Rosie the Riveter selected for Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame

With her determined spirit and “Can-do” attitude, Rosie the Riveter will be inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame this year, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Michigan Women’s Studies Association.
Rosie’s nomination was submitted by the Yankee Air Museum to recognize and honor the thousands of female defense workers rising to meet the home front industrial challenges in World War Two. Collectively, these unstoppable women became known as Rosie the Riveter.
“The Willow Run Bomber Plant and the women who worked here in the 1940s symbolize the talent and strength of the American home front that brought a conclusive end to World War Two,” said Kevin Walsh, Executive Director of the Museum. “It is a proper tribute to commemorate these women, for all time, in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.”
Rosie will join the likes of Rosa Parks, Betty Ford, Serina Williams, and many other Michigan women who have made a positively enduring contribution to the world. A search revealed that Michigan, fittingly, appears to be the first state to induct the class of women known as Rosie the Riveters into a state Hall of Fame.
“Yankee Air Museum and its corps of Tribute Rosies extend heartfelt thanks to the Michigan Women’s Historical Center & Hall of Fame selection committee for the detailed review of Rosie the Riveter nomination. Rosie the Riveter inspires people to dream, persevere, and do great things,” said Alison Beatty, a member of the Yankee Public Relations Committee. “Hundreds of thousands of women worked in Detroit and around Michigan to produce the war materiel that helped give our state the nickname ‘Arsenal of Democracy.’”
Rosie’s contribution to the war effort will be preserved for all time when the Willow Run Bomber Plant becomes the new home of the Yankee Air Museum. “Our mission is to create a permanent exhibit showcasing the ways that women overcame obstacles to build the planes, tanks, munitions, healing implements and more that were so crucial for Allied victory,” continued Walsh. “The ‘We can do it’ spirit of Rosie the Riveter emerges time and time again and we see young people getting excited about aviation and STEM fields in general.”
Joining Rosie the Riveter in the 2017 class of historical inductees are: Ella Mae Backus, Elizabeth Denison, Clara Bryant Ford and Verna Mize. The contemporary inductees are: Mary Kay Henry, Rosemary Sarri, American Legion NUWARINE Post 535, Elizabeth Wetzel and Bernice Morton.
The induction will take place at the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame 34th Annual Awards Dinner and Induction Ceremony on Oct. 18, in East Lansing.
“Yankee Air Museum congratulates all of the inductees and we are very proud that Rosie the Riveter is a member of this distinguished class of 2017,” concluded Beatty.
About Yankee Air Museum
Established in 1981 the Yankee Air Museum is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. The museum works to positively excite kids and stimulate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to help meet the challenges facing America.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Yankee Air Museum proudly presents the THUNDER OVER MICHIGAN air show each year and in 2017 the U.S. Navy Blue Angels return on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4.
Visit www.yankeeairmuseum.org to discover more about it, its exciting events and how they are working to preserve local history, or “Rosie’s Home,” as they sometimes call it, with the www.SavetheBomberPlant.org campaign. For more information, call (734) 483-4030.