Editor's note: The MBN team is on the road at this hour attending the 2024 Rosie the Riveter event at the Michigan State Capital. We will be filming portions of the event, so look for the new content in upcoming days.

For now, enjoy a 'Faces of Manufacturing' episode from last March discussing 2023's similar celebration!

Faces of Manufacturing is a new show to Michigan Business Network. Cindy Kangas, Executive Director, CAMC, Capital Area Manufacturing Council, Lansing, Michigan, co-hosts with Joy Wagner, HR Manager of Granger Waste Services, also Lansing.

Cindy and Joy strive to share the corporate culture, personal stories, and unique personalities of those making a living in manufacturing today, in Michigan. With that in mind, this month they connected with people involved in celebrating the heritage of Rosie the Riveter.

Hear Cindy, Joy, and their guests discussing Rosie the Riveter and more on episode 7 of this  show on MBN in the 6-segment SoundCloud Podcast episode shared below.

For MARCH 2023 they connected with some involved in remembering and celebrating the heritage of Rosie the Riveter.

The segments include: Liz Zajac and I am a Rosebud - my Granny, Eleanor Paszkowski, was a Riveter and a Buck Welder at the Briggs-Connor Manufacturing plant in Detroit from 1942-1945. She was 20 years old when she moved to Detroit from her family farm in the Thumb-area to live with family and work in the plant, and eventually, she talked one of her sisters into moving down and they worked in the same factory together. While at the factory, she held 4 different positions. When she first started, she was a riveter, riveting parts on the wings of planes. After that, she drilled and burred machines, where she would drill a hole, de-burr it right away, and then rivet the pieces together. Her third job was doing repair work on rejected pieces - she would remove rivets, take them to be inspected for flaws, and re-rivet using salvaged pieces. She spent 3 years at those jobs, then after V-J Day, she switched positions again, becoming a buck welder (which she was especially proud of because you had to be small and thin to fit into the tight spots). She worked at the factory until after the end of the war.

She remembered women having to wear dark colored slacks, bandanas covering their hair, and steel-toed boots (which she hated because they were ugly!). There was no photography allowed in the factory and they were not allowed to talk about their jobs outside of work, although this changed after V-J Day, as did the dark uniform requirements, though they did still have to wear the ugly boots. We have several photos of parties held in the factory, one a bridal shower and the other a holiday celebration. On Granny's marriage license, her occupation was listed as Riveter, as well.

In 2017, Granny was one of the Original Rosies honored at the world record-setting event in Ypsilanti. I was her chaperone for it and she was so proud of the work that she, and all the other Rosies, did during the war. She loved being able to meet other women who riveted and worked in the factories, and even met one woman who worked in the same plant as her. She said after that she felt like a queen that day - she was interviewed by podcasters, had her photo taken professionally and for newspapers, and loved everyone thanking and congratulating her for her service, not to mention the crowd of thousands cheering for her and the other Rosies. Granny was diagnosed with cancer a month after the Rosie event and passed away 3 months later while waiting to be interviewed for the Library of Congress's project to preserve the Rosies' stories.

It would have meant the world to her to have her story shared and preserved for future generations. Her name is preserved at the Willow Run Yankee Air Museum Rosie Honor Wall so her service will always be remembered even though we weren't able to get her story recorded. It still would mean the world to me to share her story in Lansing this March. I grew up listening to her stories of her work during the war and have always been extremely proud of my airplane-building Granny. Attached are a few photos of Granny - one in her daily uniform, one of her paychecks, and one of Granny and me at the World Record Event. Thank you for your work in keeping the Rosies' legacy alive.

» Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/
» Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX…
» Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork
» Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/
» MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/