Red Oak VIctory ship and gan
Morgan Hill, CA
Rosie the Riveter was the focus of our activities today. The morning was constant rain so spending the time inside of a National Park site building was a good choice. As a bonus, one park ranger and one volunteer grew up in Minnesota so we swapped stories for a while before we really got into the exhibit. The park site is located inside of an old WWII factory along the wharf area and an area still heavily industrial.
The mission of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park is to honor and to explain the sacrifices made by Americans of all walks to supply the war material needed to win WWII. Richmond CA was chosen due to its important role in producing war material and as a community that dealt with the changes brought about by the rapid increase of people.
Richmond’s location in San Francisco Bay
Richmond was a town of about 23,000 people in 1940. It had a deep harbor with excellent rail connections. It was chosen to house a major shipbuilding program that by war’s end built 747 ships in Richmond, more than any other shipyard in the U.S. People came from all over the country to work here. During the war effort, it exploded to over 100,000 people with over 90,000 people working in the shipyards. The exhibit discusses the impact this had on Richmond from childcare to housing to health care to segregation.
The huge number of ships built was due to a process of using prefabricated assembly methods allowing inexperienced workers to capably excel at basic tasks. This allowed the shipyards to bring in women and minorities that normally would not be hired. The well known Rosie the Riveter image masks the reality of a slow battle for acceptance of women, blacks, Indians, etc. African Americans created a “Double V” campaign for Victory in the war and Victory over racism in the U.S.
A Jeep crated and ready to be shipped overseas
Rosie the Riveter park site explains these and other issues through exhibits and films. We were particularly fortunate to view the 50 minute video about Betty Reid Soskin titled “No Time to Waste”. Betty was an African American woman who became a NPS ranger here at Rosie the Riveter in 2007 at age 85. Previously her jobs and activism had her playing a role in the design of this park site. She realized the plans ignored the situation of African Americans and worked to change that oversight. Her success in that effort lead to numerous honors, including that of introducing Present Obama at the 2015 Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.
After leaving the visitor center, we had lunch at a cafe overlooking the harbor. Chris convinced the waiter to seat her near a heater vent since the cafe was chilly; these temps in the low 40s seem to be taxing the CA heating systems.
There is a Rosie the Riveter outdoor memorial which was less than overwhelming. Finally, we drove to the Red Oak Victory ship, an actual Victory class cargo ship built here in Richmond and preserved at one of the piers in the harbor.
We are spending the night in Morgan Hill as we re-focus our visit on attractions south of San Francisco. Rain has been a constant companion and may have us re-think our planned schedule.
Photo of the masses of people reporting for work at just one of the four shipyards in Richmond
Ed and Chris.
Chris Klejbuk and Ed Heimel travel adventure 
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