Argus Eyes

Editor Tess Canja Photographers . . . Eddie Girvan Joe O'Donnell Published every month for the employees of Argus Cameras, Inc. and their families. Reporters Machine Shop Dorothy Lixey Paint Shop Wilma Simmons Camera Assembly . . . Ruth O'Hare Govt. Opt. Assembly. Bea Frisinger Lens Processing Betty Shattuck Maintenance Emil Johnson Optical Assembly, Inspection Jeañ FitzGerald Engineering Jim Meldrum Standards Virginia Birney Production Planning. . Muriel Raaf Tool Room Bill Fike Shipping Hilda White Service Ted Watt Tabulating Lee Monson Accounting Beulah Newman Sales Dorothy Bell Purchasing patt DuCharme Night Shift Bill Ambrazevich Feature Writers Andy Argus, Art Parker, Jr. , Robert Le wis, Babe Peterson, Eddie Girvan.

Meet Your Reporter!

(No. 3 of a Series)

Ruth O' Hare needs little introduction as an Argus Eyes reporter, for both she and her husband are well known throughout the plant. Ruth has worked here for 11 years - in Salvage, the Burr Room, and, for the past five years in Camera Assembly. She not only covers the news for Camera Assembly, but serves as Recreation Club represe ntati ve as well. Her husband, Denny, of Production Planning has been with Argus for eight years, while another member of the famíly- their son, Pat- worked here before entering military service. A real Argus family, the O'Hare's live at 3221 Springbrook, East Ann Arbor with their other son, Mike.

Reviewing Argus Progress

Now that the holidays are over, I want to take this opportunity to wish everybody a happy and prosperous new year and to thank you for your cooperation in making our Christmas season particularly successful. You may have read references in the news from time to time about a possible business recession in 1954. The possibility seems less likely now than it has for some time. Most of the economists seem to agree that 1954 should be a good year, even though somewhat below 1953. As it has turned out, 1953 was one of the most prosperous years in our history, so that if 1954 were almost as good, it would make the new year a banner one also. Low Inventories Will Stimulate Production Our inventories are at a low point as a result of heavy Christmas sales. While it is still too early to know authoritatively, we believe that Argus products are at a low point on the shelves of our retail dealers. This is a healthy situation because it is the foundation for a steady rate of production for the first quarter of 1954. If our usual seasonal upturn in sales takes place in the spring, and the demand for Argus products continúes to be healthy, we should expect an increase in production within the next few months. We are planning an increase of about 30 per cent in our advertising and sales promotion for the new year. Naturally we hope to experience a similar increase in sales. Consumer Market To Tighien Employment in the United States is still at a very high level, and the public still has plenty of money to spend. However, Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public are getting more choosy about what their money will buy. All the reports from around the country indicate that they are looking for greater values. Everyone in Our organization is working to give them greater Argus values by improving and controlling quality. The need for quality in our products has never been more important. My often-repeated slogan of "better quality Argus products at lower prices" is our key to greater sales, increased production in the new year, and stability of employment.

Farewell To Stella Edds, "doc" Benson

Two long-time A rgus employés brought to a close a combined service record of more than 40 years when they left Argus last month. Stella Edds, one of the company's first radio assembier s in 1932, resigned to move to California. She had been engineering secretary since 1945. Below, she looks over the two-piece set of matched luggage- farewell gift of her Argus friends. StellaTs present address is: 3525 Marlborough San Diego 5, California

New Suggestion Plan Lips Top Award To $10,000; Revamps Eligibility, Committee

A revised suggestion plan, raising the maximum award for a single idea from $2,500 to $10,000 takes effect January 1, 1954. ín addition, the new plan inc ludes: 1. A spelling out of eligibility rules, and 2. A suggestion committee of nine instead of five employé -management representatives. Who ís Eligible? New eligibility rules coincide with those found in the majority of suggestion plans throughout the country . With the exception of company officèrs and Key Men, all employés are eligible for cash awards. However, certain employés, whose jobs cali for the contribu tion of ideas, are eligible only if their suggestions are completely remote from their job duties. These inc lude supervisors, stand - ards and methods men, engineers, production planners, trouble snoot - ers, tooi and die makers, group leaders, working supervisors, tooi salvage, machine and tooi repair - men, and others engaged in the development, design, research, or instigationof new methods, processes,

forms, systems, procedures, equipment, or safety measures. Suggestion Committee Enlarged The new committee will include the suggestion plan manager and four other permanent members, representing industrial relations, stand - ards and methods, production or plant management, and engineering. A committee chairmen is appointed by the company from this group. Four rotating members also serve on the committee. Two are chosen from the foreman-supervisor group and two from the non-exemptsalaried employé group. Each serves for a period of one month. As in the former plan, all suggestions which cannot be adopted remain eligible for one year from the date of rejection, if a situation arises which warrants their reconsideration. The new Argus plan is one of the most liberal in the United States. It was drawn up af ter a six-monthsf study of suggestion plans throughout the country. A booklet desc ribing the new plan is being prepared and will be distributed to all employés.

Turkey--time At Argus

Mary Smith's turkey, which she received from Andy Kokinakes and Santa, himself, was one of 1300 distributed to all Argus employés, including those laid off or on leave. Thursday, Dec. 23 was "Turkey Day" and even the families of Argus servicemen were on hand to cart home a 19-20 Ib. bird.

Robinson Earns $494.87 Award

Max Robinson, of Camera Assembly, who recently shared a $1166.55 suggestion award with Louis Davis, has been presented a check for $494. 87 for suggesting the elimination of a set screw from the reset cam of the C4 camera. This latest award bring Max's suggestion earnings over the past year to $1163.94. Twelve other employés received suggestion awards in December ranging from $5 to $20. They include: Anna Collins, Optical Assembly, $20; Betty Beranek, Paint Shop , $19.63; Dick Sarns, Engineering, $10; Edward Sayer, Shipping, $10; William Bennett, Receiving Inspection, $10; Dorothy Smith and Gertrude North, Machine Shop, $10 each; Charles Desmond and Norman Richardson, Maintenance, $10 each; Bill Ruzicka, Purchasing, $10; Bob Hinz, Govt. Optical Assembly, $10, and Beth Bennett, Accounting, $5. New Suggestion Box es Two new suggestion boxes will be installed after Jan. 1. They will be located near the cafetería in Plant I, and opposite the Polishing Room, Plant II.

Jim Meldrum Wins First Cover Bond

T 'Sc ottie" Meidrum may be only two months old, but he's already helped his dad, Jim, of Engineering, win the first $25 bond in the new "Argus Eyes" Cover Contest. Jim posed the baby, snapped this picture with his Argoflex "E", developed and printed what he thought would make a prize-winning cover. The judges unanimously agreed. Eleven other $25 bonds can be won this year. You may be one of he lucky persons and have the pleasure of seeing your picture on the cover of tfArgus Eyes. " Just turn in your entries to the Personnel Dept. If your entries have merit but aren't selected in one monthTs contest, they will be rejudged in the following months.

Bill Houck Honored

Bill Houck, of Service, was recently awarded a Blue Ribbon for one of hls service letters, analyzed by the Hower Letter Improvement company. With the award came an offer to have his letter published in the company's Monthly Business Letter

gest.

Anniversaries

You Asked Andy

Several months ago, a red-hot letter about the suggestion plan was dropped in the pot. The big question was eligibility. The subject has also been discussed at length in our employé meetings. To get the answer, the Suggestion Committee joined the National Association of Suggestion Systems, then studied all of the member companies. The result of this investigation is the new plan announced this month. Incidentally, our awards are among the largest offered anywhere. That cleans up our last bit of old business. Here's the first question to start off another year: Time Clocks and Tardiness Why should an employé be docked one tenth of an hour for one minute i f the time clock is f ast? Timekeeping Chief Myron Rockman had the answer for that. Rocky explained that a factory employé has to be late f rom 3 to 9 minutes to be docked one -tenth of an hour (six minutes). Besides that, time clocks are checked regularly by Timekeeping to keep them within 20 seconds accurate. As an extra check, one of the gals in Personnel took the official watchman's clock around to all the factory stations. She found every clock running exactly on time. Engineering Problems The question from Engineering was so general that I couldn't do anything about it. How about some facts to work with? Dept. 22 Questions Dept. 22 is back in the news this month with two questions about supervisors, working hours, and rest periods. Some of the points mentioned were explained by Bill SturgisandJim Thompson last month. Tve got Mrs. Radford checking into the rest periodand canteen difficulties. As for the Statement: Some come in at night and get paid for it and others not, the Only people who don't get paid are the foreman and his assistant. Anyone else requested to come back must punch in and out in order to be paid. Could you shed a little more light on what supervisor comes in after seven, signs in at seven, and makes it up at 3:30, and also on the Saturday situation? Fve talked it over with Jim Brinkerhoff and Jim Lodwick, but they need a little more information. Personal Absenteeism For the next answer, I dug into PersonnePs complete absence and tardiness records on two office girls. The reason for extended absences on the part of the girl most criticized has been temporary assignments in other departments. Her record of absenteeism and tardiness is as good or better than the average for the department. She was assigned to the office from a production line because she had the greatest seniority. At the time of a layoff on the line, she volunteered to leave, but was kept because of her seniority. The other girl mentioned used up part of her paid personal and sick leave benefits for her two-day absence. The salar ied policy covering this situation is some what different from that for hourly employés and provides for up to five days paid absence per year for personal reasons, if approved by the supervisor. The policy was set up to help balance the opportunity factory employés have for greater earnings. Ray Higgins will be mighty glad to see this- so ril pass it along without comment: Dear Andy: May I say that the food in the cafetería has been excellent lately! One Satis f ied Customer . We' re still working out a solution to the night shift cafeteria problems which were posedin a detailed report,

submitted by the foreman at Chuck Myers' request. That's the bottom of the pot for another month, folks. Keep your questions comin This is fun! ANDY

Newly Weds

The former Eva Schmuck, of Optical Assembly, and Plant Protection Guard Ernest Barker cut their wedding cake folio win g their marriage Oct. 18 in Clarkston, Mich. They are making their home at 2825 Buno Rd. , Milford.

A doublé ring ceremony united Douglas Nordman, now on military leave f rom Receiving, and Jane Bearman. The wedding took place Nov. 13 in the parlor of the Ann Arbor Lutheran Church. A honeymoon at Niágara Falls followed the ceremony. Doug, whose sister is Elane Taylor, of the Mail Room, is stationed at Fort Myer, Arlington, Va. Elane's husband, Bob, of Planning, served as best man.

Thoughts On The New Year Or When's My Next Vacation?

Labor, r ais es honest sweat; Leisure puts you into debt. Labor gives you rye and wheat; Leisure gives you naught to eat. Labor makes your riches last; Leisure gets you nowheres fast. Labor makes you bed at eight; Leisure Iets you stay up late. Labor makes you swell with pride; Leisure makes you shrink inside, Labor keeps you fit and prime - But give me leisure every time!

Employe Meetings...

"CanTt we do something about Saturday rest periods?" "How do you figure out who's eligible for suggestion awards?" "Who'll be affected by the layoff?" These were just a few of the questions fired at President Bob Lewis at the last employé meeting. All got straight answers on the spot or started thorough investigations. Held in the cafeteria several times a year, the meetings gave all employés, except foremen-who get their turn at other meetings- a chance to meet with the president to find out more about Argus and their jobs. No question is too trivial, or too Mhot to handle,M and every one gets an answer.

Children's Christmas Party

Christmas

Memories

Christmas trees, department parties - Cakes, car ds, gifts, and holly - Santa and the turkeys plump Make an Argus Christmas jolly!

Argus Small Fry

These Argus additions put in their appearance just in time for Christmas: Richard Alan Gala, born Nov. 18, weighing 9 Ib. I oz. Dad is Jan, of C ente ring. Thomas Cari Milligan, born Nov. 23, weighing 9 lb. 12 oz. Mother is Ann Milligan, Press Room. Felicia Ruth Pullen, born Dec. 1, weighing 6 lb. 1-12 oz. Mother is Faye, of Sales. Heather Louise Thomas, born Dec. 4, weighing 9 lb. 11 oz. Dad is Leonard, of Purchasing. Daniel Allen Talbot, born Dec. 4, weighing 5 lb. 13 oz. Dad is Jim, of the Machine Shop. Kim LeRoy Merritt, born Dec. 8. Dad is Bernie, of Camera Assembly. Robert Lewis Jackowski, born Dec. 11, at 8 lb. 6 oz. Dad is Lewis, of Polishing. Janet Lynn Simmons, born Dec. 21, at 7 lb. 5 oz. Mother is Marilyn, of Engineering. Lynn Marie Burke, born Dec. 31, at 6 lb. 6-12 oz. Dad is Dennis, of the Paint Shop. Leonard Merle Minor, born Dec. 17, at 8 lb. 1 oz. Mother is Bessie, of Camera Assembly.

Servicemen Enjoy Pre-embarkation Furloughs

Following his furlough early in December, Bruce Fraser was moved to Camp Stoneman, California, and f rom there he will embark for the Far East. At Camp Gordon, Georgia, prior to his furlough, he had completed schooling with the Army Security Agency. Bruce works in Optical Assembly.

Art Preston, home on a 14-day preembarkation furlough, is shown as he was welcomed back by Cliff Swanson, Bud Wheeler, and Dick Dorow, of Optie al Assembly. Art, stationed at Fort Knox, Ky. with Bill Kline, right, has just completed eight weeks of basic training. He expects another ten weeks' training bef ore shipping out.

Bill Kline, on military leave f rom Argus, brought along his wife, June, when he stopped in to say "helio" to his fellow-workers in Lens Centering. Bill, with Art Preston, expects another ten weeksT training at Fort Knox bef ore duty over seas. His present address is: Co. C, 83rd Tank Recon. Bn. , CCA, Third Armored División, Fort Knox, Ky.

Bowlers Turn Out For Mixed Tournament

The Mixed Doubles Tournament, which was again sponsored by the Argus Recreation Club, was held at the Washtenaw Lanes, Nov. 29 and Dec. 6. As in past years the event caught the fancy of the Argus bowlers and participation in the gala attraction was very gratifying to the officers of the club. Competition was very strong in both the team and individual events. Joy Hartman and MBig Bill" Allen toted off first place in the team event by rolling a 1255 total. The champions posted their winning total on the opening night and had to "sweat out" the closing night's bowling to see if their total would stand up. Despite some fancy sharpshooting by "Nudy" Schneider and his partner, Velma Hague, they walked off with the $30 first prize. Trailing the title winners were the teams of SchneiderHague, Torn and Helen Mitchell, Delia Spoelstra-Ed Selent, Clara Robinson-Dick Leggett, and Doris and Joe Lyons. With the money donated by the club and entrance fees f rom the bowlers, it was possible to pay off on the first 24 places.

In the battle for individual cash prizes and trophies, Ethel Henry, Joy Hartman, and Peggy Crump walked off with top honor s for the gals. Ethel posted high single game with and without spot. In the high three-game series without handicap, Joy showed why she is considered one of Ann Arbor's best bowlers. Her winning series was a well-rolled 506. Peggy Crump captured first place in the three-game total with handicap with a sparkling 654. All three received cash prizes for their efforts, and Peggy also received a beautiful trophy f rom the Washtenaw Lanes. "Nudy" Schneider completely stole the show in the men's división. He pulled a "grand slam" by winning three and tieing the other of the four individual events. "Nudy" came through with high actual game of 221, high actual three-game series of 574, and high three-games with handicap with a total of 655. Only Art Danner was able to edge in on the individual prizes with a very fine 248 which deadlocked TtNudy" in the high single game with handicap. "Nudy" collected $30 and also a trophy, donated by the Lanes. The success of the tournament was in no small measure due to the organizing and scheduling of Don Crump and Bill Betke.

WASHTENAW LAÑES

Dec. 6, 1953

Six Deer Reported By Argus Hunters

Paul Hadley (left) and DeWayne Wilson of Maintenance lead the list of Argus hunters who caught deer during the latter part of the season. Their six-pointer, shown above, was caught near Stockbridge, Mich. , and is one of six reported. Other deer we re bagged by Elwyn Dersham, final inspector in Government Optical Assembly, Bob Isaac - son, of Standards, Bill Burns, of Grinding, and Larry Mayer, and Mac Vorce of the Machine Shop. Harry Henry and Dick Gansley, of the Tool Room, report a little more success with rabbit hunting. Their bag of ten rabbits was caught in one afternoon.

Sports Review

Captain Jack Cummings has finally moved his Thirsty Five crew into the top spot in the league 's standings. The consistent pressure applied by the present leaders finally paid off when Leo Stapleton and his "T" Assembly bunch ran into stiff competition and dropped eight straight points. QUALITY CONTROLLERS CLOSE IN The thirsty ones, however, are none too secure in the number one position because only a point behind is Chuck McClune and his fast closing Quality Control five. These two entries clashed on the final night of the first round of the schedule. The result was one of the best matches of this or any other year. Dropping the first game despite a whopping 905 total, the Controllers rallied to win the last two games and take three points. The middle line proved to be the deciding factor in the final results of the match. Matching strikes and spare s all the way, the final tally gave the Quality Control team a three -pin edge. Losing the game by this small margin seemed to take the starch out of the league leaders and they dropped the final game by some 40 pins. Chuck McClune and Rudy Janci were the big scorers for

the winners with McClune being especially effective coming through with an exceptionally good series of 623. These two teams are one-two in the standings at the end of the first half of the schedule, and as a result will bump heads again to lead off the concluding half of the schedule. This match, also, promises to be a "battle royal. Tt MACHINE, PAINT SHOP ENTRIES CHALLENGE LEADERS Captain Bill Betke's Machine Shop and Rube Egeler's Paint Shop are now making their move to challenge for the league leadership. The Machine Shoppers have been moving up in the standings ever since they acquired the services of George Kline. Georgehas been extremely consistent and has y et to roll under nis average. He has now built that up to a very good 170. Af ter a rather mediocre start, Rube 's painters now seem to be in high gear and are striking fear in their future opponents. Rube, himself, has been the big cog in the team 's ad vane e. Only a seven-point spread separates the top seven teams at this time. This should make for an inte resting race in the concluding half of the schedule.

Amsj, Night Crawlers Wage Close Battle

AMSI and Night Crawlers are waging a close battle for the first place in the Afternoon Shift Bowling League standings. Ken Hubbell's AMSI team is one point out of first place. The other four teams are closely bunched, with the Grinders at the bottom. Torn Mitchellfs658 score for three games still stands and Joe Newmyer is hanging onto the single game of 252. Each team captain says his team will be in first place when the last game is bowled. This kind of talk makes keen competition and real fighting spirit.

Archers!

All Argusarchersinterested in forming an Archery Club are asked to get in touch with Wilfred Bonnewell, Dept. 22 orTessCanja, ofPersonnel.

Argus Archers Form Team

An Argus Archery team, organized and captained by Wilfred Bonnewell, of Government Optical Assembly, has been formed this year and already stands at the top of the YpsilantiAnn Arbor Red Arrow League. League shooting started Nov. 17 and will be held every Tuesday night

for twenty weeks for the Argus archers. Members of the team are, left to right: (back) Mike Terry, Louis Davis, of Camera Assembly, Bill Miller, Polishing, John Sartori, Tool Room, Al Terry, Tool Room and Wilfred Bonnewell.

Between The Deadlines

Ralph Warner, of Grinding, moved into his new home just in time for Christmas. His new address is 9780 Carpenter Rd. , in Milán. Lucille Miller, of the Machine Shop, is enjoying an extra hour of sleep these days since she moved into Ann Arbor f rom Whitmore Lake. Her new home is at 3432 Ferry St. Holiday Tans Joe Majewski, of the Tool Room, took advantage of the Christmas holiday for a trip through the South. Elizabeth Theodore spent two weeks visiting sunny California. Christmas Sparkle Christmas had a little extra glitter for Barbara Weidman, of Accounting when she received a diamond engagement ring from Robert Barlow, of Chelsea. The young couple plans a summer wedding. Our Best Wishes, Paul Paul McCoy, of Lens Grinding, who was seriouslyinjured in an automobile accident six weeks ago, is now in the Ann Arbor Veterans Hospital. Visitors are welcome. A Shower for Penny Penny McClune was the guest of honor at a recent baby shower given by her fellow-workers in the Service Department. Penny is now home awaiting the new addition. Papa-tobe is Chuck McClune of Engineering. Watch Out, Eddie! Harold Sweet, of the Tool Room, has been busy fixing up a dark room to develop and print his own pictures- expects to give Eddie Girvan some competition soon! The C3 Can Take It Rex Nottingham, of the Michigan Employment Security Commission, stopped into the Personnel Office the other day and passed on this story of his trip to the Western States. Mr. Nottingham, official photographer of the Michigan Band, spotted a pack train at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and took out his C3 for a picture. The camera slipped out of his hands, coming to rest some 1500 feet below in the canyon. He found it just off a lower trail- still in perfect working condition. But he doesn't recommend anyone else's trying it!

Argus Cameras, Inc.

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Girvan's Photo Corner

Clip and save in Loóse Leaf Noceboolc to build a Photo Manual ■ C3 TELEPHOTO ! O The C3 telephoto lens, which can be attached to the C3 camera J simply by removing the regular 50 mm. Cintar objective and ( putting the telephoto in its place, adds considerably to the ( tility of the camera. Many times, getting closer to the subject means the j ence between a good and a poor picture. This isnTt always t possible. You cannot walk on to the playing field or cross the ( moat at the zoo, and in many cases, you do not want to be , close to a subject which might be dangerous. , What the telephoto actually does is give you an enlarged image , on the film. Instead of covering a quarter of the film area with , the regular lens, the subject now uses the entire negative. , These two pictures taken from the same distance illustrate , this very clearly. ■

, When using the telephoto, the same exposures as the regular t O lens are used. The sunshade is removable and acts as a , taining ring for whatever C3 filter you may have. When coupled , i to the range finder, as explained in the instruction book, you , i can use the range finder in the usual manner. , i The C3 standard lens is the one to use in the house and where , i you can normally get within picture -taking distance. But for , that distance shot or where you cannot get close enough to the , subject, the C3 telephoto is invaluable. t ' %