Since 2014, the Guinness World Record for the “Largest gathering of people dressed as Rosie the Riveter” has been bouncing like polka dots back and forth between Michigan and California. Michigan currently holds the record but the Rosie the Riveter Trust in California hopes to take back the bandanna this summer.
Rosie the Riveter World War II National Historical Park (National Park Service)
When the National Park Service (NPS) was looking for a site in 2000 to honor the World War II Home Front, with Rosie the Riveter front and center, they looked at many places throughout the United States. In the end, they settled on Richmond, California near San Francisco.
According to the NPS, they chose Richmond because the Kaiser shipyards there produced more ships than any other location (747) and there were 56 different war industries based in Richmond. Richmond’s WWII story is diverse and includes “the mobilization of America’s industry and the changes in production techniques; the struggle for women’s and minority rights; the labor movement; the growth of pre-paid medical care; advances in early childhood education and day care; recycling and rationing; major shifts in population; and changes in arts and culture.” (Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park website) The NPS administers the park, which includes multiple sites owned by a combination of public and private entities.
Guinness World Record
At peak production during WWII, Henry Ford’s Willow Run Bomber Plant near Detroit was producing one B-24 Liberator every hour. Each plane required 360,000 rivets, which were made at the plant. Very few people thought Henry Ford could apply his vehicle assembly line process to mass production of airplanes. Before World War II, planes were made by hand and one plane took weeks or months to make. Ford and his engineers succeeded in taking their expertise in car production and applying it to the airplane industry. The United Stated went from producing about 1,700 planes per year before WWII to almost 300,000 planes from 1942-1945 with peak years in 1943 and 1944. Rosie had a starring role in this production. Almost 40 percent of workers at airplane factories during WWII were women.
In 2014, the building that once was the Willow Run Bomber Plant was set to be demolished. The Yankee Air Museum, located near the plant, saved a portion of the building through a public awareness campaign that included a Rosie Rally in the bomber plant. On March 29, 2014, the Yankee Air Museum hosted 776 Rosies, including some original Rosies who had worked at the plant, to set the Guinness World Record.
The competition had begun! On Aug. 15, 2015, California took the record with 1,084 Rosies at a Rally. Michigan quickly responded with 2,097 Rosies on Oct. 24, 2015.
On Aug. 13, 2016, California displaced Michigan with 2,229 Rosies, a record that stood for more than one year. But on Oct. 14, 2017, 3,734 people dressed as Rosie the Riveter gathered at Eastern Michigan University to claim the bandanna again. Polka dots were everywhere, filling the rafters of the basketball arena. True to Guinness World Records, each participant had to be deemed authentically dressed as Rosie the Riveter. Official Rosie gear is available online. The lunchbox is optional!
What a fitting way to honor the millions of women who left home to work in factories! The history of how Rosie became the iconic symbol of these women will be covered in one of the nine lesson plans and will include interviews with original Rosies. Their stories are amazing.
For more information on this summer’s Rosie Rally in Richmond, visit the Rosie the Riveter Trust.
