visit Firestone. With them came James’ mother, Mrs. Gladys Fore, who worked here in splicing and weaving several years ago. People and Places in the news It’s another two-year term of service on the Bessemer City town council for Ted Williams of mechanical service. The Firestone employee was one of the top vote-getters in the BC municipal election early this summer. He represents Ward 2. Others of the six-man council are J. Meek Capps, Ward 1; Neil Barnes, Ward 3; S. R. Pearson Jr., Ward 4; J. O. Parker, Ward 5; D. R. Carpenter, Ward 6. They serve in the town gov ernment with Mayor Clyde Servis, a retired Army colonel. Raymond J. Hoots Jr., Fire stone engineer in fabric treat ing, and Marjorie Ann Cleve- special courses in other subjects with a relationship or applica tion to textiles. land were married July 12 in Fort Valley, Ga. Marjorie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Cleveland of Fort Valley, was graduated from high school there; and Salem College, Win ston-Salem. Raymond is the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Hoots of Winston- Salem. He was graduated from Reynolds High School and re ceived a degree in textile engi neering at NC State University. Mr. and Mrs. Hoots live in Gas tonia. “A lot of changes since I worked here,” she observed, go ing on the tour with her son and daughter-in-law. Mrs. Fore, now in Gastonia, lived for five years in California. Her broth ers-in-law Carol Holden and Dock Terry are veteran Fire stone employees—both in twist- ing-TC. James Fore is a foreman production of oil-well pumpS- Mrs. Fore, a native Californian, especially considered the Fire stone stop a good feature of the vacation East. She, her husband and the youngsters—two boys and a —came by station wagon and camper trailer. They took the Southern way into Meridian, Birmingham and on to Atlanta, where they visited relatives be fore coming to North Carolina- Homeward bound from Gas tonia, they went by Blowing Rock to Chattanooga. Out oi Oklahoma City they took Route 66 to the West Coast. Among other Gastonia Fire stone plant visitors last month were Mr. and Mrs. Frank Spinek of Baltimore, Md. Spinek, a journalist with Hearst newspapers; and Mrs. Spinek,^ teacher, were on a vacation trip through several Southern states- For a close look at industry, they chose Firestone as repre sentative of a textile operation- • The Firestone Ghana Ltd., factory at Bonsaso this spring became the country’s first tire plant. Its opening brought to 59 the number of Firestone plants operating outside the U.S. The facility is able to produce almost all the tires and tubes for Ghana's passenger cars, trucks, buses and tractors. GASTONIA Volume XVIII Number 8 August, 1969 ^ Claude C. Callaway, Editor Page 2 Monthly publication of the Gastonia, N. C., plant of Firestone Synthetic Fibers and Textiles Company, a division of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio. Division headquarters, Hopewell, Va. Robert W. Rice, president. John V. Darwin, Gastonia plant manager. Plant REPORTERS Offices Warehouses ☆ ☆ ☆ Carding—Payton Lewis Industrial Relations—Jeanne Baumgarner Main Office—Bea McCarter Mechanical Dept.—Rosie Francum Quality Control—Louella Queen, Leila Rape Twisting (synthetics)—Elease Cole, Katie Elkins. Warp Preparation—Elmina Bradsha'^' Nell Bolick Warehouse—Harold Robinson, Good, Rosevelt Rainey Weaving (cotton) — Ruth Veitch BENNETTSVILLE PLANT Faye Shankle, Mary H. Oliver, jj, Lockamy, Louise S. Preston—Rep° ers.
Firestone News (Gastonia, N.C.)
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Aug. 1, 1969, edition 1
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