By Patricia Arrigoni
"December (7), 1941: A sudden attack on a distant U.S. naval base transformed America overnight into the 'Home Front.' Everything changed, especially the swelling industrial workforce. It included millions more minorities, in particular African-Americans and women, embodied by 'Rosie the Riveter.' Richmond, California, typified wartime boomtowns across the country that endured deep and rapid change as migrants sought work in defense industries." (From a brochure published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.)
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt promised to make America "the greatest arsenal of democracy." The enormous war effort that followed affected every citizen of the United States. Huge ship-building facilities were built, people planted "victory gardens," suffered through gas rationing and bought war bonds. Kids recycled rubber bands and aluminum foil, and everyone, especially homemakers, saved fats for use in explosives. Civil Defense Corps were organized and blackouts were ordered in coastal cities like San Francisco. All these efforts were called the "Home Front," which backed up fighting in Europe and the Pacific region.
Today, appreciative residents of Richmond are restoring many of the facilities that were built in the United States effort to win World War II. Park sites with tours for the public now include the Rosie the Riveter Memorial located on the site of the Kaiser at Marina Bay Shipyard No.2; the Craneway Pavilion and the Ford Motor Co. Assembly Plant where Modet T's were built until it was converted to build Jeeps, tanks, armored cars and other military vehicles destined for the Pacific Theater; Kaiser Shipyard No. 3, home of the SS Red Oak Victory, the last remaining victory ship built in Richmond in 1944 that carried supplies and troops to the Pacific theater of war; and the Maritime Child Development Center.
Visitors can view from the outside only the Atchison Village, the Nystrom Village, the Kaiser Field Hospital, the Ruth C. Powers Child Development Center and the Richmond Fire Station 67.
Richmond became a wartime ship-building center because of its rail connections and deep-water port. The Henry Kaiser Shipyards and around 50 other defense industries were built here. Thirty-two hundred Liberty and Victory ships were commissioned by the U.S. government, and 747 ships were actually launched in Richmond, the most productive World War II shipyard on the West Coast.
With thousands of young GIs fighting overseas, the amount of work on the home front opened up opportunities for women and minorities in a variety of jobs. Women were unexpectedly allowed to work in industrial jobs such as welding, painting and pipefitting. They also worked with electricity, sheet metal, tank cleaners and burners. They became machinists and ship-fitters. "Rosie the Riviter" became the symbol for all of these workers.
The Visitor Center, which is actually a museum, was built in memory of "Rosie" and all the others and illustrates to visitors what life was like for those workers. Some 6 million women entered the workforce during the war, including Women Airforce Service pilots, bus drivers, lab technicians, clerks and agricultural workers.
The greatest problem in Richmond during the war was housing for some 90,000 people who arrived to work. The museum shows photographs of all types of sleeping arrangements during that time, including theaters that stayed open all night so people could sleep in the seats.
The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center also shows films on the lower level. One is a 24-minute movie on World War II with the emphasis on women doing war work. Another is an 18-minute film on Japanese-Americans.
I went to see "The War at Home," which showed the buildup to war when Hitler invaded Poland and when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. It included photos of ships on fire, then women at work in the Kaiser Shipyards, the launching of new ships, the assembly lines and the drives for the sale of war bonds. The tide of the war turned in favor of the United States in 1944 with the Allied invasion of Europe, and victory was declared 11 months later, when the Japanese surrendered.
The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center has fascinating displays showing women doing all kinds of jobs, clearly proving that women could do "men's work" quite successfully. The museum provides visitors with a trip back to a time that changed the lives of American women forever.
The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center is located at 1414 Harbour Way South, Suite 300, Richmond, CA. 94804. Visit www.nps.gov/rori for visiting hours and information.
A visit to this memorial makes a nice day's outing from San Francisco. Drive north over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County, taking Highway 101 to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Cross the bridge, which becomes Highway 580, and continue to Harbour Way South. Turn south (right). Continue until you reach the Craneway Pavilion, which overlooks the Richmond Inner Harbor. There is a large parking lot which is free, as is the Visitor Center. Park and walk toward the water and around the end of a large building to the center.
The adjoining restaurant, Assemble (510-215-6025), provides visitors with delicious salads and other more hearty entrees. When I was there the man at the next table, accompanied by his wife, children and friends, told me with great pride that his mother had been a "Rosie the Riveter" working in this very Richmond facility. He and his family were going to see it for the first time. I wondered how many thousands of others visited this marvelous museum for the same reasons.
This year the "Rosie Rally and Home Front Festival" will be held Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. at the Craneway Pavilion. Thousands of people dressed as Rosie are expected to gather in an attempt to break the Guinness world record for the most people dressed as Rosie in one place. The Rosie the Riveter-WW II Home Front National Historical Park, along with the Rosie the Riveter Trust, the City of Richmond and other partners are hoping for a turnout of 5,000 to help break the record.
According to Karen Buchanan of the Port Richmond History Association, "We broke the record last year with 1,000 Rosies, but then it was surpassed by a World War II museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan, so this year we are going for 5,000! We are even allowing men to dress as Rosie. Only women were allowed last year."
People interested in joining the fun should dress in a red bandana with polka dots, a dark-blue collared shirt and dark-blue pants, or dark-blue coveralls, closed-toe black or brown shoes, and red socks.
After breaking the record, the Home Front Festival will move to Marina Bay Park at the corner of Regatta Boulevard and Melville Square for music, food and fun lasting until 4 p.m.
WHEN YOU GO
For more information on the event: www.rosietheriveter.org/news-event/events.
For general information: California State Parks: www.park.ca.gov
City of Richmond: www.ci.richmond.ca.us/pointmolate
East Bay Regional Park District: www.ebparks.org
Patricia Arrigoni is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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