"We're in this together!" Modern Rosie the Riveter on The Liberty Coast

By Stephanie Thompson

March 21 is dedicated to celebrating an allegorical American cultural icon from World War II: Rosie the Riveter. The photo we have all come to associate with this proactive lady is from the “We Can Do It!” poster. The painting illustrates a woman wearing a red and white polka-dot bandana and flexing her right arm while rolling up the blue sleeve of her work uniform.

What is less obvious is that this image originally had nothing to do with Rosie the Riveter. The image was designed by J. Howard Miller in 1942 for Westinghouse Corporation, to be displayed for a two-week period in February 1943, in a succession of many other posters meant to boost morale and increase productivity in their midwestern factories.

The campaign was internal to the company; the only people who saw the posters were those working in the Westinghouse factories, likely making helmet liners, not using riveters. Once the two-week period ended, the poster was put away, making room for the next poster that would take its place.

The first artwork actually depicting Rosie the Riveter was designed by Norman Rockwell and was widely distributed on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on May 29, 1943. It seems Rockwell may have gotten his inspiration from the upbeat and catchy song “Rosie the Riveter,” released in early 1943, written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb and performed by the Four Vagabonds (check it out on YouTube!).

Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage; Sitting up there on the fuselage; That little frail can do more than a male can do; Rosie the Riveter

Then, two verses later:

Everyone stops to admire the scene; Rosie at work on the B-Nineteen; She’s never twittery, nervous or jittery; Rosie the Riveter

Rockwell’s painting is less well known due to its copyright protections. After his death, Rockwell’s estate would not release the photo, so it didn’t have the opportunity to be as widespread.

While the history behind the war-time poster is fascinating, did you know that the COVID-19 pandemic inspired a modern Rosie the Riveter in St. Augustine?

Rather than a painting, the image is a photograph of Lindy Loose, co-owner of Gas Full Service Restaurant along with her husband, Ben. For years, the restaurant has worked closely with Pie in the Sky, a charity that buys and donates groceries to low-income seniors of St. Johns County. The events of 2020 increased the need for Pie in the Sky services, which ultimately grew its offerings by working with local restaurants to deliver meals to seniors.

Pie in the Sky Director Malea Guiriba was inspired by her memories of women coming together during WWII to support the larger community. The thought of it struck a chord with her when she realized that the pandemic had caused the same need for the community to rally together in support of one another. She then asked Loose to pose as a modern-day Rosie, sporting a new catchphrase: “We’re all in this together!” Though nearly a year has passed since the photo was taken, her message rings just as true today. We are, indeed, all in this together.