GASTONIA
NORTH CAROLINA
BENNETTSVILLE
SOUTH CAROLINA
BOWLING GREEN
KENTUCKY
APRIL
1972
21 Careers Finished
Five at Firestone (Gastonia) closed long work
careers April 1. With 36 years, Lewis Compton had
the longest record of those retiring on that date. The
others are (with service in years/months) Lake T.
Quinn, 30/1; Carrie Hardin, 28/11; Marie Rowland,
24/7; Frances Deaton, 28/4.
Also at Gastonia in the January-through-March
period, 15 retired—their service records ranging from
10 to almost 37 years. That list:
Hoyt Hardy, 36/7; Lloyd Watson, 36/2; Fred J.
Garrett, 35; O. C. Webb, 33; Annie Hyleman, 33;
Estelle Cooper, 33; Charlie Plyler, 30/4; Leola Cham
bers, 30/3; Lura Mae Daniel, 28/8; Orby Crisp,
28/5; Myrtle Hodge, 27; Nellie Mathis, 23; Eula Mae
Trulove, 17/1; Charles C. Norwood, 15/4; Annie Nor
wood, 10/3.
National Textile Week
April 23-29 will be observed as National Textile Week—
the first ever scheduled. Its objective is to provide an op
portunity for the many contributions of the textile industry
to be brought before the American people.
John Reeves, past president on the industry; acquaint peo
ple with textiles—how they’re
produced, how to buy them, how
to care for them.
National Textile Week will
show the public what people in
the industry do, the contribu
tions they make to the economy
and the community. Observed
in various ways in plants and
other installations throughout
the country, Textile Week will
call attention to opportunities
for work careers in the industry.
American Textile Manufactur
ers Institute, says:
“I believe we should do this
(call atention to the industry)
not with an attitude of ‘See how
great we are,” but more in a
spirit of ‘Get acquainted with
us.’ ”
Everyone in the industry has
been invited to participate in
the week-long observance. It
will focus the public’s attention
RILEY ISA
BOARD MEMBER
Alvin V. Riley, manager of
personnel of Firestone Tex
tiles Company, is a member
of the Industrial Safety Ad
visory Board of North Caro
lina Department of Labor.
Announcement and a certifi
cate presentation were made by
N.C. Labor Commissioner Frank
Crane at a conference of the
board in Raleigh, March 16-17.
The Industrial Safety Ad
visory Board is made up of 21
leaders in diversified business-
industry across the state.
Riley, with Firestone at Gas
tonia for 33 years in manage-
m e n t - safety - personnel, has
worked with the N.C. Depart
ment of Labor since 1956. He is
a past president of Blue Ridge
Safety Council, a past chairman
of Gaston Chamber of Com
merce safety committee; has
been chairman of textile section,
N.C. Industrial Commission and
chairman of the textile section.
National Safety Council.
BEFORE the Occupational
Safety and Health Act went in
to effect last year. Gov. Robert
Scott designated the N.C. De
partment of Labor to assist in
getting the Federal program un
derway in the state. Now, be
yond the interim period, the
Industrial Safety Advisory
Board of the State Labor De-
DAWKINS
ALLISON
‘People Tire’
People — and Customers
• People Tire People. Cus
tomers of their company’s prod
ucts and services, too. Leon
Dawkins and Frank Allison Jr.
are good examples. Dawkins,
section supervisor in TC Twist
ing, has been at the Gastonia
plant job since 1937. Mrs. (Edna)
Dawkins, a rewinder operator,
has worked here since 1943.
The Dawkins family very well
could hold the customer record
for buying merchandise at Fire
stone Stores. Throughout the
years, they’ve bought tires,
major appliances, home and
partment has a continuing role
in carrying out the OSHA pro
gram.
DEPARTMENT SAFETY RECORD
TAU iAUURiSS YfAR
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Living Monumenl • Alonzo Setzer iook lime off from his job
as Shop forklift operator lo help plant the tree. He placed the
last volume of soil, after honored guests and visitors had taken
their turn with the ceremonial shovel.
A Living Memorial To ‘Mr. M’
A grateful company and community named a
Little League baseball league for him, and honors his
memory with an annual Gaston County United Com
munity Services award. And now—a tree to grow and
perpetuate the memory of his life and deeds for many
years to come.
The tree is appropriate, because among his varied in
terests, he dearly appreciated the natural environment and
its beauty (raising prized roses was a hobby.)
Among Those Present (from left) • James B. Call, president of
Firestone Textiles Company; Mrs. Harold Mercer; John Mercer, son
of Mr. Mercer and a Shop employee; Mrs. Carl Stowe Sr., Firestone
retiree and president of Variety Garden Club.
For Arbor Day last month, members of Variety Garden
Club of Firestone led an exercise planting a six-foot tree on
the lawn at Firestone mill main entrance, “in loving memory
of Harold Mercer.”
THE SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA was selected especially
to “speak” of Mr. Mercer’s love for his adopted Southland.
Members of the garden club, which sponsored the
project, led the planting program. Around 100 Firestone
people and guests from the community attended the cere
mony.
On the program were a devotional, a tribute to Mr.
Mercer, and a presentation based on a legend of the mag
nolia tree. • More on page 2
garden items, auto accessories
and service. They’ve been gen
erally well satisfied with serv
ice and product quality.
Allison, of the Shop sanitation
service, dates his employment
to early 1946. He’s been a Fire
stone customer most of those
years.
HE HAS bought many a Fire
stone tire, auto battery and
other accessories and good car
servicing. Many other things
he’s bought—as a power tiller,
gas cooking range, refrigerator,
radios and recently, a color TV
set.
Dawkins and Allison’s view
of “buying Firestone” is like
that of many other employee
customers: “You get good quali
ty and service for your money.
The payroll plan of accounting
is convenient. People who work
at Firestone and buy the prod
ucts show company loyalty,
too.”
James Parks
‘Jr. Optimist’
James (“Peanut”) Parks has
received the second Junior Op
timist Award from the Optimist
Club of Firestone at Gastonia.
The initial award went to Steve
Honeycutt.
Terry Kirby, department
manager of Chafer Weaving at
Firestone, presented James the
trophy and $25 U.S. Savings
Bond at the Optimist Club-Jun
ior Optimist joint meeting in
March. Kirby is chairman of
boys’ work of the sponsoring
Optimist Club.
Young Parks, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Jess Parks Jr., has been
active in the Junior Optimist
Club since it began in early
1965. His father works in the
Shop at Firestone.
Membership in Junior Opti
mist is open to boys 11-18. There
are 40 boys in the Firestone
club. Membership of the Opti
mist Club at Firestone and the
Junior Optimist group is pre
dominantly from Firestone em
ployee families.