I
GASTONIA
SERVICE
45 years & others
INCENTIVE
Earl Redding and Judith Zan
der each bought a 1980 Chevette
while the company’s plan was
in effect to pay $100 for pur
chase of a 1979 or 1980 car or
station wagon. The incentive
program which closed in mid-
,July, applied to employees and
retired people and the purchase
of vehicles by American Motors,
Checker, Chrysler, Ford, Gen
eral Motors and Volkswagen, all
produced in North America.
Earl is retired from the Fire-
stone-Gastonia Shop. Judith is
secretary in Traffic. They had
the original-equipment tires on
the new Chevettes changed to
Firestone Deluxe Champion fi
berglass radials — the change
over made at the Gastonia
Franklin Boulevard Firestone
Store.
The tire-change plan has been
liberalized, reminds the store
manager, Mike Blackburn. Orig
inal-equipment tires on new ve
hicles having no more than 500
miles service may be exchanged
for other-brand tires, to compar
able Firestones at no charge.
Until recently there had been a
$1 per-tire fee and the maxi-
mum-service rule was 100 miles.
Mildred and Earl Redding
with their Chevetie; and (right)
Firestone Store manager Mike
Blackburn. Earl is retired from
Firestone Shop; Mildred is sen
ior accounting clerk in cost Ac
counting.
• Robert Spencer and
Horace C. Robinson’s service
records started a little more
than two months after Fire
stone’s Gastonia beginning in
1935. Spencer, the plant senior
buyer, marked 45 years com
pleted in July. Robinson, with
his 45 years “wrapped up,” re
tired as of July 1. He was fore
man of Maintenance.
Next in long-time service on
the July roster is William J.
Bradley, twister operator in TC
Twisting; and Rudolph Calhoun,
millwright 1st class. Shop. Both
have 40 years. Others with ser
vice anniversaries during July:
35 Years • Hillard E. Terry,
tape bonder in TC Twisting.
30 Years • Phil R. Cabe,
twister bobbin changer, TC
Twisting; Grady L. Davis, su-
spervisor, TC Twisting; Charles
Lancaster, twister operator, TC
Twisting; Ralph L. Reep, super-
visor-inspection. Quality Con
trol; Aline N. Whitesides, re
spooler operator, TC Twisting.
25 Years • Paul E. Peeler,
twister bobbin changer, TC
Twisting; Annie L. Wiley, senior
time & record clerk, Payroll.
5 Years • Olin A. McClain,
analyst-rates & routes. Traffic;
Judith Zander, secretary. Traf
fic.
‘On the move ... ’
p. O. Box 1278 • Horace
Hines, an ‘Old Days’ spinning-
room sweeper in Loray Mill of
Gastonia (Firestone Textiles
since 1935), was 85 years old
June 28. Hines keeps in
touch with Firestone-Gastonia
through the plant employee
paper.
He moved from Gastonia to
Houston, Texas many years
ago; retired from Houston Cot
ton Mill in 1960. He wrote that
the mill recently closed its op
eration and was torn down to
make way for a 7-story office
building. He has four daughters
who work in a cable mill in
Houston.
“About the Old Loray Mill
picture you sent: I’ve got it in
a nice frame,” he wrote.
Of his days at Loray-
Gastonia, Hines recalls going
swimming in the pond behind
the mill, now location of #8
Treating unit and storage house.
“At past 85,” Hines wrote, “I’m
up and on the move. . . .”
Shirley and Lois Bolding and
Shirley’s brother Larry spent
two weeks in Hawaii this sum
mer. They traveled airline
from Charlotte to Los Angeles,
then Honolulu.
Both Shirley and Mrs. (Lois)
Bolding are retired from Fire
stone-Gastonia. In Hawaii they
went sightseeing over the
islands; visited a nephew, Paul
Bolding (Larry’s son), Paul’s
wife Linda and their daughters
Pali and Mary. Paul is a Sgt.
1st cl in the Army, stationed on
Oahu.
He and his family with
neighbors and friends gave
Shirley and Lois a surprise
party on their 49th wedding an
niversary.
Some points of interest the
Boldings visited: Pineapple
fields, a sugar mill in operation,
Memorial National Cemetery,
USS Arizona Memorial; the
profusion of flowers, the
beaches and mountains.
Students to school
Tina Renee Collins will enter Wake Forest University in
late August. The 1980 Firestone Scholarship recipient from
Gastonia is considering a major in biology, leading to a
career in medical research. She is the daughter of Dorothy
Collins and the late Percy W. Collins.
Tina was graduated from
Hunter Huss High School
where she was in the Beta and
French clubs; was named to
Who’s Who Among American
High School Students and was a
member of the Society of Dis
tinguished American High
School Students. Her father
worked in Firestone TC Twist
ing before his retirement in
1974.
A MEMBER of Chapel Grove
Baptist Church youth choir,
Tina toured with the group in
several Southern states this
summer, presenting the musical
“Believer.”
Tina was presented the Fire
stone educational grant, also the
Lillie Clemmer Scholarship, at
the Huss awards program in
June. The Firestone grant is
worth up to $12,000 toward versity of North Carolina at
tuition, fees, textbooks and Chapel Hill in August. Cynthia
room/board expenses during is the daughter of Mr. and
four years in college. Tina is Mrs. S. M. Dunlevy. Her
among this year’s 36 Firestone mother, Eula, is a weaver in
Scholarship winners nationwide. Firestone Chafer Weaving.
The Company encourages and assists those employees
who. on their own lime, take courses at approved educa
tional institutions, if the courses help them in their work
ing career with Firestone. Where employees undertake
approved classes of this nature, the Company will reim
burse the tuition fees for six credit hours per semester or
quarter (not including books, laboratory fees, parking and
registration fees, etc.) if Company approval for the courses
is given before registration, and a "C" grade or above is
attained.
Details on tuition-refund are at each personnel office of
Firestone Textiles plants.
It is to the advantage of every employee to notify Per
sonnel when they complete any kind of outside training.
This way, it can be entered on the personnel record for
consideration regarding advancement or job change.
Tina Cynthia
Cynthia Maria Dunlevy of
Gastonia is among the 81 Merit
winners in the company’s 1980
Scholarship Awards program.
She received a Certificate of
Merit and 10 shares of Firestone
common .stock.
Cynthia was “Miss Hunter
Huss” in her senior year at
school. She will enter the Uni-
Energy-saving
‘Honorable
Mention’:
GASTONIA
WOODSTOCK
Firestone Textiles Gastonia plant and Firestone Textiles
of Woodstock, Canada, were among the company’s facilities
that got “honorable mention” for energy-saving performance
last year.
Awards for first place, through honorable mention, are
made through a grading system that takes into account
energy used per pound produced (in textiles, yards fabric
produced), improvement over the previous year’s energy
use, scrap rate, boiler efficiency, and the number of sug
gestions on energy savings that employees turn in.
The energy-saving program involves Firestone facilities
worldwide. The most recent awards were made to 18 plants
in the U. S. and Canada, Central and South America.
E. H. (Chip) Hurst, energy and environment-control co
ordinator, in late July reported that Firestone-Gastonia was
at 18 percent in energy savings, 2 points ahead of its goal.
The goal is determined by comparing the amount of energy
consumed to produce the same product (tire fabric) in com
parable periods of the 1972 base year and today.
In the textiles division, there are two classifications—
treated and greige (unfinished) fabric. The figures differ for
energy required to produce the two types.
Of other plants in the textiles division; Bennettsville and
Woodstock are exceeding their goals, while Bowling Green
is falling short, mainly due to the drastic cut in production.
In late July, Bennettsville was 5 points beyond its 18 per
cent savings goal. Woodstock (plants 1, 2 and 3 combined)
was at 40 percent savings performance, 16 points beyond the
goal.
The latest goal set at Bowling Green (when there were
both fabric production and fabric treating) was 27 percent.
In late July the real energy savings rate was 18 percent.
Bowling Green stopped all fabric production in early June.
It continues to treat fabric shipped from Gastonia, Bennetts
ville and Woodstock.
Firestone Textiles
Company
BULK
U. S. POSTAGE PAID
P. 0. Box 1278
Gastonia, N. C.
RATE
at Gastonia, N. C.
August, 1980
28052
PERMIT NUMBER 29
HATTIE B PASSMORE
501 WHITESIDES RD. LOT 62
GASTONIA, N. C, 23052