Feb. 21 was a cold, snowy Saturday for the 90th birthday celebration of Wilma Foster, a resident of North Laurel. The radio announcer warned listeners that it was too dangerous to go out. When I arrived at the church for the party, I was amazed, but not surprised, at the number of people who ventured out in the snow and filled the hall. After all, Wilma Foster, affectionately known as "Mama" to many other than her children, is a very special person.
Wilma Frances Ferrebee Foster is a living part of history, a Rosie the Riveter, one of many women who served our country on the home front during World War II. This is her Rosie story, adapted from her words.
Wilma was 16 at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. Her father, a sharecropper, and the family who lived in Berryville, Va., heard the news over the radio that day.
The government immediately began registering everyone for the distribution of materials in short supply, such as gasoline, rubber, sugar, grease and clothing. Wilma dropped out of school to help hand out ration books at a small schoolhouse in Millwood, Va.
When she was old enough, Wilma left home to live with her older brother and his family in Hagerstown. She went to work on airplanes for Fairchild Aircraft.
"Life had changed," Wilma said. "It seemed like everyone either went to war or worked in some way for the war effort."
Military Police from Camp Ritchie patrolled the streets. Only workers could be out at night. As a swing shift worker at Plant 8, Wilma's job was to use a snake drill to make holes on the inside trailing edge of the wings of the PT-19 trainer planes. A riveter would then follow. Her pay was 96 cents an hour.
Following plant safety rules closely, the workers wore safety shoes, long-sleeved blouses, slacks and a snood to cover their hair. Wilma's co-worker's job was to hold a block of wood, called a bucking block, firmly and still, to the back of the metal where Wilma was using the snake drill, which had a 20-foot long extension.
One day Wilma was drilling and her co-worker was busy talking and not paying attention. Unfortunately, the block slid and the extension snapped back on Wilma, hitting her head and tearing out some of her hair. The two were called in for questioning by plant security. The torn hole in the plane's wing was very serious and security needed to rule out any possibility of sabotage.
Funny things also happened at the plant, which broke the monotony of assembly work. The paint shop crew played a funny joke on the women workers, surprising them by painting all their shoes blue and yellow, the colors of the PT-19s.
When the war ended in 1945, the loud speaker at the plant blurted out the news to everyone, "We have victory!" Everyone celebrated.
Very soon after that, Wilma returned home to her family and farm work.
"Sometimes when I think about it, it seems like a dream," she said. "But, as I look back again, I am proud to have served my country."
Rosies appreciate the recognition they are finally receiving. You should see the broad smiles on their faces when they tell their Rosie stories, proud of answering their country's call to work in support of the war effort.
If you know a Rosie or Rosies in your family, or among your friends, whether living or deceased, bring them to the attention of Anne Marie Miller, president of the Laurel Chapter of American Rosie the Riveter Association, at annmarie1st@hotmail.com or 301-498-3397. Their Rosie stories need to become a part of recorded history. If they are still living, we also want to recognize and celebrate them. Go to rosietheriveter.net for details on the association and Rosies.
Let's make this year that marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II the year that anyone who helped with the war, either veteran or American on the home front, is recognized for his or her service.