Firestone
textiles
COMPANY
news
Gastonia, North Carolina • Bennettsville, South Carolina
Bowling Green, Kentucky AUGUST 1981
Matching Gifts since 1967
Through the Matching Gift program, Firestone people have
been helping the cause of education since 1967. Contribu
tions to schools, colleges and universities now amount to
more than S3 million. Half of it came from employees, re
tirees and their spouses; the other half from the Company.
Through the Matching Gift plan. Firestone employees, re
tired persons and their wives or husbands may each give up
to $1,000 a year to any accredited tax-supported college or
university in the U.S., and up to $3,000 a year to any ac
credited private college, university or secondary school.
"Matching Gift programs reflect the worthy response of
employees and others who help through the program. These
givers and their companies are the key to one of the great
est stewardship ideas ever to come from the business com
munity, in helping finance higher education. With every
employee and other contributor through a Matching Gift
program, there is tremendous potential to help...”
—more on Page 3
LOOKING
BACK TO.
The beginning
•The Firestone Tire &
Rubber Company of Akron,
Ohio was chartered as a cor
poration Aug. 3, 1900.
Founder Harvey S. Firestone
Sr., put up $10,000 and his
associates supplied another
$10,000 to finance the busi
ness venture.
Firestone took over the
unexpired leases of a com
pany he had been associated
with. Whitman & Barnes. He
arranged with the company
to continue manufacturing
carriage tires, renting a one-
room building on location to
house the new corporation.
It was divided into a ship
ping room and 3 small offices.
From this little corner. Fire
stone launched a campaign
to sell the tires he had been
making, and a new one he
had envisioned, to bear his
namebrand. At the turn of
the century the tire was
changing over from the car
riage trade to the automobile,
just arriving on the American
scene.
From this modest begin
ning grew an international
company. Today it produces
and sells tires of all kinds and
thousands more products —
"useful things for others,” as
the Founder said.
Some new against the old
• Harold Kirkland mixed mortar
and sent up bricks to Ted Wil
liams. as the shop carpenters —
1st cl worked to convert 7 original
windows to wallspace of the mill
next to the Main Office, latest
major construction project at the
Firestone-Gastonia plant.
New bricks took their place
with those of the mill structure,
completed around 1903. The new
Main Office area provides offices
for Cost Accounting. Space which
that department had occupied in
Tree of Heaven
•An Asian tree, established years
ago in the United States, thrives
better than some native species on
the grounds at Firestone-Gastonia.
The Ailanthus, sometimes called
Tree of Heaven and in some places
■'stinkweed,” has large compound,
decidious leaves.
The native of China thrives be
cause its windborne seeds travel
afar and once established, is tol
erant of smoke, pollution and other
handicaps. 11 is novelist Betty
Smith’s 'Tree That Grows in
Brooklyn.'
Insects leave it alone perhaps
because the male ibhage is ill-
scented and noxious. It has small
yellowish-green ilowers willi large
terminal clusters. Male and female
are usually on different trees.
The Ailanthus has become a
wild pest in many places. At Fire-
stbne it is unwanted; so. after
several feel of quick growth every
Tree cluster (left) at one of
the employee parking lots was
cut the day after photo was made.
Ronnie J. Smith (right), carpenter,
cut another one in front of Main
Office in July.
summer, they arc cut down. But
they persist in sprouting again and
again.
J. L. Patterson with the iron
railing he constructed for the
east steps of Main Office addition
at Gastonia, completed in July.
Patterson, a Shop welder, ‘turned
artist’ to fashion the handrail
and fencing in keeping with the
style of older outside ironwork at
Main Office. He has been with
Firestone for 38 years. His wife
Hazel (winder operator in TC
Twisting) has been here since
1955.
Main Office was made into a new
workplace for Purchasing. That
department will take on a new
transfer from Akron, David
Hirsch, when the division con
solidation is completed by Sept
ember 1.
New Name
In September
Firestone Fibers & Textiles
Company, the name resulting
from the consolidation, will be
official September 1. In the
change, the Hopewell, Va., Syn
thetic Fibers Company joins
Firestone Textiles division with
its headquarters at Gastonia and
plants at Bennettsville, S.C.;
Bowling Green, Ky.; and Wood-
stock, Canada.
Firestone HPR
in 5 sizes
I'lrcstonc's lu-w Ill’K Kadial lire
went on sale at the eompaiiy’s retail
oullets nalionwiile in early Aiignsl.
The HPR is produced in 5 sizes al
llu- Firestone Albany. Ga.. plant.
It has (U'sign and eonstruetion
features geared towaid u.se on per-
Ibiinanee vehii'les. The tire i)n)ved
good perlorniaiu'e on vehicles in en
durance races earlier this year.
H&HS booklet
f'aets about the causes and pre
vention of cancer are in a publica
tion from the U.S. Department of
Health and Ihnnan Services. The
booklet lists laboratory aninuil
lests to identify cancer-causing
agents.
For a free copy of "Everylhing
Doesn't Cause Cancer," write
Consumer Information Center,
Dept. 650H. I’ueblo, CO 81009.