mTextiles
Company.
NEWS
p. O. Box
616
"Fireslone Tire Cord Fabric,
Bennettsville, S.C. USA," the
letter was addressed. The re-
quest in September from
Krakow, Poland, was for compli
mentary advertising items.
Wrote Jan Katana:
"I am collecting various advertising items (decals, badges,
patch jacket emblems, tab embroidery, key-ring holders,
ashtrays, ballpoint pens, calendars, postcard folders, etc..)
and have a large collection now.
"Would you please send me a set of your advertising ma
terials and list addresses of your branches or companies?
"Already now thank you very much and please do reply
to me."
Jan's request was forwarded from Bennettsville to Gas
tonia. The personnel department replied, sending a tire-
replica key ring, windshield ice scraper, ballpoint pen,
book-match cover and a knit shirt imprinted with "Ask a
Friend . . . Firestone."
Get Involved For ‘A Better Life’
“Don’t Walk A w a y—It’s
Yours” was the subject when
Charles Hagel spoke Oct. 11 in
Bennettsville, S.C. The associate
manager of government affairs
for the Firestone company in
Washington, D.C., addressed
salaried personnel at the Ben-
Charles
Hagel
nettsville plant and spoke at
meetings of the Kiwanis and
Rotary clubs.
Hagel talked about legislation
before Congress, and how citi
zen and corporate involvement
in government affairs can help
to bring about “a better life for
us all.” He concluded:
“We’re embarked on a great
adventure—stand up to it. Do
your part. It’s an exciting time
to live. Don’t walk away—it’s
yours!”
Before joining Firestone
earlier this year, Hagel served
as administrative assistant to
John Y. McCollister during Mc-
Collister’s three terms as a
member of the U.S. House of
Representatives. McCollister is
now manager of government af
fairs for Firestone.
Hagel was a radio and TV
newsman in Omaha, Neb., be
fore going to Washington in
1971. He has a bachelor’s degree
from the University of Ne
braska; is a graduate of Brown
Institute for Radio and Tele
vision in Minneapolis.
Gastonia
North Carolina
Bennettsville
South Carolina
NOVEMBER
1977
Bonding Green
Kentucky
IN TEXTILES ...
The U.S. textile industry is
made up of some 6,000 com
panies operating 7,000 plants
concentrated in the Southeast
and Mid-Atlantic areas. As of
July this year, the industry was
employing a million people—54
per cent men and 46 p>er cent
women.
Major producing states are
North Carolina (first) and (in
order) South Carolina, Georgia
and Alabama.
These are some statistics from
“Textile Facts,” a booklet pub
lished this fall by American
Textile Manufacturers Institute
for its members and others in
terested in the textile industry.
The wallet-card-size booklet
has basic statistics on sales vol
ume, number of employees, geo
graphic distribution, fiber con
sumption, profits, and others. It
also contains summary descrip
tions of industry positions on
imports, occupational areas such
as cotton dust, noise, flamma-
bility, energy use and water
preservation.
Firestone people at the
Gastonia Plant made pledges of
$40f796>25 in the
October United Appeal Campaign
This amount is among the larger group contribu
tions in the Gaston County United Appeal effort to
ward the goal of $888,000 for the 1978 operation of
“helping people” services.
There were 1,070 contribu
tors—or 91 per cent partici
pation of the employment.
“Fair Share” gifts reached
673. Contributions averaged
$34.81.
This year the UW in-plant
solicitation was conducted in
October, with Ralph Reep, shift
foreman in TC Weaving; and
James G. Burr, engineer in In
dustrial Engineering, as chair
men of the campaign.
Helping them were many vol
unteers from most departments
of the plant, warehouse and ser
vice units.
IN THE county-wide United
Appeal campaign, factory man
ager Philip R. Williams Jr. was
volunteer chairman in the in
dustrial division. Helping him
were Thomas A. Grant, man
ager of Industrial Engineering;
S.E. Crawford, manager of In
dustrial Relations; E. H. Pass-
more, plant safety engineer.
The United Appeal service
area includes all of Gaston
County except Belmont, Mc-
Adenville and Bessemer City—
communities which have United
Fund programs of their own.
Since quite a few Firestone
people live in these and other
communities, some give at the
plant as well as in their home
towns. Among others of such
employee towns are York and
Clover in South Carolina; Lin-
colnton, Kings Mountain and
Shelby in North Carolina.
—more on page 2
LSC Club Went To ‘See The Color’
A stop in Maggie Valley and
Cherokee on the Qualla Indian
Reservation were highlights of
a trip to see “the color” through
the Western NC mountains in
October. It was the last of the
Loray Senior Citizens Club’s
scheduled group travel for the
season.
Thirty-two persons went on
the Loray Baptist Church activi
ties bus by way of Henderson
ville and returned to Gastonia
by way of Canton, Asheville and
Rutherfordton. The club had
made an earlier bus tour to
Wilmington, N.C., Myrtle Beach
and Columbia, S.C.
Loray Senior Citizens Club is
sponsored by Loray Church. A
majority of the members are
Firestone retirees.
BG ‘Long Years’
Two at Bowling Green recent
ly observed long service anni
versaries. Jesse Liles, 35 years,
is a foreman of special projects
in Weaving. Sarah T. Crisp, 30
years, is training instructor in
Cable Twisting.
Jesse and Sarah worked many
years at the Gastonia plant be
fore going to Bowling Green.
So did Sarah’s husband, J.C.,
now retired. Sarah and J.C. live
at Smiths Grove, Ky.
Track
Down
Southern
Railway
service
track to
Firestone
will be lowered approximately 8 feet, as part of
the new-warehouse project now underway at
Gastonia, and scheduled to be completed by late
next summer. The lowered railroad will extend
inside the new structure at the side nearest
Vance Street.