A Visit to Rosie the Riveter National Park in Richmond, CA

The Rosies in the red polka dot scarves, Priscilla Elder, Marian Sousa, Elizabeth Weintraub, Marion Wynn and Kay Morrison, at Rosie the Riveter National Park the day after Thanksgiving 2015.

Almost everybody is familiar with the Rosie the Riveter poster, We Can Do It, created by J. Howard Miller in 1943 because it wasn’t really shown in public until the 1980s. Posters were a big thing during World War II, and the government cranked out a lot of propaganda posters to support its war efforts. However, very few people, I suspect, know much about the three million “Rosies” who went to work during World War II at factory jobs commonly held by men such as welders, electricians, draftsmen and, yes, riveters. The women mostly produced war supplies and were expected to return to being housewives after the war. At which point, some, understandably, did not want to leave their jobs.

If you are driving to the Bay area from Sacramento, I encourage you to stop at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond, California. If you’re really lucky, it might be the day a handful of the original “Rosies” will be available as docent volunteers to present their side of the story in person. In a few years, this type of experience will be available only in a digital format. It’s knowing that you’re listening to remarkable individuals talk about parts of history from 70 years ago, events that you’ve only read about, that can bring up a knot in your throat. You might choke and tear. It’s a slice in time that is quickly vanishing.

Waterfront on the San Francisco Bay, location of Rosie the Riveter National Park

You can also see a film in the basement at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park that showcases 3 women, and the events that followed, including close-ups of women at work in the plants and factories. Another film in the lobby shows FDR and his famous Fireside Chats my mother used to talk about. Part of that film includes a strapping male factory worker saying he would not want his wife to work at the factory and questioning who would tend to his home. Not our home, mind you, but his home.

Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond, CA

Some women today tend to think feminism is overblown or no longer needed, and let’s just say women harboring that kind of misplaced belief don’t work in the tech field or any kind of field dominated by men. A fact you may not have known: the Rosies who worked at the factories had to wear men’s clothing because they didn’t make pants for women in the 1940s. Below is a video I shot of a Rosie, Marian Sousa, talk about her contributions to the war. She married at age 17 right out of Richmond High School. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1943, where she studied engineering drawing, she went to work at the Kaiser Shipyard #3 in Richmond as a draftsman:

Marian Sousa’s sister, Phyllis Gould, wrote many letters asking the White House to recognize the women who sacrificed and worked during WWII, and all of her letters went unanswered until last year when Joe Biden responded. He recognized the pivotal role played by women during World War II and invited the Rosies to the White House to meet with President Obama, including a private breakfast at Biden’s residence. Here you can read more about the Rosie the Riveters in Washington D.C. The Rosie the Riveters also call for equal pay for women, which you would think should not even be up for discussion in this day and age, and it’s shameful that we cannot seem to pass an Equal Rights Amendment.

May 23, 2016 is slated to be designated our National Rosie the Riveter Day.