Christmas
1969
FIRESTONE EMPLOYEES
AND YOUR FAMILIES
A j- ive observe
another Holiday Season, may it
be for each of us in the Spirit of that
First Christmas—its Glorious Message
having renewed meaning for us all.
May this Christmas be a time of
Homecoming, if only in spirit; and
Warmth, Color and Happiness, enjoyed
or remembered.
My sincere wish is that the Christmas
Message ivill bless your life with Hap
piness and understanding this Season
and throughout the New Year.
JOHN V. DARWIN
Plant Manager • Gastonia
Matching Gifts To Education
Twenty persons who work at Firestone, Gastonia, each
made a contribution in the “help the college of your
choice” plan through the company’s matching-gifts pro
gram to educational institutions this year.
The report dated to early No- utes up to $1^000 per year to
vember, with additional gifts to
be counted through December
of the current calendar year.
Four institutions of higher
learning benefited from the Gas-
tonia-employee gifts which
amounted to $500. The matching
company gift brought that fig
ure to $1,000.
AS OF the November report,
279 colleges and universities had
been named beneficiaries of 534
^oney gifts from Firestone em
ployees throughout the country.
•^rnount donated was $128,679
^hich, matched by the com
pany, brought the total to $247,-
538.
The Firestone matching-gifts
tTogram to educational institu
tions was begun in 1967. When
employee, or the husband or
^ife of an employee, contrib-
any accredited tax- supported
college or university in the
United States or up to $2,000
per year to any accredited non
tax - supported college, univer
sity or secondary school in the
country, the company donates
an equal amount.
TO BE matched, an employee’s
gift must be at least $25.
Firestone is among the some
350 corporations which match or
otherwise supplement employ
ees’ gifts to education.
As a direct result of matching
programs in effect, educational
institutions have received well
more than $45 million over the
past 12 years.
The “matching plan” is the
most - recently - established seg
ment of Firestone’s broad aid-
to-education program.
• Modern looms and other up-
ated equipment, together with
^'^icated skills of people on
job, turn out high-quality
fabric, all from man-made
*^«ers.
Product:
Tire Fabric
Tire$tott«
r-
DECEMBER • 1969
GASTONIA
NORTH CAROLINA
Gastonia Textile Unit Headquarters
• Janies B. Call Is President
James B. Call joined the Firestone company in 1947
as a time-study trainee with the steel products divi
sion. Last month he came to Gastonia as president of
the newly-designated Firestone Textiles Company.
Richard A. Riley, vice pres
ident for Firestone’s diversified
products, announced Mr. Call’s
appointment. In a meeting at
the Gastonia plant, he also an
nounced the formation of two
units of the diversified products
division of which the textiles
operation is a part.
Upon the realignment, Gas
tonia became headquarters of
the unit of which Mr. Call is
president. It includes the Gas
tonia operation, the company's
textiles plants at Bennettsville,
S. C. and at Bowling Green, Ky.
John V. Darwin continues
plant manager at Gastonia.
Ralph King is manager of the
Bennettsville factory; Francis B.
Galligan is manager of the
Bowling Green operation.
UA Provides 37 Services
Gaston County’s 1969-70 United Appeal campaign offi
cially closed in mid-November, but wrap-up collections
continued for several days, toward gathering the near-
$10,000 short of the $498,000 target figure.
Final contribution in the in-
plant Firestone solicitation this
year was $31,653.15.
At the close of the official
UA campaign, General Chairman
Dr. Gary Levinson said that 1
per cent of pledges over the
county was yet to be collected.
Levinson noted that the 98
per cent realized of the goal
during the official campaign pe
riod was a “realistic achieve
ment.”
“I finish this campaign know
ing that I live in a community
that cares,” he added.
“The people didn’t let us
down—they supported the ef
fort.”
MONEY GIFTS to United Ap
peal go toward operation of
37 local and national people-
helping services in Gastonia,
Dallas, Cherryville, Lowell,
Mount Holly, Cramerton, Stan
ley and Ranlo.
Of the agencies financially un
dergirded for 1970 operation,
there are 23 local and 14 na
tional services. All of them ben
efit Gaston County people pri
marily, also others in commu
nities represented in the Fire
stone, Gastonia, employment.
Some Holiday
Goodies
• Isadora Brumbies, prepa
ration department. She shares a
good Old Southern recipe —
Page 4.
SC Plant: 27th Year
SINCE early 1968, the com
pany had been known as Fire
stone Synthetic Fibers and Tex
tiles Company, with headquar
ters at Hopewell, Va.
r
Firestone’s textile plant at Bennettsville, S. C. is entering
its 27th year of operation—now exclusively in tire-fabric
production.
The factory, one of the leading employers of South Car
olina’s Upper Coastal Plain, became a Firestone facility in
late 1943. Many years before that, the factory had been op
erated as a section of Marlboro Cotton Mills.
During the more than a quarter-century of Firestone own
ership and operation, the plant has been converted from
wholly-cotton processing to synthetic tire fabrics exclu
sively.
Major improvements in recent years include construc
tion of the present main office building, installation of fluo
rescent lighting and air conditioning, interior painting and
color-coding for safety; installation of updated machinery
and equipment.
Ralph King has been factory manager since 1966.
JAMES B. CALL
President of Firestone Textiles
Company, with plants at Gas
tonia, Bennettsville, S. C., and
Bowling Green. Ky.
More on page 3
Gamble Heads
Optimist Club
O’Neil Gamble became pres
ident of the Optimist Club of
Firestone, when new leadership
took office this fall. Outgoing
president Thomas A. Grant be
came an ex-officio member of
the board of directors. From Op
timist International, Grant was
awarded an engraved plaque in
token of “outstanding leader
ship as club president for the
year 1968-69.”
Besides Gamble, Firestone men
who are current officers are
Ray Thomas, first vice-presi-
dent; Joe Brooks, secretary-
treasurer. Earl Redding is chap
lain; Freddie Elkins, sergeant-
at-arms.
Of the present board of direc
tors, five are from Firestone:
Thomas A. Grant, Samuel
Crawford, James Burr, Thomas
Yelton, Elam Kay lor.
All past presidents of the club
are Firestone men: T. E. Gib
son, Jr., Freddie Elkins, Thomas
A. Grant, and Payton Lewis
(retired).
Service Ended
Retired this fall ai Firestone,
Bennettsville: Henry H. San
ders, who had been shipping
clerk and maintenance superin
tendent for the past 24 years.
At Sanders' retirement, Otis
W. Frye was promoted to ship
ping clerk and maintenance
superintendent. Frye, with 20
years service, had been in qual
ity control.
L