Four
THE MILL WHISTLE
April 1, 1946
The
MILL WHISTLE
Issued Every Two Weeks By and For the Employees of
MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY
MANUFACTURING DIVISION
SPRAY, NORTH CAROLINA J. U. NEWMAN JR., Editor
“FOR HE’S A GOOD FELLOW”: Not so long ago everybody said
that about Jim Blank. Jim was really a good fellow, a ggod friend, a
good fellow worker. He was one of the best liked men in our organiza
tion. Whenever a civic movement, a sports event, or a drive, or anything
that affected the community was afoot Jim was always among the first
to be called on, and he was always ready to cooperate.
Of late, however, Jim seems to have changed. He is still one of the
most valuable men in our organization, one of the men who can be
depended on to do a good job and do it every day. But somethin.^ has
changed. The boys no longer seek Jim’s company. He isn’t asked to
help out in community events any more. In fact, you can see him sitting
alone in a corner of the room eating his lunch, gazing moodily into
space, or taking a nap during lunch period.
What happened? Jim himself was the first to ask the question of
himself but could find no answer. And because he didn’t know the
answer it seemed to him that his former friends were deliberately
avoiding him; even going out of their way to keep from being thrown
into his company.
Unknown to Jim the answer was right there all the time. It was
quite simple. For some reason Jim, the erstwhile “good fellow” sud
denly became conscious of his popularity with others, of his value to
the community. If, he reasoned, he was so well liked, there must be
something about him that others of lesser clay lacked. In short, he got
the idea that he was pretty much of a guy and that from now on he
owed it to himself to act the part.
So Jim began thinking more about Jim and less about his friends.
He became inconsiderate. True, he did his own work as efficiently as
ever, but he no longer gave the other fellow a helping hand. He rode
to work in his car but he no longer picked up his friends because he felt
they didn’t appreciate him—and to blazes with them!
His friends, of course, were the first to notice the change. They
were quick to realize that Jim was a far different man from the one
they had known and liked so well. To them it appeared that Jim de
liberately shunned them, while the truth was that Jim, unaware of the
change in himself, got the idea that his friends were shunning him. So
he was hurt, naturally, and took to avoiding his friends, sticking closely
to his own work and minding his own business.
The pity of it is that Jim Blank is still a good fellow at heart. He
misses the companionships of former days; misses bowling with the
boys, the good natured “give-and-take” dui’ing lunch hour. Most of all
he misses the opportunity of doing some good in his community. In his
heart he is still loyal to his friends, to his company, and home town.
But until he realizes his one glaring fault he will never again be the
popular man he once was.
That one fault is inconsideration. There is nothing in the world
more annoying to one’s closest associates—be they neighbors or fellow
workers—than inconsideration. All that Jim Blank—and the hundreds
of other Jim Blanks—need do is to be considerate of the rights,
thoughts, and trials of his friends. He must realize again (as he seems
to have forgotten) that the only way any man can have a friend is to
be one himself.
Jim must be considerate. He must tolerate the faults of others as
he wishes others to tolerate his own faults. It was when Jim got the
idea that he had no faults (because people liked him so well) that he
began to l6se his friends.
Woolen Mill
By Iris Smith
Well, your Woolen Mill reporter has^^
come to life again. I think for the lastly
two issues everyone here had “spring
fever,” but from now on we will snap
out of it and try to give out with some
news.
Mr. and Mrs. Obe Clark, Mr. and
Mrs. John Hubbard and family were the
supper guests of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace
Bryant Sunday night.
What’s this we hear about a certain
man from the office making so many
trips to Fieldale? Could it be work or
something else?
It seems like Harvey Shivley has a
good way of killing chickens—so if you
have one you want killed, just call Har
vey. He will be glad to do it for you.
A. J. Kendrick, of the Cloth rooms,
tells us that there is going to be a new
dry cleaning plant opened in Draper.
The plant will be owned and operated
by the Kendrick Brothers. The opening
date of the plant will appear in The
Leaksville News.
Mr. Woodson Vernon and Mrs. Opal
Bateman were the Sunday supper guests
of Mr. and Mrs. John Pratt, Jr.
Mrs. Sadie Light and Mr. Ben Strut-
ton are on our sick list this week. Wish
you both a speedy recovery and hope
you can be back with us before long.
Clothing items must be hard to get in^B
Leaksville—or at least these boys say
so. Russell Murphy, Calvin Evans and
Jack Light hitch-hiked to Danville, Va.,
Saturday just to buy one pair of socks.
Maybe if you boys didn’t have such big
feet you would get along better.
We would like to welcome Mrs. Kath-
rine Quesenbury to our office. Hope you
enjoy working with us as much as we
enjoy having you.
T/5 James R. Turner is spending a
30-day furlough with his wife, Sarah
Turner, of the Inspecting department.
Mr. and Mrs. Millard Winecoff cele-
berated their first wedding anniversary
March 21. They spent their second
honeymoon at Gatlinburg, Tenn.
If anyone would like to buy “a good
mess of cressies,” see Woodson Vernon
or Opal Bateman. It looks like they
were getting a good lesson in picking
them Sunday evening.
Misses Iris and Frances Smith were
the week-end guests of Miss Grace
Smith of Burlington.
Mr. and Mrs. D. F. Hodnett, of Dan
ville, Va., announce the engagement of
their daughter, Peggy Rebecca, to Rob
ert Arnold Leffew, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Ira Leffew, of Leaksville. The wedding
will take place April 16 in Danville.
Mr. Leffew is employed in the Inspect-^^B
ing department.
Well, folks, with this issue I resign
from the staff of The Mill Whistle. I
wish the new reporter much success in
his new job.