The White House

Jasper Shadie is the son of a power house operator at Firestone, and worked for Firestone from 1952 to 1982. Jasper grew up in Akron and has lived here for 87 years. When he left high-school he was drafted by the military, joined the Navy, and fought in the Korean War. When Jasper returned to civilian life, he found work at Firestone, where blacks were only allowed to work in the janitor’s department or the mill room. Following the Civil Rights movement and after working at Firestone for 20 years, Jasper became a tire builder.