Honoring the Rosies

In February the Committee announced five finalists in a competition held to select an artist who will design the permanent memorial to be placed at Marina Green and Park, the former site of Kaiser Shipyard Number Two. "This memorial will help a broad audience understand the crucial role women played in helping the U.S. win the war - and the changes that those new jobs ushered in for women and their families," stated Richmond City Councilwoman Donna Powers, who has been spearheading the project. The winner of the competition will be announced in May, and the dedication of the memorial is scheduled for spring 1999.
      The project also includes educational programs; gathering photos, documents, and memorabilia for archives at the Richmond Museum of History; recording oral histories of shipyard workers; and compilation of a Rosie the Riveter cookbook. The beginning of the Rosie the Riveter Memorial project was celebrated October 5, 1996, at the Marina Bay site. Dozens of women who had worked in the World War II shipyards gathered for the event.