Skating Uphill - July 2024
Living a Healthy Lifestyle
“The women of this country these days need some icons, and
if they think I am one, then I am very happy about that!”
— Naomi Parker Farley, a.k.a. Rosie the Riveter
“We needed women to look up to then, and we need them now!”
— The Uphill Skater, a.k.a. Judith Lawrenson
There’s barely a more iconic American female than Rosie the Riveter. For more than 80 years, her strong, clenched fist image has appeared literally everywhere from 1940s posters, which peppered government offices and factory break rooms, to modern day T-shirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, baseball caps, purses and every other imaginable retail item. Rosie the Riveter stood for something then—“We Can Do It”—bolstering the women left behind to takeover many male-dominated jobs while the men were at war.
It was the early 1940s when Westinghouse Electric Corporation made a poster of a female worker showing her powerful arm and wearing a polka-dot bandana. It was a motivation builder that caught on. Soon after, noted artist and magazine cover designer Norman Rockwell recreated and redesigned the poster to what we know it as today. Rosie was named after a popular song ‘40s song titled none other than “Rosie the Riveter.”
There were many theories floating around as to who the actual Rosie could be. Finally, it was “determined she was a society woman named Geraldine Doyle but there was doubt. In other words, there was never an actual person named Rosie who was a riveter. However, the spirit of Rosie lived within millions of women who joined the workforce when America needed them the most.
But who is the women in the now world-famous picture? Well, as you would suspect, the mystery finally was solved, ironically by “Rosie” herself. A woman named Naomi Parker Farley had been a welder/riveter in the Alameda Naval Shipyards in Alameda, California, a town near San Francisco. Years later, at a reunion of some of her work friends from back in the day, Naomi saw a picture of the “original” Rosie on a poster and cried out: “That’s Me!” And indeed, it was.
Naomi, then in her early 90s set out to prove that she was the real deal—an actual worker, not some society lady. It took her a while, but she finally did it and was acknowledged to be who she claimed to be. She was never after fame or money; she wanted people to understand that what she and others did during the war was of key importance and deserved to be properly acknowledged.
Since this issue of Pink is about strong women who protect and serve, I nominate Rosie! I mean, of course, both the iconic Rosie, who became a virtual war hero, and also the real Rosie (Naomi), who in her advanced old age fought for what was right.
Naomi was a great choice to be the emblem of women who helped to win WWII by assuming millions of jobs that men had previously held. She also turned out to be a genuine fighter for the rights of women. I wear my Rosie the Riveter baseball cap at every opportunity so Rosie, Naomi, and all of the women who did what it took to patriotically serve the United States of America are never forgotten for their service.
Visit Rosie the Riveter National Park: Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park is located in Richmond, California. The park was created in 2000 to preserve and interpret the history of the World War II home front and the contributions of women to the war effort. The park is named after the well-known depiction of “Rosie the Riveter,” who stands in for the numerous women who toiled in the factories and shipyards during the war. For more information and to find fun Rosie the Riveter trinkets, visit www.rosietheriveter.org.
Visit www.skatinguphill.com blog for new recipes, daily thoughts and décor ideas. Also find reprints of Pink articles and shared comments. Blogging is fun and easy.
Judith Lawrenson is a former Hilton Head Island resident who has a huge heart and is loved by all who meet her. She has served and volunteered with numerous charitable organizations while living in the Lowcontry making an impact wherever she went. She and her husband recently moved to the wild hills of West Virginia to be closer to grandchildren. Judith is an avid sailor, a retired reading resource specialist, and a children's TV host whose local show originated from the Boys and Girls' Club. Judith is also a long-time seeker of healthy, happy living and a lifestyle dedicated to service to others, balanced with love of God and love of self. Check out her blog www.skatinguphill.com for fun info, recipes and nutrition ideas, current updates on nearly everything in the world, and lots of comments and opinions.
Though I do tons of research, and have done so for many years, I am not a doctor and I share only my opinions. I enjoy research and subscribe to several magazines and publications and read up on all new trends. I hope you do, too!