By Marsha Mather-Thrift

Posted to Marin Independent Journal: 03/19/18, 11:57 AM PDT

Who could “bring home the bacon and fry it up too?” Rosie the Riveter — that’s who!

Although many people know the wartime “Rosie” image, as well as the fact that women took on demanding non-traditional jobs, the multi-faceted role that women played during World War II is often forgotten.

Media Advisory and Photo Opportunity
March 15, 2018

Rosie the Riveter Trust
CONTACT: Marsha Mather-Thrift, Executive Director, 415-497-4236

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Betty Reid Soskin’s lectures at Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter Museum have garnered her national attention, including a visit with President Obama in 2015. Soskin’s talks reflect on the oft-overlooked African-American wartime experience and how opportunities for black women have changed throughout her lifetime. Now the 96-year-old has written a memoir, “Sign My Name to Freedom,” documenting her history as a political activist, musician and entrepreneur. A longtime resident of the East Bay, Soskin illustrates how the Bay Area laid the groundwork for the national civil rights movement.

RICHMOND — During World War II, Sue Gaiser Graham worked on Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, aircraft that helped the Allies win the war. Soon, her work coveralls will go on display at Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter Park, donated by her son and daughter-in-law.

On Saturday, January 27th at 10:30am, Karen Korematsu, Founder and Executive Director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, will commemorate her father’s life as a civil rights activist. Join us to view the two-time Emmy Award winning short documentary, Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story and revisit the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during World War II. The event will honor the legacy of Fred Korematsu, and discuss the importance of American civil liberties and our constitutional rights. 

Our unique Every Kid in a Park curriculum illuminates the history of working people by encouraging kids from all backgrounds to be proud of American contributions, and to understand the importance of working together to overcome great odds. In 2018 we will bring more than 2,000 local fourth-graders to the Visitor Education Center through a fund we are building to provide bus transportation for children from under-served classrooms. On their visit kids will also enjoy outdoor activity on a healthy one-mile hike down the Bay Trail to visit the Rosie the Riveter Memorial. Every child who participates takes home a one-year pass to enjoy all national parks with their families for free!

NPS hosts the opening of the new temporary exhibit: The Art of Shipbuilding; Kaiser-Richmond Shipyard Employees Werner Philipp and Lillian Tandy

On Saturday, November 18th join us at 11:00 AM at the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center for the unveiling of the new temporary exhibit, The Art of Shipbuilding; Kaiser-Richmond Shipyard Employees Werner Philipp and Lillian Tandy. The program will begin with a brief overview of the exhibit.

The exhibit features reproductions of watercolors painted by German-born San Francisco Artist, Werner Philipp. Philipp worked in the Progress Department in Richmond Shipyard Three illustrating reports to document worker and shipbuilding efforts. There he met and befriended shipyard secretary Lillian Tandy. The two families remained close after the war and the Tandy’s supported Werner’s illustrious art career.

Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park Visitor Education Center on Saturday, November 4th at 11:00am,Tina Williams, local author and human resources executive in the high tech industry, will read excerpts and discuss the research she did for her three fictional books inspired by her mother who moved with a young family from Chicago to take a job as a welder in the Richmond Shipyards during the war. In this presentation, Williams will highlight the last book in the series, “Perfect Pitch” which focuses on a local shop owner, Mr. Gregory, who from his Sacramento Street shop, witnesses the aftermath of WWII and the economic downturn which also brought new opportunities and sweeping social changes.

“The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea”

Please join us at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park Visitor Education Center on Saturday, October 28th at 11:00am for a discussion and book signing with author David Helvarg, Founder and Executive Director of Blue Frontier and cofounder of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards, to discuss his latest non-fiction book, The Golden Shore: California's Love Affair with the Sea.

From the first human settlements to the latest marine explorations, The Golden Shore tells the tale of the history, culture, and changing nature of California's coasts and ocean. Explore the state’s 1,100 mile coast line with a focus on Richmond’s WWII history, and discover the spirit of the California coast, from the Oregon border to the San Diego-Tijuana international border fence and out into its whale-, seal-, and shark-rich offshore seamounts, rock isles, and kelp forests. Part history, part travelogue, part love letter, The Golden Shore captures the spirit of the California coast and its place in American culture.