Camp From page 1
Firestone
In the beginning and for many
years the camp was a fulfill
ment of the company’s belief
that “everybody needs a vaca
tion—every year.”
But Times Have Changed
Things • Vacations have been
liberalized. Today, people are
traveling farther and taking in
wider interests. On week ends
or overnight, they travel farther
and with more ease than was in
volved in an annual vacation
trip from Gastonia to Lake
James “back in the old days.”
The wider world of travel and
the fast-growing public recrea
tion - amusement developments
add infinite variety for people
on the go. In recent years, the
Catawba River and other water
ways and the vast lakes-recrea-
tion complexes in the Piedmont
region have “changed the pic
ture” also.
Company Of The Month
Recollections of Springtime and Good Things to Eat •
photo made several years ago recorded Camp Firestone dining
room and kitchen, blooming dogwood and other trees.
So, Camp Firestone is no
more.
Closing Camp Firestone adds
still another colorful chapter to
the company’s history and its
textile operation in Gastonia.
But, for a long time, many
Firestone people will remember
the camp on the Lake with its
128-mile shoreline—the bathing,
fishing, boating, water-skiing;
majestic scenery, stimulating
Eleven Certificates
In
Communications
Understanding between
human beings is the common
denominator of all progress,
James B. Call said at the
Gastonia plant in February,
as the Firestone Textiles
Company president present
ed certificates to 11 men for
their completion of a course
in communications.
The 20-hour study program in
the adult curriculum of Gaston
College was in evening sessions
over a five-week period.
“I applaud you for having
thought enough of yourselves to
put out the extra effort to im
prove yourselves this way,” said
Mr. Call.
“Communication is, in reality,
living and getting along in this
life, and the better we com
municate the better we do,” he
added.
HE TERMED good communi
cations “simply the transferring
of ideas and responding, so
that we understand other people
and they, in turn, understand
us. And that is what we strive
for.”
Certificates for the course in
communications went to:
Charles W. Armstrong, Ran
dall R. Lovingood and James D.
Sills, main office; O’Neil Gam
ble, quality control; Lennell
Keenum, laboratory; Samuel E.
Crawford, technical dept.; James
L. Ramey, production planning;
Homer G. Hall, production
(manager); Alfred C. Kessell,
nylon treating; WiUiam H. Gall
oway, shop; William Massey Jr.,
TC twisting.
Gaston County YMCA spon
sors the Industrial Management
Club. As of March, its member
ship includes 12 men from man
agement and supervision at the
Gastonia Firestone plant.
Ten Years Ago • Firestone be
came the first tire manufacturer
to begin commercial production
of polybutadiene synthetic rub
ber, 1961.
In Memoriam
A memorial service for Henry
Gordon, employed at Firestone
in Gastonia for more than 25
years, was held in Mt. Calvary
Baptist Church, Feb. 7, with
burial following in Rose Hill
Cemetery.
Survivors are his wife, Mrs.
Ocie P. Gordon; sisters Mrs. Ber
tha Roseboro of Washington,
D. C., Minnie Gordon of New
York, N. Y., Louise Gordon of
Gastonia; brothers Mancel, San
dy and Mervin all of Gastonia.
The February funeral for
Samuel H. Hewitt was held at
Loray Baptist Church, with bur
ial in Gaston Memorial Park.
He was a long-time Firestone
employee.
Survivors: His wife Meta
Hewitt, who works in chafer
weaving at Firestone, Gastonia;
daughters Mrs. Johnny McAl
lister, Mrs. Marvin Baker Jr.
both of Gastonia, and Mrs. W.
H. Kincaid Jr. of Dallas; sisters
Mrs. Guilford Quick of Colum
bia, S. C., Mrs. E. W. Jackson
of Wilmington; brothers P. H.
of Nichols, Floyd of New York
and William of Florida.
Funeral for H. A. Hollifield
was held in Loray Baptist
Church, with burial in Gaston
Memorial Park Feb. 4. Mrs.
Hollifield is retired from Fire
stone. Other survivors are sons
Ray, Harbin Jr., Jay, Lloyd and
Lee (Mrs. Lee Hollifield works
at Firestone); daughters Mrs.
Jean Brock (a Firestone em
ployee); brothers Jack, Carl and
Willis; sisters Mrs. Mollie An
derson, Mrs. Lula Hardin, Mrs.
Margie Garrett and Mrs. Minnie
Hunter.
climate, lakeside cabins, the
wooded trails, and all.
Perhaps they’ll remember—
in words of a national magazine
story in 1947—that:
“A stay at Camp Firestone
was more than a vacation. It
was the fine art of living near
Nature in an unspoiled land of
mountains and lakes, with the
vacation accent on wholesome
fun.”
4
e Charlie Sweatt (left) and
Clyde Poison (both ply twisting)
are the latest to mark 25-year
service anniversaries at Fire
stone Textiles, Bennettsville.
Milestones
• • Samuel Mulliken of
Philadelphia was the coun
try's first person to be
granted more than one
patent from the U. S. Pat
ent Office which had been
established soon after the
Colonial period.
Mulliken's inventive tal
ents led him to rig a num
ber of mechanical devices
for labor-savings, product
improvement and increased
output in farming and the
early textile trade especi
ally.
Mulliken made history
when on March 11, 1791
he obtained four patents
for machines. Of these four
inventions, two were mile
stone improvements in
textiles. His description
and original patent appli
cation listed:
"A Machine for thresh
ing Grain and Corn. A Ma
chine for breaking and
swingling Hemp. A Ma
chine for cutting and pol
ishing Marble. A Machine
for raising a Nap on
Cloths."
Firestone Textiles was
cited as “Company of the
Month” for February, the
honor bestowed by Gaston
County Industrial Manage
ment Club. The announce
ment was made at the IMC
Feb. 15 dinner meeting in
Dixie Village.
James B. Call, Firestone Tex
tiles president, made brief re
marks on behalf of the com
pany.
The program was on National
Aeronautics and Space Admin
istration. Main speaker was John
L. Sloop, assistant associate ad
ministrator for advancement of
research and technology for
NASA.
It was the second time in re
cent years that Firestone was
named for the IMC distinction.
As “Company of the Month”
the plant was featured in a
products exhibit in the Chamber
of Commerce building during
February.
Manager Industrial Relations
Seeks Fourth Term On Council
Gastonia City Councilman Ralph F, Johnson has an
nounced as a candidate in the May 4 municipal election here.
Johnson, who was mayor pro-tem under former Mayor Earl
T, Groves, is manager of industrial relations for Firestone
Textile Company’s Gastonia plant.
He is seeking his fourth term
on the Council from Gastonia's
Ward 3.
Johnson, former plant recre
ation director, is a member of
several national recreation or
ganizations. He is a past presi
dent of the NC Recreation So
ciety (the NCRS once cited him
with the Fellow Award, its
highest individual honor).
Johnson is current chairman
of the City Council Recreation
Advisory Committee; is a mem
ber of the Chamber of Com
merce and a past president of
the Gastonia Noon Optimist
Club. He was instrumental in
organizing the Optimist Club
of Firestone.
He is a teacher in the Sunday
school of Covenant U n i t e d
Methodist Church.
Of his candidacy in the up
coming municipal election, John
son says:
"DURING MY YEARS in city
government, we have made
progress. I want to continue as
part of the advance to be made
in the future.
“I believe in quality govern
ment, moving forward. I want
to help Gastonia maintain its
place as one of the State’s lead
ing cities. I’ll continue to work
for every facet of the city’s
growth and progress.”
OF Textiles civhization and progress
As a part of the human environment, textiles is one of
man’s oldest industries. So, since ancient times, it has played
a role of increasing importance to advancing civilization
and progress.
Today, the U.S. textile indus
try alone is providing apparel—
all the way from “ordinary”
clothing, to superbly-engineered
astronaut suits; artificial human
arteries, inflatable buildings,
fabric bridges, aircraft “instant”
landing strips, and flood-control
dams.
Some of these are among ma
jor items produced in the Fire-
stone company's Diversified
Products division.
According to the American
Textile Manufacturers Institute,
there are around 700 textile
companies operating 7,000
plants in 42 states. The ATMI
recently made these further ob
servations:
• Close to a million people
work in the textile industry. If
you include related industries
such as those producing syn
thetic fibers, apparel, and dye-
stuffs, about 3.4 million workers
earn their livelihood in textiles.
• As the industry cooperates
with government in reducing
unemployment, many formerly-
unemployable persons are find
ing work in textiles. People of
the black race make up more
than 14 per cent of the textile
work force, compared with 10
per cent for manufacturing in
general.
• Meeting the challenges of
change, and coping with prob
lems “around for a long time”,
the textile industry is working
diligently in such areas as
water-pollution cleanup, noise
control in its plants, and re
search on industry-r elated
health problems.
Museum
Planetarium
TRAVEL BACK IN TIME 38
centuries to the dawn of man
kind's earliest attempts to ex
plore mysteries of the universe.
The massive stone rings which
dominate the Salisbury Plain of
England remain a mystery of
modern limes. Were they an
ancient observatory?
STONEHENGE is the March
program at Schiele Museum of
Natural History Planetarium,
Gastonia.
GASTONIA
REPORTERS
Volume XX
Number 3
March, 1971
Page 2
Claude C. Callaway, Editor
Monlhly publication of the Gastonia, N. C., plant of Firestone Textiles
Company, a division of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio.
Division headquarters, Gastonia, N. C. 28052. James B, Call, president; Philip
R. Williams, Gastonia factory manager.
Plant
Offices
Warehouses
☆ ☆ ☆
Industrial Relations—Dale Callahan
Main Office—Bea McCarter
Mechanical Dept.—Rosie Francum
Duality Control—Louella Queen, Leila
Rape
Twisting (synthetics)—Elease Cole,
Katie Elkins.
Warp Preparation—Elmina Bradshaw,
Nell Bolick
Warehouse—Harold Robinson, Israel
Good.
Weaving (cotton)—Ruth Veitch
☆ ☆ ☆
BENNETTSVILLE PLANT
Faye Shankle, Mary H. Oliver, Sylvia
Lockamy, LouUe S. Preston—Report
ers. >