Rosie in the News #7: Rivets and Rosebuds

30 Rosies gather in Phoenix, AZ (via yourwestvalley.com)

This article on the recent Rosie the Riveter convention in Phoenix, AZ is a gem. So many excellent facts:

1. There exists an American Rosie the Riveter Association.

2. Daughters of Rosies are called Rosebuds

3. Sons and husbands of Rosies are called Rivets

4. Jan Brewer, the horribly offensive governor of Arizona (do you look illegal?) declared May 28th, 2012 Rosie the Riveter Day.

5. There is such a thing as the Female Cowboy Poet Society.

In seriousness, Rosies, like any group of people from that era, are a dwindling bunch and opportunities to hear their stories are consequently dwindling.

A few years ago, I worked on a documentary about women at the University of Chicago (which opened as a co-ed institution in 1892). I interviewed female alums from every decade since the 40s, and there’s something pretty inspiring about the bonds that people form when they are, for whatever reason, the “other” in a larger community.

Oh to be a fly on the wall of the Rosie the Riveter convention! Maybe next year!

Related Post: The whole Rosie in the News archive

Related Post: An NYU interview project of real Rosies