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:: Thursday, May 27, 2004 ::

'Rosies' recall their contribution with pride By SIOBHAN MCDONOUGH, AP
Muriel Cincotta, 80, of Virginia, an original "Rosie the Riveter" in World War II, cheers at the unveiling at Arlington National Cemetery of a collection of 7,500 stories and 150 artifacts from Rosies.

Cincotta was one of almost a dozen Rosies at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday. They shared stories of working long shifts on the home front to keep the country thriving, paving the path for future generations of women and proving that a woman could do a "man's work."

The original Rosie the Riveter, Rosie Will Monroe, worked on the assembly line at Ford Motor Co. in Ypsilanti, Mich., building B-29 and B-24 military planes. She caught the eye of Hollywood producers who were casting a "riveter" for a government film promoting the war effort. She starred as herself.

Her exposure in the film resulted in the "We Can Do It!" poster, and she came to symbolize the generation of women who entered the workplace during the war.

Woman recalls job as welder in Navy shipyard By MIKE O'ROURKE, Brainerd Dispatch
Her supervisor once asked Allickson if she'd volunteer for what promised to be an unpleasant task. A terrible smell was detected in the hull of a ship and a small hole was the only entry. The men's shoulders were too wide to squeeze through, but Allickson was asked to crawl through the hole to check out the smell. Fearing the worst -- the discovery of a body -- Allickson and her co-workers were relieved to discover the source of the unseemly smell was just a can of salmon.

There were, however, fun times for the pioneering women workers, who were personified by Rosie the Riveter, a hardworking woman who was unafraid to take on jobs that had been the realm of men. Swing shift dances were organized for the young women who worked odd shifts. Still wearing their work coveralls, the women shipyard workers danced to big band music from 11 p.m. 'until they all went home,' Allickson said.

'We Can Do It!' was the motto of Rosie the Riveter and Allickson lived up to that claim, never thinking of her contribution as anything extraordinary.

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