"We Can Grow It!"

With 12 gardens across the state, Oregon is taking lead in the effort to honor the women who helped ensure victory during World War II, and to inspire ‘a new generation of Rosies.’

By Tyler Francke, Oregon Veterans News Magazine

Everyone knows Rosie the Riveter. The flexing, confident female factory worker has become a symbol of positive attitude and self-empowerment and remains one of the most iconic images from the World War II era.

The image, of course, also underscores the pivotal role women played in the war effort on the home front, and yet, the country has only a handful of physical memorials that honor that legacy.

In an effort to ensure the contributions of our nation’s “Rosies” are not forgotten, the Spirit of ’45 collaborative has since 2017 sought to create a living memorial in the form of a national network of Rosie the Riveter Memorial Rose Gardens. And, on March 21, Rosie the Riveter Day, Oregon’s own Spirit of ’45 group took the initiative in coordinating the planting and dedication of 12 Rosie Gardens — with at least one in each of the state’s five congressional districts.

Photo courtesy Willamalane Park and Recreation

Since the nationwide Spirit of ’45 has the goal of planting at least one garden in each of the country’s congressional districts by 2020 (the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII), that means Oregon is ahead of the game.

Barbara Jensen, founder/president of Oregon Spirit of ’45, Inc., said the gardens were also planted in March so they would be at peak bloom in time for Spirit of ’45 Day, which is observed on the second Sunday of August.

Oregon’s Rosie the Riveter Gardens are of varying sizes, but the largest — appropriately enough — is the 11 bushes that line the wall of the Oregon World War II Memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol in Salem.

“We want to make sure that the contributions of women of our Greatest Generation — all who answered the call on the Home Front and those who served in uniform during WWII — are fully honored and officially acknowledged,” Jensen said.

She also said her organization would once again be representing Oregon at the Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C. In special recognition of the state’s newly established network of Rosie the Riveter Memorial Gardens, the Oregon Spirit of ’45 will be represented by Ada Wyn Parker-Loy.

A real-life “Rosie,” now 94 years old and a resident of The Dalles, Parker- Loy was one of the first women mechanics hired at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, Calif. Her older sister, Naomi Parker-Fraley, also worked there and is believed by some to have been the actual inspiration for Rosie the Riveter.

For more information about Oregon Spirit of ’45, and how you can help honor and remember the Greatest Generation, visit www.orspiritof45.org.

Oregon’s 12 rosie gardens

In March, Oregon became the first state to plant Rosie the Riveter Memorial Gardens in all five of its congressional districts. Here’s where you can find them:

District 1: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, 500 N.E. Captain Michael King Smith Way, McMinnville.

District 2: Ericksen Aircraft Collection, 2408 N.W. Berg Drive, Madras; Aspen Ridge Retirement Community, 1010 N.E. Purcell Blvd., Bend; Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village, 19800 S.W. Touchmark Way, Bend; Whispering Winds, 2920 N.E. Conners Ave., Bend; Bend Heroes Memorial at Brooks Park, 35 N.W. Drake Road, Bend.

District 3: International Rose Test Garden, 400 S.W. Kingston Ave., Portland; Peninsula Park, 700 N. Rosa Parks Way, Portland; Pittock Mansion, 3229 NW Pittock Drive, Portland.

District 4: Oregon Women Veterans Memorial at the Veterans Memorial Plaza, 998 Mohawk Blvd., Springfield.

District 5: Oregon Garden, 879 W. Main St., Silverton; Oregon World War II Memorial, intersection of Court and Cottage streets northeast, Salem.