m&news
Firestone
Textiles
Company
APRIL
1979
IN KENTUCKY • Switzer
Bridge in Franklin County
served from its earlier days of
foot traffic and animal-drawn
vehicles and into the age of the
r u b b e r-tired motorcar. No
longer in service, Switzer is 1
of 17 surviving covered bridges
in the state. Once there were
more than 200 in Kentucky.
Only 11 are in use today. Close
by Switzer is a newer struc
ture that carries traffic across
Elkhorn Creek. (Photo; Ky. De
partment of Public Information.)
Gastonia, North Carolina BenncttsvilJe, South Carolina Bowling Green, Kentucky
Ireaf |25 millioii
Operations of the 3 U. S. plants of Firestone Textiles
Company added more than $25 million to their area
economies during the last fiscal year. This amount in
cludes payroll for factory and office workers and pur
chases of goods and services.
The plants • Gastonia Employees were involved in
(headquarters) total for op- many civic activities, such as
erations—$14.6 million, of
which $12.4 was payroll and
$2.2 for purchase of goods
and services. Bowling
Green—total $9 million. Of
this, $8 million was payroll
and $750,000 went for goods
and services. Bennettsville
total $2 million; payroll $1.3
million and for goods and
services, $600,000.
IN OTHER AREAS and in
community service • The Gas
tonia plant and its employees
contributed 48,000 to United
Way of Gaston County and the
company financially supported
such programs as Schiele Mu
seum of Natural History, Gas
ton County Heart Association,
the Salvation Army, Boy Scouts
and Chamber of Commerce.
End of work shift at
GOING Firestone Textiles plant
HOME on an afternoon in
March.
• • Firestone Textiles (Gastonia) passed 2-million
people-on-the-job hours without a lost-time injury in
early April. This safety achievement dates to May
1978. At that time the plant had operated 5 million
hours without a chargeable injury. Now the goal: On
to 3 million hours! Firestone’s 1979 corporate goal in
safety is to reduce the accident rate by 10 per cent.
NCIC safety course completed
Toward
3 million
hours
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA,
Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Schiele
Museum and Community Ac
tion Board.
The Bowling Green plant and
its people pledged nearly $18,000
to Bowling Green-Warren
County United Way, and the
company financially supported
programs such as Bowling
Green-Warren County and Ken
tucky Chambers of Commerce,
Kentucky Council on Economic
Education and Associated Indus
tries of Kentucky. Firestone also
sponsors a cooperative education
program with Warren East High
School.
Employees are involved in
civic work such as Boy Scouts,
Girl Scouts, Little League base
ball, The United Way, Jaycees,
Red Cross, Humane Society,
Rotary and City-County Hos
pital.
Bennettsville people and plant
contributed $3,250 to United
Forty employees, salaried and
hourly-paid, recently completed
a 40-hour course in Accident
Prevention at Gastonia. Boyd
Lane, safety representative of
the North Carolina Industrial
Commission, led the training
program.
Fund of Marlboro County and
Firestone financially supported
programs of the Rotary Club,
the South Carolina and Marl
boro County Chambers of Com
merce.
Employees are involved in
such civic activities as Kiwanis,
Dixie Youth Baseball, Boy
Scouts, United Fund and Marl
boro County Chamber of Com
merce.
Those who took the course
represent all 3 plant shifts: Bill
Baker, John E. Butts, Ralph
Carpenter, Kenneth C. Cauthen,
S. E. Crawford, G. O. Eury Jr.,
Jack Hall, C. W. Hamrick,
Charles A. Hinson, Dan Howe,
Arvil Hodge, Jerry Howie,
Horace Hughes, David Huss.
George Jackson, B. C. Jordan,
L. H. Keenum, James C. Martin,
Scott McCarter, Clee McCaslin,
Richard McGinnis, Miles
Michaels, John Mitchell, Sarah
Nall, Paul Neal, Jesse S. Parks
Jr., Bill Passmore, Clyde Phil
lips, Ralph Reep, Harold Robin
son, Thomas J. Ross, Grier
Smith, William Summey, Ray
Stiles, William Tomberlin,
James H. Wilkes.
Note • Roger Hudin (story
beginning this page) died April
4, following a brief illness, and
as this was being printed. The
story is published as written 2
weeks before his death. Editor.
2 secretaries
assigned GASTONIA
Gail Cook was promoted to
secretary/personnel manager,
effective April 1. She succeeds
Jeanette (Jean) Brock, who re
turned to the position of sec
retary/general factory manager.
Gail had been secretary/tech
nical services manager. Jean
had been in the division person
nel manager’s office the past 4
years.
See Note Above
‘Let me shine ’em’
• During Roger “Jump-Up” Hardin’s 48 years
“shining” experience, he has whetted his skills
to perfection—developing his own ways of
cleaning, applying wax and buffing leather. And
keeping his customers happy.
“I used to shine maybe 200 pairs on a good
week . . . now not that many. Still, I gotta keep
on ’cause there’s a lot of people asking for me.
Roger was busy—and talking—in his workplace
of a Gastonia barbershop on Franklin Boule
vard.
He takes pride in the trade and at being
master in a dwindling profession. Hardin is
among the very few “shine boys” left around
Gastonia. These days, lots of footwear is made
of plastic and fabric, so there’s not as much to
be polished anymore.
Last a groundskeeper of the Firestone Textiles
Shop, he retired in late 1977. “Bottle boy” in
Refreshment and sweeper in Carding were other
jobs he had.
DURING HIS 15 Firestone years he did shoe-
shining evenings and weekends. Now he works
3 or 4 days a week. Some long-time patrons bring
more on page 2
He talked as he worked, entertaining the cus
tomer with a funny story—all to the rhythm of
his shine cloth.