W arren Strong was not working at Armstrong Tire & Rubber Co. when the first tire was completed in 1939, the year the plant opened, but he is proud to tell the story of that tire.

That and many other stories are sure to fly as several hundred former workers of Armstrong and subsequent companies in the same location get together Saturday for a reunion.

From 1945 to 1981, Strong worked at Armstrong, building tires and then working in the quality control department.

For Strong, 84, and many of the other veterans of Armstrong, an opportunity to get together with former co-workers is a chance to reminisce and become reacquainted.

&8220;It was a good company to work for, and we all were like family,&8221; Strong said.

For the Saturday get-together, former employees of Armstrong &8212; and all others who worked at the place affectionately called the &8220;tire plant&8221; &8212; are invited to a reunion at the Steckler Multipurpose Building, located between Natchez High School and Chester-Willis Field.

&8220;We want everyone who has ever worked at the tire plant, their spouses and spouses of deceased workers to come,&8221; Roy Doughty said.

Doughty has spearheaded the reunion plans.

&8220;Last year was our first reunion, and it was such a success we decided to do it again,&8221; Doughty said.

In 2005, the reunion was for Armstrong workers, those who worked from 1939 to 1987, when the company pulled out.

The plant reopened as Fidelity and, finally, in its last years of operation, as Titan Tire.

Doughty said he hopes people will come not only with a dish to contribute to the potluck meal but also with photographs and plenty of memories to share.

In addition, those attending are asked to contribute $5 each to go toward paying for use of the building.

The celebration will begin at 9 a.m. with the meal beginning at 12:30 p.m.

F.L. Renfrow said he plans to attend. He worked at Armstrong from 1954 to 1987 and then continued with Fidelity Tire until 1997.

&8220;There were good people running the plant,&8221; Renfrow said. &8220;And we had good friends there.

&8220;If you work with a person that long &8212; if he has trouble, you have trouble. We just bonded together.&8221;

It was not easy work, Renfrow said.

Strong was quick to counter, &8220;But it was easier than following a mule.&8221;

Strong said many of the early workers at the plant would have been trying to eke out livings as farmers if they had not worked for Armstrong.

The tire plant gave them a better life than they might have had.

&8220;I had as good a life as a person could have,&8221; Strong added.

From 400 workers in 1939, the plant grew to more than 1,300 by 1968, when an average of 18,000 tires a day were rolling off the assembly lines.

Doughty said he hopes anyone who was associated in any way with the plant during the past six decades will attend the reunion.

&8220;We welcome office and factory workers, anyone who ever worked there, union and nonunion and security guards,&8221; he said.

&8220;I&8217;m hoping we&8217;ll have 500 people there.&8221;