Rosie the Riveter and Women in World War II - Saturday, November 9th

Learn about the many ways women helped to win the war. American women were instrumental in the war effort during World War II. With ever-growing orders for war materials combined with so many men overseas fighting the war, women were called upon to work in ways previously reserved only for men.

While the most famous image of female patriotism during World War II is Rosie the Riveter, women were involved in other aspects of the war effort outside of factories. More than six million women took wartime jobs in factories, three million volunteered with the Red Cross, and over 200,000 served in the military.

Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon representing the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. They labored as welders, machinists, and (of course) riveters. Women also drove trucks, cleaned houses, flew planes, organized fundraisers, treated patients, grew crops, broke codes and took care of children.

These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who joined the military. She is widely recognized in the “We Can Do It!” poster as a symbol of American feminism and women’s economic advantage.

The idea of Rosie the Riveter originated in a song written in 1942 by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb. Images of women workers were widespread in the media in formats such as government posters, and commercial advertising was heavily used by the government to encourage women to volunteer for wartime service in factories.

Ms. Penny Lee Davies is a retired schoolteacher and librarian.  Penny Lee’s mother, Hellen Davies, gave a similar talk about women in World War II many times over the years–she is nearly 100 years old, and was able to speak of her own personal experiences.  Hellen has shared her notes with her daughter, and Penny Lee has done her own research, as well.  Audience members are welcome to ask questions and to share their own memories of WWII. 

Free; no registration required.