From page 1
Progress
‘Year Of The Green Light’
mechanical shop. A new 5,000-
pound-capacity boiler put into
operation, more new fuel-oil
tanks installed underground—a
30,000-gallon for #2 oil and a
smaller one as catch container.
Bowling Green improvements.
A $400,000 project completed,
installing smoke-control devices
on #9 treating unit (#1 already-
had similar equipment.)
Bennettsville. Completed in
stallation of 13 modern Whitin
twisting machines, replacing
outmoded ones in Ply Twisting.
Olher Areas of Progress •
Gastonia: With company-
sponsored bloodmobile in Aug
ust (1 of 2 each year) Firestone
people reached the 7,702-pint
mark. The continuing blood-
giving program which began in
1948, makes Gastonia, along
with Firestone’s Los Angeles,
Cal., plant longest-running
blood programs among all Fire
stone plants in the U. S.
Firestone people pledged
$41,384 to Gaston United Way.
Received United Way Gold
Award for participation.
COMPANY PRESENTED
awards in annual Gaston County
Scouting program. Participated
in annual Chamber of Com
merce membership campaign.
Had a Job Forum exhibit at
Eastridge Mall.
Plant received 31st annual
Safety Award from N. C. De
partment of Labor; also an
award from National Safety
Council.
Led in annual “Join the Y”
program, 106 memberships ob
tained. Had a Scholarship and 2
Merit winners in company’s
College scholarship program.
Gastonia plant’s purchase of
U. S. Savings Bonds at end of
year was 67.8 of the employ
ment.
Bennettsville. People were
again 100 per cent in payroll
purchase of Savings Bonds and
at the top among all plants for
Suggestion participation. Plant
was completing 12th year of
outstanding safety record—no
chargeable injuries.
Plant received Central (S. C.)
Carolina Safety Council trophy
for 3rd consecutive time, thus
permanent possession. Presented
a Firestone display at the Com
mercial Fair of Chesterfield/
Marlboro Technical College,
Cheraw, S. C.
In United Fund of Marlboro,
people were 100 per cent in
their contributions.
Bowling Green. Took part in
annual Free Enterprise Fair at
Western Kentucky University.
U. S. Savings Bonds purchase
reached 62 per cent of employ
ment. People gave $15,840 to
United Way. In safety, by end
of fiscal year was well on way
toward 2 million people hours
on the job free of injury.
ALL 3 U. S. PLANTS of the
division took part in the “Year
of the Green Light—Go” pro
gram, to increase production, ef
ficiency, profit-improvement,
etc.
The Suggestion program at all
plants improved. Some “big
pay” ideas were adopted during
the year: At Gastonia, a sug
gestion for $4,465; at Bowling
Green, $930, $1,220 and $2,285.
All 3 plants arranged and pro
grammed a Free Enterprise/
Citizenship seminar in plant
county locations—Gaston, N. C.;
Marlboro, S. C. and Warren, Ky.
Seminars featured Charles
Hagel, associate manager of
Firestone’s governmental affairs
service.
Energy Savings • At the end
of the fiscal year, energy savings
at all the U. S. Textiles Division
plants (Gastonia, Bowling Green
and Bennettsville) was 20.91.
That was almost 3 per cent
BOWLING
GREEN
Industry Appreciation
A model loom, a function
ing cable twister setup, raw
and treated synthetic yarns
and fabrics, photos of plant
and production processes,
and a Firestone 721 Steel
Belted Radial tire were fea
tured in a display during In
dustry Appreciation Week in
Bowling Green this fall.
The Firestone Textiles dis
play was at the American Na
tional Bank. The scale model
Draper loom was fabricated and
assembled by personnel in
Weaving and Maintenance; the
functioning twister arrangement
by the people in Twisting.
nylon, polyester and fiber
glass yam and fabric were fea
tured in the tire-cord portion
of the exhibit. An aerial photo
of the factory and grounds and
process and production photos
were included in the layout,
along with the 721 tire.
Brenda Hale, controller secre
tary, chaired the committee ar
ranging and presenting the dis
play. Others on the committee
were Leroy Johnson and Joe
Millea of Engineering; J. A.
Griffin, Quality Control; D. R.
Davis, Waste supervisor; G. T.
From
Left:
York
Murray
Grigg
King
‘Gone Out’
• • Although he took
early retirement, William J.
York’s work record with
Firestone Textiles finished
out with 43 years and 6 days.
The TC Twisting super
visor’s retirement started
Dec. 1.
News Digest Films
The second of 2 films on “The
Art of Diplomacy” is the De
cember offering of Firestone’s
Screen News Digest films in the
current series which the com
pany makes available to public
junior and senior high schools
in a dozen plant cities.
Gastonia and Bowling Green
are among the plant locations
receiving Digest films this
school season. First in the cur
rent series was a double issue
for September-October, “Con
quest of the Skies”; and for No
vember, “The Ethiopian Powder
Keg.”
The January offering is
“Focus on 1954”; and for Febru-
ahead of last yeu's goal for
savings, based on these plants'
1972 energy usage.
Alloise T. Murray, splicer
operator in TC Weaving, had
put in 37 years and 6 days at
her retirement which also
began Dec. 1. At the same
time, 2 others joined the
group “going out”:
Mason King, Main Office
messenger, left with 31 years
and 9 months “work done,”
David G. Grigg, section su
pervisor in Chafer Weaving,
ary ” “The Truman Legacy.”
When not in use in the
schools, the Screen News films
are available for showing to
local church, community, club
and other group meetings.
The Firestone plant personnel
offices and school administrative
offices in Gastonia and Bowling
Green have information on the
films and their use outside the
schools.
Douglas Jennings, M. D., and
Firestone Textiles Bennettsville,
S. C., employee physician, is the
newly-clectod president of
Marlboro County Rescue Squad.
The Rescue Squad, a United
Fund service, recently acquired
2 new vehicles—a modular-type
ambulance and a truck for car
rying the squad’s crash equip
ment.
Shields, Safety engineer; S. A.
Tomlin, factory auditor; J. R.
Harrison, Weaving manager;
R. B. Henderson, manager
Treating units.
>>
Draper, Chompton Knowles,
Sulcer—well-known names of
modern power looms. The WWG
loom, for display and not pro
duction, is becoming known in
Bowling Green from its show
ing at the annual Industry Ap
preciation Week in a downtown
bank lobby.
The WWG (Williams-Wil-
liams-Gillentine) is one of a
kind—a scale model. Three em
ployees of the Firestone Tex
tiles plant built it; Jesse Wil
liams, head loom fixer; Bobby
Williams, special projects man;
and James Gillentine, style
changer. They are in Weaving—
each with 10 years service. They
work under direction of Jesse
Liles, in charge of machinery
upkeep.
Weaving department manager
is Richard Harrison.
Some figures comparing the
loom model with a regular pro
duction loom: The standard X3
Si AH MllIX I X-l lull t OMl» t (MI
TNI LOOM WI.AVLS IWISIIO 11141
COHOS IMTO TIRt CURD FAIIHK.
finished with 10 years and
almost 6 months.
Others whose retirement
began in November, but
were not included in that list
last month:
Roland B. Jolly, twister
cleaner in TC Twisting, 34
years and 5 months; and
Fred Cranford, twister op
erator, TC Twisting, 27 years
and 9 months.
Scholarships
Firestone em
ployees' sons and daugh
ters who are applying for
the 1979 Firestone College
Scholarships:
December 22 is last date
for regular registration to
take the SAT test on the
final scheduled date, Janu
ary 27, 1979. Late-registra-
tion date is January 5.
Already the SAT test
has been administered on
November 4 and Decem
ber 2. Firestone applicants
taking the SAT must
designate on the registra
tion form the Firestone
Scholarship Code -0080-
for scores to be sent auto
matically to the Scholar
ship Committee in Akron.
is about 54 inches long, 86 inches
wide and 56 inches tall. The
WWG is 10 inches long, 17
inches wide and 9 inches tall.
Haskell King milled out the
sides of the loom model. He is
a 10-year employee in Main
tenance.
The WWG is a model that
really works, although not “in
Production”. But it gets a lot of
attention.
Anniversaries
• • Robert L. Grooms, fabric
changer and baler in Cord
Weaving, had his 35th service
anniversary at Bennettsville in
early December. Also last
month, Faye K. Shankle com
pleted her 35th year. She is a
technician in the Quality Con-
trol-Laboratory department.
Others with December ser
vice anniversaries:
Thirty Years • Archie Le-
bine, section supervisor, Cable
Twisting.
Five Years • Charles E.
Quick, section supervisor, Ply
Twisting.
☆ ☆ ☆
Observance of Twelfth Night
or Old Christmas (Jan. 6 on to
day’s calendar) is a tradition in
many countries, including the
United States, but here limited
to local areas.
For example, Kentucky and
North Carolina. Around Rod-
anthe on Hatteras Island, Outer
Banks of N. C., people still re
member Twelfth Night with
solemn reflection, fun and frolic.
And at Prestonsburg, Ky., each
year there is an Old Christmas
Party at Jenny Wiley State Re
sort Park.