Rosie the Riveter in Eldred, PA
Factory Facts
Working Mothers or Single Working Girls?
About the Project
«The 1800 acre “Loop Hollow Property” was bought in 1941 by the National Munitions Company.
«Two plants were built, one owned by Great Britain and the other by the United States. The
plants provided jobs for an estimated
1500 people.
«The plants operated 6 days a week, 24 hours a day.
«Employees were considered extensions of the military and were given U.S. Army Class ‘A’ style uniforms for public wear outside the factory.
«Women’s wages ranged from $.35 to $.50 per hour, men averaged $.70 per hour.
«Women came from Olean, NY, Bradford, PA, and Coudersport, PA to work at the National Munitions Plant.
«Women worked in all areas of the plant, including building bombs, in payroll, and as Ordnance Inspectors.
«The plant closed in October of 1946.
«Demand
theory states that women war workers
took factory jobs due to the higher
pay and opportunity to leave the traditional
women’s sector.
«Most women,
married or single, had jobs before
the war.
«The women of
the Eldred, PA factory saw
working as a necessity and had worked
outside the home since the Great Depression. Many continued working after the war ended and the factory closed.
«The
government wanted to encourage the
idea that women factory workers were housewives
“having a brief fling with wage
employment.” However, women took advantage of any opportunity they could to improve their earnings status, as well as help in the war effort.
This poster includes information
from my senior research project
for the History Department, under Dr. Payne.
During WWII women joined the workforce in record numbers; they took war jobs in factories, as pilots, agricultural workers, and as nurses. However, a current debate surrounding these “Rosies” centers on whether the majority of women war workers were mothers or single young women.
The Origins of Rosie
Rosie
the Riveter was a fictional character created by the government and industry leaders in 1943. Her purpose was to recruit single women for factory
work. Rosie’s appearance changed over time so she would appeal to as many women as possible. Two of her earliest images appear above.
