Special 1940's Homefront Heroine to Visit Middle River
Extra! Extra! This good news just in! The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, located at Martin State Airport, 701 Wilson Point Rd in Middle River, MD invites you to a special celebration of World War II homefront heroes on Wednesday, May 30 at 2pm as it has just been confirmed that the Museum will be hosting a visit by the country’s longest working Rosie the Riveter, Elinor Otto, who worked as a riveter in California 1942 – 2014. She is in the Maryland/DC area to participate in the National Memorial Day Parade and will be at the Museum on Wednesday, May 30 for a press conference announcing to aviation and history museums across the country the Rosie the Riveter Memorial Gardens Campaign, a national initiative to honor the working women of World War II who supported the war effort on the homefront. The Glenn L. Martin related aviation museum was selected for this important announcement because Martin was the first to hire women for doing men’s job in a World War II supporting manufacturing site. In August, 1941 he hired 19 women as a test to see if they could do the work. Alice Whitmer Podolsky was the first woman interviewed and first to be hired and Alice and the other 18 women proved that they could do the job assigned to them, thus being the first Rosie the riveters.
Elinor rose to fame following her appearance on “The Ellen Show” where her Rosie story was shared several years ago. Upon her retirement in 2014, Elinor, now 98 years old and still going strong with a “We Can Do It” energy, has been serving as national spokesperson for the Spirit of ’45 and Rosie Memorial Gardens. As seating is limited for the 2pm event, please RSVP if you can attend. The Baltimore area has been home for many World War II women who served as pioneers of the 1940’s, contributing to bringing a war to an end while bringing social change to the workplace. Baltimore County was built on the wings of Martin aircraft and a visit to the Museum by Elinor Otto assists in celebrating and honoring that treasured heritage during the Memorial Day week.