Countdown to Women’s History Month for 2022. We’re just four days away from the start of Women's History Month and our first official RosieCentral blog featuring women who inspire us. We hope you’ll join us each Tuesday for a new inspirational story of an Amazing CAN DO Woman.
Here's a Peek at What We Have Planned for You.
For March, Women’s History Month, we’re exploring the life stories of:
Rosie the Riveter — March 1 —The “We Can Do It!” woman
No Teno Quah / Grace Thorpe— March 8 —WW2 Women’s Army Corps and American Indian activist
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Part 1)—March 15 Supreme Court Justice (born March 15)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Part 2)—March 22
Aretha Franklin — March 29—The Queen of Soul — Born in March 25, 1942
Why Start with Rosie the Riveter?
This website, RosieCentral.com, is the culmination of 15 years of research, writing, and product development. All of it has been and continues to be inspired by Rosie the Riveter.
Our story began in the early 2000s, we (Matilda Butler—a Rosie’s Daughter—and Kendra Bonnett—a Boomer) were inspired to research and write about the generation of women born during World War II.
Who Were These Women Born During WW2 and Why Do They Matter to You?
These women came of age in the 60s…both shaped by and an influencer of their times. These precursors of the Baby Boomers achieved more “firsts” than any group of women before or since, earning them the name of “First Woman To” Generation.
The resulting collective memoir, four-time award-winning book, Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story heralds Rosie the Riveter as the icon for our mothers who built ships, flew bombers, and filled thousands of other essential wartime jobs, upending traditional views of “womens’s work.” When the war was over, however, American industry thanked Rosie and send her home.
Rosie’s Daughters flung wide the doors of employment opportunity that Rosie had unlocked. Their stories show how the post-war education boom, sexual revolution, civil rights and gender equality, the Vietnam War, consciousness raising, Row V. Wide, no-fault divorce, and other events influenced their lives and shaped their journeys.
But we didn’t stop there.
To make book presentations more fun, we created an authentic Rosie the Riveter red and white polkadot bandana. After requests for “Where can I buy one of those?” came from those in the audience, we started a Rosie’s Legacy Gear product line with each item researched for historical accuracy. An Etsy store was the obvious place to make them available.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/RosieCentral and our original
And now, about 15 years later, we have:
an Amazon store ( RosieCentral ),
a Redbubble store ( https://www.redbubble.com/people/Can-Do-It-Women ) ,
and eight Etsy stores — including:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SuffragetteCostumes and our most recent
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WeCanDoItWomen featuring Amazing CAN DO Women figures, dolls, ornaments.
So yes, Rosie the Riveter has been a powerful force...
...for us all these years. Therefore, it’s not surprising that our first blog in this new series of reflections on the lives of inspiring women just had to be ROSIE THE RIVETER.
What is there to say about her? We think our blog will surprise and inform you and give you the first of the many inspiring messages we’ll be bringing you each week. So stay tuned for our March 1 story that intertwines the stories of:
J. Howard Miller, a graphic artist
Evans and Lowb, a song writing duo
Norman Rockwell, popular artist and creator of 323 The Saturday Evening Post covers for 47 years
Rosalind Palmer, socialite and Rosie the Riveter night shift worker
Mary Doyle Keefe, neighbor and Rosie model for Norman Rockwell
Geraldine Hoff Doyle, widely and mistakenly thought to be Rosie the Riveter
Naomi Parker, the actual Rosie the Riveter.
We invite you to join us for our profile of Rosie the Riveter on March 1...
...and continue Women's History Month with us as we bring you the amazing stories of CAN DO women. We'll share the inspiration we find in their lives with the hopes that they will inspire your life.
NOTE: Be sure to scroll down and sign up for our blog. We'll send you a link to our most recent post about an Amazing CAN DO Woman. In addition, we'll let you know when we have special sales. Of course, we never share or sell you name and email address.