MILrL WHISTLE
j^LUME XIII Monday, July 19, 1954 ITOMBER 1
Fieldcrest Contributes $300,000 To Pension Fund
PENSION CONTRIBUTION—President Harold W. Whitcomb (left forground)
presents check for $300,000.00 to Carlysle A. Bethel, senior vice president and trust
officer, Wachovia Bank & Trust Company, representing the first contribution to
the pension trust by Fieldcrest Mills, Inc. and covering the first nine months of
operation of the new corporation.
Looking on, left to right, are other members of the retirement committee: E. L.
Srown, William McGehee, B. C. Trotter, M. P. Miller, and J. C. Walsh. E. W. Med-
^ry, a member of the retirement committee, was not present for photograph.
^arastan Rug Mill
Shows New Patterns
^t Sales Meeting
Karastan salesmen from all over the
^untry attended a sales meeting in the
Jft^rastan showroom at the Merchandise
^3rt, Chicago, June 19. President Harold
£ ■ Whitcomb spoke to the group and
• W. Medbery, production manager,
^tended the Chicago Home Furnishings
Market the following week.
Walter B. Guinan, Kaiastan sales
anager, conducted the meeting and
^troduced the new patterns, which
,®re shown to customers for the first
*^e at the market.
. These included a new Karastan rug
^ a Kirman pattern, in delicate shades
a soft green background; a Lana-
ar in an Aubusson pattern with an
nusual design of blue garlands on a
®ige ground. The Aubusson excited
onsiderable comment at the market.
(Continued on page five)
Company Men To Attend
Blue Ridge Conference
The 35th annual Southern In
dustrial Relations Conference
will be held July 21-24 at the
Blue Ridge Assembly near Ashe
ville.
Macon P. Miller, of Fieldcrest Mills,
is completing his second term as chair
man of the board of directors of the
conference and will preside over the
opening and closing sessions.
Others representing Fieldcrest at the
conference will be Jesse W. Griggs,
Synthetic Fabrics Mill; R. E. New,
Sheeting Mill; and Sam R. Thomas,
Towel Mill.
Discussion topics for the general ses
sions will include: “Problems of Com
munication at the Foreman’s Level,”
“Executive Development— Key to Our
Industrial Future,” “The Future of Per-
(Continued on page eight)
Payment Is For First Nine
Months; Pension Trust
Worth $7 Million
Fieldcrest Mills, Inc. nas made a con
tribution of $300,000 to the pension trust,
covering the first nine months of opera
tion as a new corporation. A check for
this amount was presented Carlysle
Bethel, trust officer of the Wachovia
Bank & Trust Company, trustee of the
pension fund, at a meeting of the Field
crest Retirement Committee at Spray,
June 24.
In announcing the payment, Harold W.
Whitcomb, president of Fieldcrest, said,
“Although business is not good and the
profit situation is very unsatisfactory
for the nine months ending our fiscal
year, our board of directors approved
the contribution so that we can keep up
to date with our obligations to the pen
sion trust.”
First Nine Months
The $300,000 payment represents the
amount needed to meet the current cost
of the plan for the nine months since
the Company started operations. Mar
shall Field & Company made a similar
contribution of $297,000 during 1953,
covering the first nine months of that
calendar year.
The pension plan was inaugurated by
Marshall Field & Company in 1943 and
is being continued by Fieldcrest Mills,
Inc. All employees are covered by the
plan, with the entire cost being carried
by the Company.
Separate Trust Fund
Following purchase of the mills by
the new corporation, over $6,000,000 was
taken out of the Marshall Field & Com
pany pension trust in the Firest National
Bank of Chicago, trustee, and placed in
the Fieldcrest Mills, Inc. trust fund in
the First National Bank of Chicago. This
amount represented the proportionate
share earmarked for Fieldcrest em
ployees.
The Fieldcrest Mills, Inc. pension
trust was transferred to the Wachovia
Bank & Trust Companj' in Winston-
Salem effective February 5, 1954, in
order to place the trust fund in the
section of the country where the mills
are located and to expedite pension mat-
(Continued to Page Three)