The Riveter - Fall 2022 Newsletter from Rosie the Riveter Trust

News from Rosie the Riveter Trust Fall 2022 Sparks Fly!

A Rosie’s Service Corps participant cutting plasma with crew member Michael Curran at the SS Red Oak Victory Ship. / Lisa Foote

Rosie the Riveter Trust is the nonprofit membership organization dedicated to building a community to preserve Park historic sites and to honor the women and men of all backgrounds who labored on the home front, inspiring some of the most profound social changes in our history.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Letitia D. Moore

PRESIDENT

Kyle Wichelmann VICE PRESIDENT

Warren R. Harber

TREASURER

Michelle Fadelli SECRETARY

Jane Bartke

Tom Butt

Mark Cameron

Cathy Durfee

Diane M. Hedler

Lynne Horiuchi

Ebony Lewis

Scott Tandy

Nicholas Targ

BOARD SUPPORT

Philip B. Young PRO BONO LEGAL COUNSEL

TRUST STAFF

Sarah Pritchard EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Leo Cuevas PROGRAM AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

Lisa Foote MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

Martha Henderson COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Sarah Jo James DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Amy Tanner DONOR ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

510-507-2276 / info@rosietheriveter.org rosietheriveter.org

The Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park was established in 2000 as the flagship park to tell the World War II home front story.

VISITOR EDUCATION CENTER

OPEN EVERY DAY, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (Closed Thanksgiving, December 25, and New Years Day)

1414 Harbour Way South, Ste. 3000, (Oil House), Richmond, CA 94804 510-232-5050 ext 0 nps.gov/rori

MARITIME CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER 1014 Florida Avenue Richmond, CA 94804

CRANEWAY PAVILION

1414 Harbour Way South Richmond, CA 94804

ROSIE THE RIVETER MEMORIAL Marina Bay Park Richmond, CA 94804

OUR PUBLIC AGENCY PARTNER

The National Park Service was created in 1916 to preserve America’s natural, cultural and scenic treasures and to provide for their enjoyment by future generations.

PRINTING: Autumn Press with soy-based inks on recycled paper PHOTOS

NPS/RORI

ROSIE

The Trust’s annual gala, Rosie’s Big Bash, was a wonderful opportunity to host thirteen Rosies from the area to celebrate and thank them for their contributions during the home front and beyond. It was fantastic to see so many of our supporters that evening in person and virtually — I am so grateful for the generosity of our community! I’ve shared a few photos on the facing page, and please see page 6 to learn about our new Anchor Donor Campaign to get at least 50 new recurring donors this fall.

I’m thrilled with how our flagship Rosie’s Service Corps youth program is flourishing thanks to the hiring of our first Program and Community Engagement Manager, Leo Cuevas, who is heading up our youth programming. Check out pages 4–5 to see the kinds of learning experiences the Rosie’s Service Corps provides — experiences always infused with the Rosies’ We Can Do It! spirit.

Rosie the Riveter Trust preserves the history of the WWII home front and shares its stories to inspire today’s Americans, especially young people. I hope you will show your Rosie love with a year-end gift to keep our programs thriving and please, seriously consider joining our Anchor Donor campaign which comes with a great gift!

As always, thank you for being a part of our community and ensuring that what took place on the home front is never forgotten.

— Sarah Pritchard

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

It has been a wonderful several months since I joined this band of Rosie the Riveter enthusiasts. And World War II enthusiasts. And home front ones, and National Park ones, and Richmond, CA ones, and all-of-theabove ones. Together, we cover a lot of ground and tell a big set of stories. It is one of the things that drew me to the job — the wide range of histories to explore that still have bearing today, and that can still catalyze positive outcomes in the place we sit.

Park staff are inspiringly engaged in sharing history in such a way that our visitors might bring lessons learned from it to understanding and tackling current issues. The staff also regularly seek ways to connect the park to our broader community and help make changes for the good.

We recently participated in the California Coastal Cleanup, clearing litter from around the park visitor center and along the adjacent Bay Trail. With the Trust, we’ve dug back into another year of the Rosie’s Service Corps. We also just completed a new agreement with Groundwork Richmond, an environmental and youth-serving organization with the tagline “Changing Places. Changing Lives.” Whether through urban greening, wellness-promoting trails, or (like Rosie’s Service Corps), exposing youth to impactful careers that they might not have considered before, this work links Park to Place.

The Trust already helps us do that in so many ways and I can see so many possibilities for more connections, partnerships and catalysts for change! Thank you for giving such possibilities a chance at reality.

— K. Lynn Berry

DESIGN: Mark Briggs Design

2: Courtesy of

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“ We worked all day and danced all night!”

MAE KRIER

Rosie’s Big Bash Success!

What a wonderful time we had at Rosie’s Big Bash! Over 300 people joined us at the historic Craneway Pavilion in the Park on September 17, and others enjoyed the festivities virtually from home. Thirteen Rosies, ranging from ages 96 to 102, were on hand to greet guests. What an honor that we still have these trailblazers to share their stories!

Thank you to everyone involved who made this event possible, especially our presenting sponsor, the Boilermakers; all guests; sponsors; volunteers; National Park Service; the Craneway; Tammy Brumley, our Rosie Wrangler; and especially the Rosies. Thanks as well to all who became Anchor Donors, bid on auction items, and gave to the Fund-a-Need. We are delighted to share that this year’s Rosie Gala raised (net) over $200,000 to help sustain our programs.

Hats Off to Our Generous Sponsors!

Betty the Boilermaker

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

Donna the Director

Boilermakers Western States M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 549 Kaiser Permanente Community and Government Relations

Rosie the Riveter Accenture Bank of Labor

The Craneway Pavilion

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 92

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Western States Boilermakers Industry Fund

For a complete list of 2022 sponsors, please visit: rosietheriveter.org > Support Us > Donor Recognition Please

(Clockwise from top left) Rosie Willa Mae Thomas; Rosies Marian Wynn and Marian Sousa receive applause; Rosie Dorothy Finger and her son David share a laugh; Ivonne Malave, Leo Cuevas, Bridget Hughes and Mariana Souceda bring on the smiles as greeters; and Superintendent K. Lynn Berry visits with guests. / Lisa Foote

Rosie’s Service Corps Sparks Our Youth

The Trust’s flagship youth program, Rosie’s Service Corps, connects students to Rosie the Riveter and home front history by modeling the value in serving others through community service projects, developing leadership skills, and introducing trades, power tools, and workforce development skills.

Rosie’s Service Corps engages 200 middle school and high school students in year-round programs and is produced in partnership with the Rosie the Riveter/ WWII Home Front National Historical Park and West Contra Costa School District.

Rosie’s Service Corps participants with tool caddies they made. / Lisa Foote

Rosie’s Service Corps Goals

1 Self-Empowerment

Empower inner city youth to believe they can do anything they want to do. Foster a gender-inclusive culture for tradespeople, makers, tinkerers and do-it-yourselfers.

2 Teach the Trades

Introduce the use of tools and machinery and how to make, fix, and build things as real job skills.

3 Community Service

Build connection, values and pride through positive community service.

4 Job Opportunities

Focus on leadership skills and career development so projects and programs are relevant and relatable to real job opportunities.

Driving a backhoe at NOVA training facility. / Ivonne Malave

Wood shop class with Northern California Carpenters Union / Ivonne Malave

Sanding rust off the SS Red Oak Victory Ship (left) and participants at the ship with NPS Ranger Celeste Rios. / Lisa Foote

Keeping the Home Front Stories Alive

The Rosies were fully dedicated to the WWII home front effort, making sacrifices for the greater good. Now it’s our turn to keep the home front stories, experiences, and lessons alive so that young people of all ages can draw inspiration from them.

Rosie the Riveter Trust is 100% devoted to the cause of remembering and honoring the efforts of all home front workers and sharing their inspiring stories and accomplishments through historical preservation, advocating for women in the trades, and inspiring our youth.

Please consider making a financial contribution as we end the year! Below are two great options to consider. To make a gift, scan the QR code, use the enclosed envelope in this issue, or go to rosietheriveter.org

All for one and one for all!

Join us as a Rosie the Riveter Trust Anchor Donor by becoming a monthly donor! This is a new and important campaign for us, and our goal is to enroll at least 50 new donors by the end of the year. By becoming a monthly donor, you provide urgently needed, reliable support for our youth programs, promotion of women in the trades, and preservation of WWII home front stories.

Choose a level that works for you and we will charge your card automatically each month, with no extra work on your part. In thanks, for donors who sign up at $15 a month or more, we will send you this prized Anchor Donor baseball cap to show your pride and help us inspire young trailblazers!

Go to rosietheriveter.org or scan the QR code to join us as an Anchor Donor today!

Did You Know?

Did you know that donating shares of stocks that have increased in value can help you avoid taxes? When you transfer stock from your brokerage account to Rosie the Riveter Trust, you don’t have to pay tax on the increased value as you would if you sold the stock. Whether you have a few shares to give or a significant sum, when you contribute stock to Rosie the Riveter Trust, you invest in all our programs at a potentially lower cost to you.

To make a gift of stock, instruct your broker to transfer (NOT sell) the shares to the Rosie the Riveter Trust brokerage account: Rosie the Riveter Trust, account #3621-2039 at E*TRADE, DTC # 0385 Important: So that we can credit you with the gift, please let us know the name and number of shares of transferred stock.

For more information, call Rosie the Riveter Trust at 510-507-2276 or email sarah@rosietheriveter.org. Thank you!

Rosie Marian Wynn wearing our new Anchor Donor hat for monthly givers at $15 or more per month. / Sarah Pritchard

Marie D.

My grandfather and my father were potters at an American Standard here in Richmond that was converted from making tubs and toilets to making hand grenades and bullets.

You can’t leave here without seeing the We Can Do It! Image. For young women, the message is: you can do anything that you set your mind to.

Gary H.

My favorite story here is our (retired) hundred-and-one-yearold ranger [Betty Reid Soskin]. She’s the story of this park. Everybody loves her. She was here recently to pick up her mail, and, like bees to honey, everybody surrounded her. She’s still doing her Thursday video chats.

The most joy I get from working here is seeing the kids doing their ranger books and getting their ranger badges.

Dee A.

This was an era of really dramatic change for our society. Women did all kinds of things they’d never been given an opportunity to do before. People of color, people with disabilities, older workers, they all had a chance to show just what they could do, and I think that made our country better.

Meet the Visitor Education Center Docents

When you come to the Visitor Center, you’ll be warmly greeted by a docent ready to orient you to the exhibits, talks, films and to answer your questions. These volunteers are passionate about the home front stories — and they have their own interesting stories to share as well. Here are some of the highlights a few of the volunteers shared with us when we asked why they volunteer.

Rosemary N.

I was born during World War Two and my three older siblings all served in the British forces. Some people find it very odd that this British woman is volunteering and talking about the home front in America, but it’s not so strange for me. I remember rationing very well.

We see a lot of children and young people. You wouldn’t think that they would find this interesting, but they do. They’re fascinated by it.

Ann N.

There is so much we can learn from this history, and we still have people with direct connections who can tell us about it. I’ve been a docent for over ten years and I don’t feel that I’ll ever get tired of it.

Rosie the Riveter Trust is grateful to all the Park and Trust volunteers who are committed to sharing the home front history. If you are interested in being a Park Docent, call (510) 232-5050. To volunteer at the Visitor Center Store or Trust office (thanking donors, light administrative work, helping on events), email info@rosietheriveter.org

Richard S.

Melanie W.

This park does an amazingly good job of communicating a very complicated history and story.

The world was just as fraught then as it is now. But people found a way to get things done that needed to be done.

I enjoy the films the best, particularly Blossoms and Thorns, about the internment of Japanese Americans. In the film you get to listen to folks who were interned, learn what it was like for them, and hear their thoughts and feelings about it many years later.

After the war, a lot of people had to work very hard to keep the memories of the Rosies alive. Phyllis Gould, who died last year, worked very hard to make sure that the Rosies were not forgotten.

Marie, Dee, Rosemary, Ann, and Melanie by Molli Fagan; Gary and Richard by Martha Henderson

Thirteen living Rosies were the stars of Rosie’s Big Bash. We were delighted to honor them in person.

4

From woodshop to welding, Rosie’s Service Corps gives youth a chance to try out the jobs that Rosies mastered.

6

The hottest new topper: the Anchor Donor cap. Find out how to get yours and help the Trust programs thrive.

7

“This was an era of dramatic change, and I think that made our country better.” Park docents share insights.

EVENTS

THE PARK Events and dates are subject to change. For up-to-date schedules and more information, please see the calendar on the Park website at nps.gov/rori or call the Visitor Education Center at 510-232-5050. The Center is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm, and entry is free. Masks are required for all in-person events.

Rosie Fridays Fridays, 10:30 and 11:30 am Visit with real WWII home front workers. The program is held in the Visitor Center theater and is dependent on how our Rosies are feeling.

Betty Reid Soskin’s Virtual Program

Join us for virtual chats with Betty, in her new position as a Park volunteer, which are usually held Thursdays from 2 to 3 pm PT. Blossoms and Thorns Daily, 12:00 and 2:00 pm; with discussion every 3rd Saturday This informative film focuses on Richmond’s JapaneseAmerican citizens who were incarcerated during the Second World War. For the monthly discussions, presenters from the Japanese American Citizens League come to share their own experiences as children in the camps.