SYNTHETIC RUBBER
BY END OF 1976
Projected increases in output
of tires and other rubber prod
ucts will cause a rise in use of
synthetic rubber this year. So,
domestic consumption of syn
thetic rubber during 1976 will
climb by 350,000 metric tons to
2.2 million tons.
This is about 20 percent over
the amount used in 1975, a slow
year for the industry. Thomas
Salisbury, president of Fire
stone’s synthetic rubber and la
tex division, has estimated that
about 61 percent—or 1.34 million
metric tons—of the synthetic
will be styrene butadiene rub
ber (SBR), versatile mainstay
of the rubber industry. Firestone
also expects 1976 sales of natur
al rubber to move up—to 740,000
metric tons, a 90,000-tons in-
A Bargain
“Give or take a little,” it re
quires 12 miles traveling to con
sume a penny’s worth of life
on the tire of a passenger car.
A few months ago a Federal
Highway Administration study
showed that replacement tires
account for less than 3 percent
of the per-mile costs of operat
ing an auto for 10 years. In the
tests of a standard-size car, the
10-year operating costs are 15.89
cents a mile, of which tires ac
count for only .38 cents ($.0038)
a mile or 2.56 percent of the
total.
This reported cost for tires can
be lower if drivers follow good
2.2 Million Tons
crease over last year’s level.
Salisbury noted:
• In the past few years, syn
thetic rubber has lost some of
its market to natural rubber be
cause of the increased radial-tire
production. However, we expect
more use of synthetic in radials,
and that synthetic will regain
its former 78 percent share of
the market by 1980.
• Synthetic will account for
about 75 percent of all rubber
used domestically this year.
About 13 percent increase is
expected in sales of retreaded
truck tires in 1976—up to 13
million units from the 11.5 mil
lion tires retreaded last year.
J. E. Hynds, Firestone man
ager of retread and repair ma
terial sales, looks for continued
increases in annual sales of re-
treaded truck tires throughout
the 1970s, reaching 16 6 million
units by 1980.
Dancing For The
Bicen Festival
• Gastonia’s Schiele Mu
seum of Natural History is
celebrating a Bicentennial
Heritage Festival during the
year, with special events on
weekends. On May 15 and 16
there were Indian and South
ern Mountains crafts exhibits
and demonstrations, and tra
ditional Indian dances by a
Gastonia boys group.
The museum is in a fund
ing campaign to extend its
facilities and services. Exist
ing main features are the
museum itself, the planetari
um, log cabin and pioneer-
life exhibits and a nature
trail.
Contributions to the ex
pansion fund may be made
to Schiele Museum, P.O. Box
953, Gastonia, N. C. 28052, or
at the museum, 1500 Garri
son Boulevard.
tire care and maintenance pro
grams. Jack B. Scarcliff, Fire
stone director of consumer af
fairs, offers these suggestions:
• To get best service, check
tire pressures at least once a
month. Incorrect pressure can
mean higher possibility of side
wall and other failures, reduc
ing tire life.
• Good driver habits are im
portant in getting the most tire
mileage. Avoid jack-rabbit
starts and stops, drive smooth
ly and try not to scrape against
curbs when rounding comers.
Youth Choir Sang And Visited
The Youth Choir of Loray
Baptist Church in the Firestone
(Gastonia) community made a
three-day trip to Frederick and
Brunswick, Md., and Washing
ton, D. C. in early May. The
group traveled in the Loray
Church bus.
At South End Baptist Church
in Frederick the choir presented
the patriotic musical, “I Love
America,” by John Peterson. A
second presentation of the musi
cal was in First Baptist Church
They’d Been Gone
A Long Time
Bessie Baxley Larson and her
sister Mary Baxley Smith visit
ed the Bennettsville plant a
while back. They’s been gone a
long time. Bessie and Mary live
in Salt Lake City, Utah but are
originally from Marlboro Coun
ty, S. C.
With them on their Firestone
visit were Mrs. Larson’s daugh
ters Bonnie Robinson and Thel
ma Roberson and her husband
Floyd Roberson.
“I worked in this plant (Old
Marlboro Cotton Mills) as a
spinner in 1901, when I was nine
years old,” said Mrs. Larson.
Her recollections went on:
"BACK IN those times people
worked for 10 cents a day—
meaning 12 hours. I worked at
nights and lots of times I’d slip
off and go home and go to sleep,
“Sometimes the boss would
come after me, stick my head
under water to wake me up and
make me return to work. I
wasn’t the only one who did
this.”
Bessie’s sister Mary was too
young to work back in 1901.
Just the same, she came along
with her sister, sat in a chair or
slept on the floor while the
twelve
hours
of Brunswick. Before leaving for
these concerts, the choir pre
sented “I Love America” in the
home Loray church April 25.
THE CHOIR of some 25 mem
bers and those who accompanied
them visited overnight in homes
of people of the South End host
church.
Don Benfield is director of the
Loray Youth Choir. Accompanist
is Mrs. Mary Johnson, formerly
employed in Firestone’s Ship
ping department. Mrs. Nova
Lowe, secretary in Process &
Product Development, went
with the group and presented
solo selections in the two con
certs.
While in the area the group
went on a quick bus tour of
Washington — by the Capitol,
White House, Washington Monu
ment, Lincoln Memorial, Arling
ton National Cemetery and
across the Potomac; and a brief
stop in two of the buildings of
Smithsonian Institution.
Among members of the Loray
Youth Choir from Firestone
families are Lori James (father
Bobby James in Quality Control
Lab., and grandmother Novella
James in Payroll): Jamie Prath
er (mother Betty Prather is in
Accounting) and Dale and Becky
Smith (parents Wilma and Jim
my Smith both of TC Twisting).
Witherspoon
Norwood
NCVTS Grads
Robert James Witherspoon
and Donald Gary Norwood will
receive the Associate in Applied
Science degree in textile tech
nology on June 24 graduation
day at North Carolina Vocation
al Textile School.
They have attended the school
at Belmont for two years—
Witherspoon in morning classes;
Norwood in afternoons. Their
study has been in the Weaving
& Designing option of the
school’s five major areas of cur
riculum.
Witherspoon, a yarn handler
in Preparation, has worked at
Firestone since May, 1974. His
wife Mildred, a respooler opera
tor in TC Twisting, also has
been with Firestone since May,
1974.
Norwood, a creeler supervisor
in TC Weaving, has worked here
since September, 1973.
GASTONIA
40 Years And Other Records
others worked at the spinning
frames.
Bessie, Mary, Bonnie, Thelma
and Floyd went with shift su
pervisor Otis T. Frye on a tour
of the plant and chatted with
several members of the Ben
nettsville staff.
• • Buford A. Tate, section
supervisor in TC Weaving,
led the Gastonia service list
last month with 40 years on-
job time. Joining him in May
with 35 years service: Javen
A. Haney, lubrication spec
ialist in TC Twisting. And
there were others complet
ing long-service records last
month:
Thirty Years • Paul C. Bark
er, maintenance technician in
Volume XXIII
Number 6
June, 1976
Page 2
• GASTONIA
Claude C. Callaway. Editor
Plant
Offices
Warehouses
REPORTERS
Monthly 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. Mem
ber Carolinas Association of Business Communicators, Formerly South Atlantic
Council of Industrial Editors.
Industrial Relations—Bobbie Baldwin
Main Office—Freida Price
Mechanical Dept.—Rosie Fletcher
Twisting Tire Cord—Elease Cole, Katie
Elkins
Warp Preparation—
Nell Bolick
Warehouse—Harold Robinson
Chafer Weaving—Ruth Veitch
BENNETTSVILLE PLANT
Frances Fletcher, Redona David, Mar>
garet McCaskill, Jimmy McCaskill
BOWLING GREEN
T. J. Slack
Shop; Roy M. Chastain, super
visor—maintenance. Shop; Ber
tha Ellis, style changer, TC
Weaving; Harlon Graham, twist
er operator, TC Twisting; Lassie
L. Greene, respooler operator,
fabric baler, TC Weaving; Jack
TC Twisting; Arthur N. Moore,
T. C, Weaving; Jack W. Morris,
pipefitter. Shop.
Twenty-Five Years • Anna-
belle Conner, respooler operator,
TC Twisting.
Twenty Years • Clyde F.
Huffstetler, supervisor. Fabric
Treating.
Ten Years • Carroll G. Boul-
ware Jr., frame mechanic, T.C.
Twisting; Frances R. Gilbert,
unifil operator, TC Weaving.
Five Years • Camelene Byars,
respooler operator, TC Twisting;
Lucy C. Conrad, inspector
(Quality Control) in TC Twist
ing; Howard E. Gunter, mill
wright, Shop.