|
|
|
| Sunday,
January 31, 2010: Ranger's
voice spans East Bay history ~ Special to
The Chronicle >> |
| December
18, 2009: Richmond Confidential Article
by Ryan
Phillips: Real ‘Rosies’ celebrated
at Ford Point |
| Thursday,
December 17, 4:30 - 6pm. Save the
date for the launch of Groundwork Richmond!
The location is to be determined. Contact
Nancy Baer, nbaer@hsd.cccounty.us. |
| Saturday,
December 12, 2:00 pm: Mark your
calendars for the opening of the Where
We're From exhibit at Hilltop Mall,
featuring poems and photos of West County
teens. More details to come. Contact: Summer
Brenner, summerbrenner@earthlink.net. |
| Tuesday,
December 8, 5:30pm - 7:00pm: 5%
Local Coalition meeting, Ford Elementary
School, 2711 Maricopa Ave, Richmond, CA 94804.
Share news of projects and join forces to
get new and exciting projects off of the
ground, including: Starting a Seed Saving
Library in West County, Participating in
garden raising parties at community organizations,
churches or residences across West County
and making the purple tree collard the official
green of the City of Richmond. Snacks provided.
Spanish translation & childcare help
needed. Contact Doria Robinson at 510-778-5886 doria@urbantilth.org |
Saturday,
December 5, 9:30 am – Noon: Bus
tour of the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front
NHP.
Call 510-232-5050 to reserve your place. Space is limited. FREE |
| Fri,
Oct 30, 11:30 AM to 1 PM: Ghost
of Shipyard 3 with
Auctions, Costume Contest and Show - Details
>> |
Richmond
Rosies serve as inspiration for riveting stage
production
By Carah Herring For the Contra Costa Times
Posted: 10/15/2009
06:54:47 PM PDT
The iconic picture of the muscular World War
II-era Rosie the Riveter permeates popular culture
and art. Read
the full article in the Contra Costa Times |
| October
2, 3 & 4, 2009: HOME
FRONT Festival by the Bay - Details >> |
| Saturday,
September 12, 11 AM to 5 PM: RICHMOND
MEMORIAL CIVIC CENTER GRAND REOPENING |
September
5th, 6th & 7th at 3 pm: Shotgun
Players present "This World in a Woman's
Hands" - a play
about the African-American women who built
ships in the Bay Area during WWII. Accompanied
by live music.
For more info, visit the Shotgun Player's Website: http://www.shotgunplayers.org/womans.htm or
call 510-841-6500. FREE in
RIchmond at the Nevin Community Center -
followed by a free dinner and conversation with the playwright, director and
actors. 598 Nevin Ave. at 6th St. in Richmond. |
September
/ October 2009 Rosie
the Riveter/World War II Home Front National
Historical Park EVENTS |
| Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays, August 28 - September
27: RIVETS!
The New Hit Musical on the SS Red Oak Victory
in the Port of Richmond - Details >> |
| Thursday,
August 27, 7 PM: "Best
Years of Our Lives" - Home Front
Film Festival on the SS Red Oak Victory Ship
- Details >> |
| August,
2009: National
Park Service Rosie the Riveter/WW II Home
Front Park Events >> |
| Summer,
2009: Rosie's
Girls offers Summer Programs >> |
| Thursday,
August 13, 7 PM: "Nothing
But Trouble" and "Air
Raid Wardens"
with Laurel and Hardy - Home Front Film Festival
on the SS Red Oak Victory Ship - Details >> |
| Donna
Graves Named Loeb Fellow at Harvard Graduate
School of Design >> |
| Thursday,
July 9, 7 PM: "Mrs.
Miniver" with Greer Carson and
Walter Pidgeon - Home Front Film Festival
on the SS Red Oak Victory Ship - Details >> |
| Sunday,
July 5, 10 am - 4 pm: Official
opening of the Ford Point Bay Trail
segment connecting Lucretia Edwards Park
with Harbour Way South. In
addition to the traditional ribbon-cutting,
there will be a benefit bike ride for Lance
Armstrong's LiveStrong
Foundation with a goal to have
1,000 bikers arrive between 8 AM and 2
PM for brunch provided by the newly-opened BoilerHouse
Restaurant in the spectacular Craneway
of the historic Ford Assembly Building. |
| Thursday,
June 25, 7 PM: "Sergeant
York" with Gary Cooper - Home Front
Film Festival on the SS Red Oak Victory Ship
- Details >> |
| Thursday,
June 23, 7 PM: "Action
in the North Atlantic" - Home
Front Film Festival on the SS Red Oak Victory
Ship - Details >> |
| Thursday,
June 11, 7 PM: "Best
Years of Our Lives" with Myrna
Loy - Home Front Film Festival on the SS
Red Oak Victory Ship - Details >> |
| May
and June, 2009 National
Park Service Rosie the Riveter/WW II Home
Front Park Events >> |
| Thursday,
June 11, 7 PM: "Casablanca" with
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman - Home
Front Film Festival on the SS Red Oak Victory
Ship - Details >> |
| Sun,
May 24: Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National
Historical Park Ranger Betty Soskin may be
seen at http://cbs5.com/community/biracial.mixed.race.2.1014540.html, |
| Sun,
May 3, 11 AM to 30 PM: Nostalgic
Reflections Fashion Show on the Red Oak Victory
Ship - Details >> |
| Mon,
May 18, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM: HISTORIC
PRESERVATION AWARDS CEREMONY |
| April
2009 : Park
Ranger Tours, Programs and Community Events
- Details >> |
| Sat,
Apr 18, 5 to 6:30 PM: "Rosie the Riveter Legacy"
Film Premiere - Details >> |
Apr
11, 09: Richmond
teens learn about Rosie the Riveter thru
creation of documentary - Read the Story >>
By Kimberly S. Wetzel
West County Times Posted: 04/11/2009 01:57:49
PM PDT |
| On
April 7, the Richmond City Council
unanimously approved the General Management
Plan for Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front
National Historical Park with Alternate B
- Details >> |
| Sat,
Mar 21, 6 PM on: The Annual Fundraiser
of Rosie the Riveter Trust! Click
here for your invitation >> |
Wed,
Mar 18, 11 AM to 7 PM: Public
Invited to an Open House at the interim Richmond
City Hall to explore alternatives and talk
with the Park Staff about the New Rosie General
Management Plan - Details >>
Also
see the March 3 Story in the West County
Times >> |
Mar
7, 2009: Our Neighbors: Dinner full of park
discovery
Posted: 03/07/2009
03:12:15 PM PST
One of the historic waterfront
buildings in Richmond that once served
Kaiser Shipyard No. 3 during World War
II will be the site of this year's Rosie
the Riveter Trust "Discover Your Park" dinner.
Read
the Full Story of the March 21 Dinner
>> |
| March
7, 2009: A new general management
plan that will guide development in the Rosie
the Riveter park during the next 15 to 20
years has been released and is available
for review. Copies are available at the park
office, 1401 Marina Way South in Richmond
or online at parkplanning.nps.gov/rori |
February
25, 2009: Congressman Miller Announces
Millions in Federal Funding for Area projects
- $150,000
for work on Shipyard 3 Historic District,
part of Rosie the Riveter Historic Park
in Richmond. This project would rehabilitate
one of the five surviving original buildings
of Shipyard 3, listed on the National Register
of Historic Places, which is located within
the Rosie the Riveter World War II/Home Front
National Historical Park. Funding will be
used to rehabilitate the Rigger’s
Loft/Paint Shop/Sheet Metal Shop/Electrical
Shop. Photos at Shipyard3.htm |
| November
& December 2008, Thursdays: 1:30 PM - 2:15
PM (except 11/27, 12/25) and Saturdays: 1:30
PM - 2:15 PM (except: 11/8, 12/13, 12/27) at
Rosie the Riveter Marina Bay Park - Meet a
park ranger at memorial by main parking lot.
45 minute program exploring women’s contributions
on the Home Front during World War II. |
| November
& December 2008, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays,
11 AM to 3 PM: Self guided Docent Red
Oak Victory Ship Tours $5 donation to Richmond
Museum. Contact the Red Oak Victory ship for
information and directions to shipyard #3:
510-237-2933, www.ssredoakvictory.com/contact.htm. |
| Tue,
Nov 18, 6:30 to 8:30 PM - Planning
Meeting - FREE - Help
the National Park plan for future public
programs and exhibits - Location: HarborMaster
Classroom, 1340 Marina Way South, (corner
of Hall Ave.) - Details
>> |
| Sun,
Nov 23: Opening/Reception: "Richmond
at War" display at the Richmond Museum of
History >> |
| Tue,
Nov 11, 1 to 4 PM: Veteran’s
Celebration on the Red
Oak Victory Ship - For info call 510-237-2933 |
Sun,
Nov 9 at 1 and 3 PM: Craneway Event:
Merce Cunningham Dance Company at Ford Point,
1414 Harbor Way South, Richmond. Tickets: $40 general admission; UC Berkeley
students, half price.
(510) 642-9988, www.calperformances.org
>> |
| Saturdays,
Nov 8 & Dec 6, 9:30 AM - 12 Noon: National
Park Bus Tours - Limited to the first 16
people who sign up. For reservations: 510-232-1542. FREE! |
| Oct
9 to 26: RIVETS, A
New Musical Based on Rosie the Riveter & Richmond's
Kaiser Shipyards - Details >> |
| Through
October: "Richmond
At War: World War II, The Home Front Experience" at
the Richmond Museum of History - Details >> |
| Fri,
Sat & Sun, Oct 3, 4 & 5: Home
Front Festival by-the-Bay - Save the date!
- Details >> |
| June
17, 2008: Ford
Assembly Plan wins National Historic Preservation
Award >> |
| June
11, 2008: Our
New "Greatest Generation" Opportunity -
Article on the Ford Assembly Plant >> |
| April 5,
2008: The Latest Newsletter
of Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National
Historical Park >> |
| March 7,
2008: Shaping up the
shipyards - Article in the Contra Costa
Times - Details >> |
| February
28 & 29 and March 1, 2008: RIVETS, A
New Musical Based on Rosie the Riveter & Richmond's
Kaiser Shipyards at the John and Jean Knox
Center for Performing Arts, Contra Costa College
Campus in San Pablo February 28 & 29, March
1 at 8 pm, Sunday March 2 at 3 pm - Details
>> |
| February
2008: Ford
Assembly Plant featured in February 2008 Architectural
Digest >> |
February
15, 2008: The City of Richmond is
offering an unprecedented opportunity for
developers to enter into public-private partnerships
with the City to rehabilitate several historic
buildings on the Richmond Waterfront. These
buildings have unmatched views of San Francisco
Bay and the additional prestige of being
part of Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front
National Historical Park. Offers from potential
lessees are already pending.
The documents making up the RFP can be downloaded
as follows:
PPMT
Bldgs RFP Final
Appendix
A
Appendix
B
Appendix
C
Appendix
D - Bldg 23 (3)
Appendix
D - Bldg 24 (6)
Appendix
D - Bldg 6 (2)
Appendix
E
Please distribute this to any individual,
organization or media outlet that may be
interested in this extraordinary business
opportunity. |
| February
2, 2008: High school girls soccer programs
got together to raise money for their respective
teams and the Rosie the Riveter Trust - Article
in the Oakley Press >> |
| January
31, 2008: Richmond
Shoreline Parks: Trails and history - Article
in the SF Chronicle >> |
| January
30, 2008: Old Ford auto plant revs up
for life again - Article
in the Contra County Times
>> |
| December
31, 2007: Richmond
park honors war effort - Tribute
salutes sacrifices in a charged
time >> |
| November
11, 2007: For 'Rosie' and all riveters - National
Park recalls Richmond's contributions - and
conflicts - in WWII >> |
| October
26, 2007: Naomi
Torres selected as Chief of Interpretation
>> |
| October
21, 2007: Parks
mark historic events on home front during
WWII - Not all the action was overseas >> |
| October 3,
2007: Home Front
Festival draws thousands to Richmond >> |
September 27, 2007: New
National Park To Honor WWII Workers - KGO-TV Video >> |
| September
10, 2007: Rosie
wins prestigious Governor’s Historic
Preservation Award >> |
| August
19, 2007: Rosie Bus Tours extended
through August 29 by popular demand >> |
| Summer,
2007: Bus
Tours of the Rosie the Riveter World War
II Home Front Historical National Park >> |
| August
3, 2007: Now you can Donate
Online to the Rosie Trust! >> |
July
29, 2007: Park
In Richmond Honors Women Who Reshaped
Workforce During World War II:
WARTIME HEROES |
| Thursday,
July 26, 2007, 6:30 - 8 pm: Community
meeting on Historic Markers on Macdonald Avenue >> |
July
5, 2007: A WORKING DRY DOCK IN RICHMOND?
A triple win for Richmond and the perfect convergence of history and the future!
Reopen the dry
docks at Shipyard # 3- What YOU can do
>> |
| June
21, 2007: Congressman
Miller announces initial approval of funding
for Maritime History Center for Working Families
- The
Maritime History Center for Working Families
(originally the Maritime Child Development
Center) was
built in Richmond during World War II as a
nursery school for children of women working
in the nearby Kaiser Company shipyards. The
Rosie the Riveter Trust plans to rehabilitate
the building to create an on-site interpretive
historical center as part of the Rosie the
Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical
Park, which Miller helped to create through
legislation he authored in 2000. This year's
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Appropriations bill includes $100,000 for the
project through the National Park Service's
Save America's Treasures program. The
Rosie the Riveter site has become an important
tourist attraction for the local community
and visitors alike and source of pride for
the City and its rich history of support for
the WWII Home Front effort. |
March
1, 2007: New
VIdeo on
African Americans in Richmond during WWII
"Of Lost Conversations
and Untold Stories" |
| February
25, 2007: BLACK HISTORY MONTH
- Preserve the Past, Envision the Future
/ National Park Service -- steward of
African-American history - Full
Story >> |
|
| December
9, 2006: Officials
at event riveted by Rosie - Full
Story >> |
| November
11, 2006: The
Riverside Press-Enterprise ran a story, “Rosie
Gets Her Due,” on Rosie the Riveters
that prominently featured Richmond - Full
Story
>> |
November
7, 2006: WWII
tours giving city sense of itself -
Article in the Contra Costa Times >> |
| September
6, 2006: The
National League of Cities has designated Richmond
a finalist in the 2006 Awards for Municipal Excellence
competition - See
Details >> |
September
24, 25 and October 7, 2006: Walking
Tours of Macdonald Avenue - FREE!
Share
Your Memories - Details
>> |
| September 8, 2006: Contra
Costa Times Editorial entitled "Park on
list of best city programs" |
September
6, 2006: The
National League of Cities has designated
Richmond a finalist in the 2006 Awards
for Municipal Excellence competition -
Article in West County Times
Also see the Nomination .PDF |
| June 7, 2006: Historic Auto Plant Returns From Ruin - Article on the Ford Plant in the NY Times |
| June 6, 2006: Rosie was a riveting war hero - Article in the Christian Science Monitor |
| May 27, 2006: A
Tour of Richmond’s WWII Historic
Sites on Saturday, May 26, 2006 |
| May 14, 2006: The Rosie Store Opens for Business! Get your Rosie Mugs, Caps and More! |
| April 15, 2005: $2,000,000 Grant Awarded for Maritime Child Care Center Rehabilitation! |
|
|
Two
Histories of the Richmond Shipyards
1. Historical
Report - Record of Kaiser's Richmond
Shipyards with special emphasis
on SHIPYARD NO.
3, RICHMOND, CA - 253 pages (878KB Acrobat .PDF)
2. A
History of the Richmond Shipyards - 229 pages (710KB Acrobat .PDF) |
| Vision
and Strategic Plan 2005–2008 (812KB Acrobat .PDF) |
| To Support to the Rosie The Riveter Trust, please click HERE - With Your Help, We Can Do It! |
| November 9, 2005 - Bay Trail Markers Updates |
October 21, 2005: Bay Trail Markers Relate Richmond's History
Article in the Berkeley Daily Planet by Allen Taylor |
 June
15, 2005
RICHMOND
Riveting memories for Rosies - New book salutes World War II factory workers
- Erin Hallissy,
Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 Mary
Gadd was just a teenager when World War II broke out, and she quickly
became the epitome of Rosie the Riveter, working
in factories in
San Francisco, where she riveted fighter plane
nose cones, made electrical harnesses for machine
guns and cameras, and assembled land mines.
Full Story >> |
June
15, 2005: MEMORIES OF THE HOME FRONT
by Tom
Butt On
Tuesday, June 14, about 65 former Rosies from
all over and a host of other dignitaries gathered
at Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter Memorial
to celebrate the release of a book of wartime
memories, "Memories of the Home Front,"
compiled by Atria Senior Living Group, which
operates 113 senior communities in 28 states.
A story from yesterday’s San Francisco
Chronicle is copied below. Atria gave Rosie
the Riveter Trust, represented by board members
Tom Butt, Mindell Penn and Rosemary Corbin,
a donation of $1,000 for projects to benefit
the Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National
Historical Park. Information about the book
should be directed to Leslie Hawk of Atria
at leslie.hawk@atriaseniorliving.com.
|
June
11, 2005: Opportunity
to Contribute, Help Move the Whirley Crane CW
3204 to Shipyard 3
A project of the City of Richmond, National
Park Service and Rosie the Riveter Trust |
| May
29, 2005: National
Park Service Reorganizes Contra Costa County
Units with HQ in Richmond and Other Rosie
News Tom Butt, Richmond City Council Member
- See the Adobe .PDF (228KB) |
| March
23, 2005: Did you work at the Chehalis
Boeing Plant in Chehalis, WA between 1943-45? Contact
Us! |
| November 30, December 1 & 2, 2004 - The Launch the Rosie Park! - Details >> |
| November
17, 2004: The Dedication of the Bay
Trail Markers |
| June
5, 2004: Rosie Visitor Center
Ribbon Cutting |
| May
27, 2004: Congress
Honors Rosies, Including Richmond's Mary "Peace"
Head |
| Atchison
Village now on the National Register of Historic
Places |
The
National Park Service has reorganized,
under a single superintendent located in Richmond,
its entire Contra Costa County organization,
which consists of four units: Rosie the Riveter
World War II/Home Front National Historical
Park, John Muir National Historic Site, Eugene
O’Neil National Historic Site and Port
Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial.
Signing the Cooperating Association Agreement
between Rosie the Riveter Trust and the National
Park Service on April 13, 2005, are (left
to right) John Gioia, Rick Smith, Tom Butt,
Rosemary Corbin. Howard Levitt and Mindell
Penn. Levitt and Smith are with the National
Park Service, and the others are board members
of Rosie the Riveter Trust. The Trust is the
official non-profit partner for the Park.
The
General Superintendent located in
Richmond will be upgraded to a GS-14, and
a number of highly qualified applicants are
currently vying for the job, with selection
expected as soon as mid-June 2005. The larger
staff will provide greater flexibility in
applying resources to al the Contra Costa
County parks as well as expanding programming
and providing greater operational efficiency.
A deputy superintendent will be located in
Martinez, responsible for the day to day operation
of all four areas.
Howard
Levitt, currently Chief of Interpretation
for Golden Gate National Recreation Area,
on loan, is currently Acting Superintendent
for Rosie the Riveter World war II/Home Front
National Historical Park, spanning the gap
left when former Superintendent Judy Hart
retired and the next permanent superintendent
will be appointed.
The
annual budget for Rosie the Riveter
World war II/Home Front National Historical
Park has been increased from an embarrassing
$179,000 to a slightly more respectable $485,000,
but perhaps more importantly, the reorganization
will enable a Park Service Planner and Cultural
Resources Specialist to be added to the Richmond
staff as well as upgrading of the Park Ranger
position. Other resources, such as a Volunteer
Coordinator, will be available to “Rosie”
as well as the other Contra Costa units.
The permanent Visitor Center Rosie the Riveter
World war II/Home Front National Historical
Park
will be located in the Craneway of the rehabilitated
former Ford Assembly
Plant.
The
National Park Service has officially
approved a $4.5 million funding package for
the Visitor Center to be located in the Ford
Assembly Plant.
The
SS Red Oak Victory has been moved to
Shipyard 3, where it will soon undergo a $1
million facelift. The ship is accessible to
the public and can be reached via a new access
road from the south end of Canal Boulevard.
A
grant from PG&E to the Rosie
the Riveter Trust for $50,000 over two years
will fund various outreach programs targeted
at the Richmond community, including a major
community event in the spring of 2006.
|
March
23, 2005 - Did you work at the Chehalis
(Washington) Boeing Plant between 1943-45?
CONTACT US !
Richmond markers trace local WWII history
Posted on Tues, Nov. 16,
2004
By Alan Lopez
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
 RICHMOND
- In 1943, Mabell Draxton and her husband moved
from Minnesota to Richmond to work on the assembly
lines that produced hundreds of World War II-era
ships.
She
earned $16.70 the first week, more than three times
what she made as a house-cleaner in Minnesota and
an unbelievable amount for someone coming of age
during the Depression.
"When I got $16.70,
oh, I felt rich," said Draxton, recalling her
first purchase -- a fountain pen. "I'll never
forget that; it was just like yesterday."
Eight interpretive
markers along the Bay Trail tracing World War II
history will be dedicated Wednesday as part of the
Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National
Historical Park.
Interviews with local
residents and historical photos were used to create
the markers, appearing as large, magazine-style
pages affixed to 18-foot-high metal beams.
"The interpretive
signage is both a new amenity for the city and a
new part of the national park," said historian
and project manager Donna Graves.
The markers address
a range of subjects, including wartime night life,
the war's local legacy and struggles for civil rights.
They use the memories
of local residents such as Jun Honda, 82 of Pinole,
who was interred during the war with his family
and then drafted into the military following his
release.
His words appear on
the sign "No Home at the Home Front,"
at Shimada Park, commemorating Richmond's postwar
alliance with sister city Shimada, Japan.
The marker at Lucretia
Edwards Park offers quotes from local residents,
photographs and narrative text to provide a concise
portrait of the people who worked at the shipyards.
It's titled "A Deluge of Humanity," after
the description by photographer Dorothea Lange.
The pictures show
a family living in a bus, men looking haggard and
sleeping in a movie theater because of the housing
shortage, an elementary-school class from the era
and workers living up to Lange's description.
The marker describes
the city's wartime population as ballooning from
23,000 to 100,000 people in three years.
Draxton said the photos
and text add up to an accurate description of the
times. People were very patriotic and nearly ecstatic
to be working and supporting the war effort, despite
the harsh conditions.
"Everybody wanted
to work," said Draxton, who peered at the marker
during a break in the recent rain. "You didn't
hear anyone complain."
Included in the photos
is a page from Draxton's autograph book dated June
9, 1945 -- "Dear Maybelle: Lots of luck to
a good worker and a good welder."
Draxton, 82, said
she was so concerned about the war effort and seeing
the troops come back, she didn't stop to think she
was living through history.
"If I had known,
I would've taken more pictures," she said with
a smile.
The markers are a
culmination of $225,000 in grant money and three
years of work between historian Graves; writer Chiori
Santiago; Portland, Ore.; design firm Mayer/Reed;
the Richmond Redevelopment Agency; and the National
Park Service.
The markers grew out
of the process that created the Rosie the Riveter
Memorial that honors women's wartime contributions,
Graves said. That sculpture is also located along
the Bay Trail and park and was dedicated in the
fall of 2000.
Reach
Alan Lopez at 510-243-3578 or at alopez1@cctimes.com.
For
more information and photos, please see the Bay
Trail Markers Page
 RICHMOND
VISITOR CENTER RIBBON CUTTING
Saturday, June 5, 2004
The
interim Visitor Center for the Rosie the Riveter
World War II Home Front National Historical Park,
which is located at the interim Richmond City Hall,
1401 Marina Way South, in Richmond hosted a ribbon
cutting for new exhibits on Saturday, June 5, 2004,
starting at noon.
Congressman
George Miller spoke, and dozens of Rosies attended,
possible the largest gathering of Rosies since the
Rosie the Riveter Memorial was dedicated in 2000.
May
27, 2004 - Congress
honors Rosies
Rosie
the Riveter has received a lot of ink these last
few years and continues to be a story that grips
the nation. Due to permissions restrictions, we
are unable to reprint all of the many articles which
continue to appear in print.
To
read the complete stories, please go to the following
publications' websites and click on Search:
Rosie the Riveter lives
Ruth Rosen
March 29, 2004. San Francisco Chronicle.
ON
A RECENT warm Sunday afternoon, joggers, bikers,
strolling couples and picnicking families began
filling up the Rosie the Riveter Memorial National
Historical Park in Richmond.
Tucked
away in a spectacular waterfront setting, this national
historical site, which opened in October 2000, commemorates
some 18 million women who worked in the home-front
defense industries that helped the United States
win World War II.
So
who was Rosie the Riveter? With her sleeves rolled
up, her biceps flexed, Rosie the Riveter was a popular
icon, whose slogan, "We Can Do It!" helped
mobilize millions of American women to replace the
men who left to fight in battle. During the war
years, she began to stand for all the women who
fought the war at home -- most famously, as welders,
machinists, mechanics, pipe fitters, electricians
and boilermakers.
As
they began training for jobs previously reserved
for men, these women learned skilled work, earned
"men's" wages and gained a new sense of
independence.
At
the height of the war, the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond
produced one Liberty ship every day. To accomplish
this astonishing feat, the shipyard recruited new
workers -- especially African Americans from the
South -- who quickly transformed a sleepy little
town of 24,000 into a bustling city of 100,000,
which soon became known for its thriving blues and
jazz musical scene.
At
the heart of the memorial is a symbolic representation
of a Liberty ship. Partitioned into three distinctly
nautical displays, the sculpture is also the length
of a Liberty ship.
At
one end is the partial skeleton of a ship's hull.
In the middle is a smokestack, on which are exhibited
photographs of the women who worked at the shipyards,
along with their letters, diaries and postcards
from the period. At the water's edge is the bow
of the ship, which commands a breathtaking view
of San Francisco Bay and is aligned with the Golden
Gate Bridge. You can almost imagine the newly built
ship slipping into the bay, ready for battle.
Etched
granite pavers -- inscribed with historical timelines
and personal reminiscences -- form a walkway that
links the three parts of the sculpture.
As
you stroll along the imaginary keel of the symbolic
ship, you read, for example, about some men's reluctance
to trust the newly trained women: "It was hard
to convince your lead man that you could do the
work. When he assigned jobs, I used to follow him
around and say, 'I could do that.' He got sick of
me and said, 'OK, do it.' And of course, I could.
I could do it."
New
opportunities gave some wives a new sense of freedom:
"Let me tell you this. I was 23. I never had
a job. My husband was an electrician. I told him,
'I'm going to work, too.' He said, 'No, you're not.'
That same afternoon I went down to the hiring hall."
Many
of the women also encountered racial and gender
discrimination. "I learned to weld and when
they said I was OK, I went to the hiring hall and
was run off. You had to belong to the union and
they said, 'no women or blacks.' "
In
the end, however, this woman was among the first
six female workers hired to do a "man's job."
During
these war years, Kaiser grew into the most productive
shipyard in the nation. When the war ended, however,
tens of thousands workers were left jobless and
Richmond entered a 50-year economic decline. Most
of the African Americans who had been recruited
from the South remained in the area, but both women
and African Americans were particularly hard hit
as they tried to compete for jobs with returning
veterans.
When
you visit the Rosie the Riveter national park, this
history comes alive. You understand the critical
role the Kaiser Shipyards played during the war;
the origins of Kaiser Permanente, today the world's
largest health maintenance organization, designed
to care for shipyard workers; how women's wartime
experiences raised their daughters' expectations
for their own futures; what pulled Southern African
Americans to the Bay Area in such large numbers;
and why there is so much poverty today in Richmond.
Women's
history month may be ending, but you still have
the rest of the year to explore how women workers
and the Bay Area helped shape each other's character
during World War II. You won't be disappointed..
For information and directions, visit www.rosietheriveter.org.
E-mail
Ruth Rosen at rrosen@sfchronicle.com.
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