Eight of the 13 Rosie the Riveters are shown here along with Heritage Exhibit participant Tom Walker, Oak Ridge Heritage Room organizer Bobbie Martin, and Interpretive National Park Ranger Veronica Greear. The Rosies are, from left to right, Bette Kenward, Barb Matthews, Vikki Toth, Chris Brown, Patsy Kemner, Kate Weise, Susie Sweeney, and Alison Beatty (down front). (Photo by M. McBride)
This year’s Secret City Festival hosted 13 members of the “Willow Run Rosies” from the Historic Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Wearing Rosie-The-Riveter costumes, these ladies helped re-create the spirit of the many Rosies who powered the American war effort during World War II.
The Rosies were part of a 20-person group from Michigan.
The Willow Run Rosies chatted with festival visitors in the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Room on Saturday during the city’s two-day festival. Each year, the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association sponsors a heritage room during the festival, featuring exhibits on the history of the super-secret Manhattan Project and its “Secret City†of Oak Ridge.
Tens of thousands of “Rosies†came here during World War II, as part of President Roosevelt’s massive effort to build an atomic bomb in time to end the war. [Read more…]
