In 1972, Firestone Park native Michael Litvik was a new hire in the mailroom of Firestone Plant #1. He stepped onto the elevator that connects the iconic clock tower to the other levels of the building. One other person boarded the elevator with Litvik — Raymond C. Firestone, son of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. founder Harvey Firestone and the company’s CEO at the time.
Litvik said the memory has stayed with him.
“There I was in the mailroom making $2.02 an hour, in the elevator with Raymond C. Firestone,” Litvik said. “There couldn’t be a better extreme: the lowest peon there is next to Raymond C. Firestone, the CEO of Firestone.”
Litvik had two uncles and a grandfather who retired from what he called the “Firestone family.” As the City of Akron discusses the future of the Firestone Plant #1 site, it’s clear that it’s more than a building or a project to Litvik and other residents…