Rosie the Riveter

Last Wednesday [April 13th] I met my girlfriend for lunch and afterwards we went to a nearby community college for a program titled, "Rosie the Riveters and Their Stories."

The term "Rosie the Riveter" has come to be a generic term for all working women of WWII. A Rosie can be any woman who did what was traditionally men's work, while millions of men were serving in the military.  These are women who answered the call:  AMERICA NEEDS YOU!

I am very fascinated with the history of all the "Rosies" and would love to do a presentation about them sometime.

Below is a photo of Donnaleen Lanktree, a past president of the American Rosie the Riveter Association, and me.  Ms. Lanktree was the guest speaker, sharing several personal stories of "Rosies" as well as their job descriptions.  

Ms. Lanktree holding a family photo with her and her parents [below] before her father went off to war. Her mother was a "Rosie" and said they had the photograph taken as a keepsake in case their husband/father didn't return from the war.

A Depression motto was also used during the war:  "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."  Women's nylons were rationed during the war for parachutes, and Ms. Lanktree's mother said rationing lines were longer for nylons than for meat.

"Rosebuds" is the name given to daughters and granddaughters of Rosies, and the name for men is "rivets."

There were six Rosies present in the audience, and each told where they worked and what they did. It was a wonderful program honoring the patriotism of these amazing women.