Brian Damage
12-30-2010, 01:00 PM
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/WWII_Industry/Aero7G8.jpg
Her face became the symbol of women's empowerment, and her death is the end of an era.
Geraldine Hoff Doyle of Lansing, the woman behind an iconic image of a bandana-clad, muscle-flexing Rosie the Riveter during World War II, has died, according to her family.
Doyle was 86, a lifetime older than the 17-year-old factory worker who was captured in a United Press International photo in a metal-pressing plant near Ann Arbor.
Her photo was later used by the U.S. War Production Coordinating Committee in an illustrated poster called, "We Can Do It!"
The poster was designed to encourage other women to enter the workforce in support of the war effort but has grown to become a pop-culture icon of women's equality.
"She was very inspirational," said her daughter, Stephanie Gregg of Eaton Rapids, assistant dean of admissions for Cooley Law School. "She was very kind and generous. She lived the 'We Can Do It!' life every day."
More than 6 million women would eventually heed the poster's call, entering the workforce in droves during the war. Nearly half found factory jobs previously reserved for men to churn out bombers, tanks, guns and ammunition.
After the war, Doyle's famous image became a lasting emblem, said Gladys Beckwith, former director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame, which honored Doyle in 2002.
"Rosie the Riveter is the image of an independent woman who is in control of her own destiny," Beckwith said. "(Doyle) was a gracious, beautiful woman. Her death is the passing of an era, and we need to take note of that. We need to respect what she stood for."
Ironically, Doyle herself didn't know until 1984 that she had a famous face -- not until she was flipping through an issue of "Modern Maturity" magazine and saw a reproduction of the poster.
"She said, 'This is me!,'" recalled Gregg.
Doyle recounted the story later for a 2002 article in the Lansing State Journal.
She had never noticed the poster before, she said, because she was too busy living her life.
"I was changing diapers all the time," she said in 2002.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20101230/NEWS01/12300314/-Rosie-the-Riveter-dies-at-86
Her face became the symbol of women's empowerment, and her death is the end of an era.
Geraldine Hoff Doyle of Lansing, the woman behind an iconic image of a bandana-clad, muscle-flexing Rosie the Riveter during World War II, has died, according to her family.
Doyle was 86, a lifetime older than the 17-year-old factory worker who was captured in a United Press International photo in a metal-pressing plant near Ann Arbor.
Her photo was later used by the U.S. War Production Coordinating Committee in an illustrated poster called, "We Can Do It!"
The poster was designed to encourage other women to enter the workforce in support of the war effort but has grown to become a pop-culture icon of women's equality.
"She was very inspirational," said her daughter, Stephanie Gregg of Eaton Rapids, assistant dean of admissions for Cooley Law School. "She was very kind and generous. She lived the 'We Can Do It!' life every day."
More than 6 million women would eventually heed the poster's call, entering the workforce in droves during the war. Nearly half found factory jobs previously reserved for men to churn out bombers, tanks, guns and ammunition.
After the war, Doyle's famous image became a lasting emblem, said Gladys Beckwith, former director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame, which honored Doyle in 2002.
"Rosie the Riveter is the image of an independent woman who is in control of her own destiny," Beckwith said. "(Doyle) was a gracious, beautiful woman. Her death is the passing of an era, and we need to take note of that. We need to respect what she stood for."
Ironically, Doyle herself didn't know until 1984 that she had a famous face -- not until she was flipping through an issue of "Modern Maturity" magazine and saw a reproduction of the poster.
"She said, 'This is me!,'" recalled Gregg.
Doyle recounted the story later for a 2002 article in the Lansing State Journal.
She had never noticed the poster before, she said, because she was too busy living her life.
"I was changing diapers all the time," she said in 2002.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20101230/NEWS01/12300314/-Rosie-the-Riveter-dies-at-86