I put the word out to friends and family members; this was important to me, since my mother worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant during the war. I had several positive responses to my plea, and six of us went to Eastern Michigan University to be a part of the competition. My sister Rana, old friend Julie, daughter Alison, granddaughter Delia and Delia's friend Danica all jumped at the chance to be a Rosie. The event was free, but tickets were required and there were costume checkers at the point of entry. We all passed muster.
Above are Rana, Danica, me, Delia, Alison, and Julie on the floor. Julie's grandmother also worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant.
We did special three generational photos.
The young Rosies struck a pose.
And the sisters.
At 11:00 AM we lined up in the corridor and slowly snaked our way to the entry where we were counted before entering, and while entering the arena. Once inside we had to pass through a turnstile counter and were given a numbered tag and seated in groups of fifty. Each group of 50 had a warden.
There were speakers and inspirational videos. I looked closely at the old footage from the factory but did not see my mom. Two men in yellow shirts came up on stage to make the count official. Finally it was announced: we beat the record set in California last year by over 1,200 Rosies! We were 3,755 strong, including over 50 women who actually worked at Willow Run Bomber Plant! There were Rosies from 6 weeks old to 110 years old. I was proud to stand up and be counted among them!
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