Rosie's legacy

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Ken Burns' documentary "The War" has sparked renewed interest in the so-called Good War, World War II. It brought me back to those years when The Saturday Evening Post covers were created by Norman Rockwell, the people's artist. One cover, reminding us of the women who replaced the men who were drafted, was that of Rosie the Riveter. Rockwell showed her in caricature mode with her short sleeves displaying brawny muscles and her rivet gun across her lap. During the 1940s, Rosies were not to be taken as serious replacements for males who had dominated so-called "men's work" over the years.

My Rosie experience was working at a small plant in Chehalis, Washington where I drilled holes in wing panels for the B-17 bomber. These holes had to be drilled with no guide. We just eye-balled it and hoped that they were perfect.

Toward the end of one evening shift in August of 1945 the loud speaker came on and a voice announced, "The war is over. You can all go home." And we threw down our tools and left, never to come back. I must admit that I was very glad that our wing panels were never used in any bombers.

Women were expected to go back home and await their men coming back from the war so they could marry and have children. Not much more was heard about Rosie the Riveter until the women's movement honored Rosie as a person who could get the job done. Remember the poster of the woman lifting her arm to show her muscle?

It took a group like Washington Women in Trades to honor Rosie at the first Rosie the Riveter Reunion just a few years ago.

But never before had there been a dinner to honor Rosies chosen to appear on a 2008 calendar produced by Women in Trades. The calendar cover states: "Strength, Grace and Courage: Rosie's Legacy."

When I was asked to be on the calendar I suggested that a semi-nude one would increase sales but that was not to be. No matter, there was still excitement in the air as the calendar unveiling took place and each Rosie stood to receive a red rose while the audience applauded.

And who are the calendar Rosies? Women who served as bucker, shipyard insulation installer; riveter, assembler of parts for the B-17, expediter in the experimental production department working on the Flying Fortress, metal tester, a Boeing inspector, and a builder of submarine nets. My picture appears on the month of August, the last month that I served as a Rosie.

After the award ceremony honoring eight tradeswomen of the year the audience began drifting out of the banquet room. I couldn't resist going to the mike to sing some scat along with the DJ's recording of Tuxedo Junction. I even danced a little to the nostalgic tunes from those years that my future husband and I wrote letters back and forth. If you are old enough you probably remember singing "And I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you." My husband and I cannot look at a full moon without remembering that special song.

I will cherish the memory of the young women who came up to thank us, the Rosie the Riveters, for what we did to pave the way for women in the trades. We calendar "girls" represent all the faithful Rosies who worked in industry during WWII. Maybe you were one of them. If so, you can feel proud of your accomplishment.

To find out more about Women in Trades and the Rosie 2008 calendar go to www.wawomenintrades.com For young girls interested in the trades, the Women in Trades holds a trades fair in the spring. Any Rosie the Riveter types who want to get together to talk over old times, contact Georgie.

Georgie Bright Kunkel is a freelance writer and speaker who can be reached at gnkunkel@comcast.net or 935-8663. Her book written with her husband Norman C. Kunkel, WWII Liberator's Life, is a testament to lives lived during WWII.