Continuing with yesterday's story.
The Richmond, California shipyards built 747 ships during the war using round-the-clock shifts.
The Rosie the Riveter Park is a work in progress. There is a memorial walkway flanked by metal structures to evoke the hull of a ship. It was dedicated in 2000. There is also space in a refurbished Ford assembly plant which they hope to turn into an exhibit.
You can get a map and directions to the park's landmarks such as a housing development for workers. Shipyard No. 3, where the USS Red Oak Victory, an ammunition ship, and others were built is being restored to its WW II appearance.
-FORMER ROSIE VISITS
Kate Grant, a former Rosie, visited from Moore, Oklahoma. She said she "was a tack welder and used to go 40 feet down to the bottom of the ship to lay beads of hot lead on seams. I worked the graveyard shift from 12 am to 8 am, getting home in time to take care of my baby, who was watched at night by my younger sister."
She had two weeks of training and wore a hood, goggles, and leather pants and gloves. Her husband Melvin was a Marine and shipped overseas. She remembers writing him a letter to him saying, "Honey, I feel like I'm building a ship for you to come home in."
Glad to See Another Aspect of that Unbelievable War Effort Being Remembered. --Old Coot
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