Brandon Twp.-Jessica Kimmel wanted to do something special and unexpected with her daughter, whom she is raising to believe that anything is possible.
So the 32-year-old township resident and her 4-year-old, Leona, joined more than 2,094 other women and girls in setting a new Guinness World Record? the most ‘Rosie the Riveters? to be photographed together.
The image was taken Oct. 24 in an airport hangar at Willow Run in Ypsilanti Township, with everyone in the picture having met requirements for attire and having been counted as they passed through turnstiles. A representative from Guinness was on hand to verify the count, although it has not been made official on the Guinness website as of yet.
‘I wanted to show (Leona) that you can do something that isn’t the norm,? said Jessica. ‘Just because it is not the norm doesn’t mean you can’t do it, you can do whatever you like.?
Besides her daughter, she was joined by her mother-in-law, township resident Lynn Kimmel, as well as sister-in-law Jackie Kimmel, a Canton resident, and her daughter Carolyn, 7. Like all the subjects in the photograph, they had to wear the uniform made famous by ‘Rosie the Riveter,? an icon representing the women who worked in factories making supplies for the U.S. military during World War II. She is depicted in images as wearing a dark blue uniform, and a red head scarf with white polka dots. The most famous image shows her striking a pose with a clenched fist and arm curled upward to display her bicep and symbolizing the strength of women working on the homefront as part of the war effort. ‘You can do it!? was the motto.
‘It was hard finding the proper attire,? said Jessica, who was shopping until 10 p.m. at thrift stores the night before the event. ‘The work boots had to be dark brown or black and the polka dots on the scarf had to be the size of a penny.?
Her brother-in-law brought them coveralls from his place of employment and they obtained bandannas from a fabric store.
Jessica did not bring her youngest daughter, Lorelei, 1, but there were infants in the picture and all ages, ranging all the way up to women in their 90s, including 44 of ‘the original Rosies,? women who actually worked in the Willow Run Bomber Plant in the early 1940s.
The women and girls all gathered in a designated area for five minutes while they were videotaped, and during that time, they sang ‘God Bless America,? ‘Amazing Grace? and a few other patriotic tunes.
‘It was more emotional than I thought it would be,? said Jessica. ‘It was a moment I will really remember, it was so powerful to sing with all those women.?
The original Rosies were seated at the front of the photograph and as Jessica and her family members and other ‘new? Rosies walked past, they thanked them. For the actual photo, cameramen used aerial lifts from which to capture the shot while the women and girls ‘showed their muscles.?
The 2,096 Rosies photographed at Willow Run means Michigan takes back the world record they had originally set last year with 776 Rosies, but which had been broken in August when 1,084 Rosies were photographed in California.
Besides the new record-setting picture, the Oct. 24 ‘Save the Willow Run Bomber Plant? event also included a tour in which they saw old planes. The event brings awareness of efforts to raise funds for the Yankee Air Museum.
Rick Austin is chairman of the board of the Michigan Aerospace Foundation, which began raising funds to save the Willow Run Bomber Plant in 2013.
The plant, when built in 1941, comprised almost 5 million square feet and at that time, was the largest building under a single roof anywhere, he said. Workers at the plant built more than 7,600 bombers for the World War II effort and at the height of production, the plant employed more than 40,000 workers, a third of which were women.
‘They held all sorts of jobs within the plant,? said Austin. ‘Rosie was famous as doing the riveting on the aircraft bodies, but women were involved in all manufacturing activities. They were paid the same rate as men, given what the particular job was. More skilled workers got more money and less skilled, less money, but women in any of these categories were paid the same.?
The bomber plant was built by Ford Motor Company and after the war, Ford sold it to Kaiser-Frazer, another automaker. In the mid-1950s, the plant was sold to General Motors, which occupied the plant until 2010, building automobile transmissions, but following GM’s bankruptcy declaration, they were charged with repurposing factories including Willow Run. GM attempted to sell Willow Run, but were unsuccessful and decided to demolish it instead. The Michigan Aerospace Foundation was able to save 150,000 square feet of the bomber plant, the area where bomber planes came off the assembly line and were flown off to join the war.
‘Unfortunately, it’s a huge empty box with 60-foot high ceilings, nothing on the walls and nothing on the floor except slabs,? said Austin. ‘The only thing inside is some of the static aircraft that don’t do well outside in Michigan winters. We don’t have electricity, water or heat. We have a lot of work and fundraising to do.?
The saved section of the Willow Run Bomber Plant will be the home of the Yankee Air Museum, which the foundation will fill with aviation artifacts and history. The ‘Rosie the Riveter? records have brought attention to their cause and were the idea of Alison Beatty, a U-M graduate student.
One of the foundation’s original goals was to acquire the B-24 bomber originally built at Willow Run.
‘We continue to hold out hope we can find one, but they are scarce,? said Austin. ‘There are only two or three we are aware of on this side of the Atlantic. There is one in the Royal Air Museum in England, but they are unlikely to give it up. There are two or three in the U.S., one owned by a private aviation museum, another in Denton, Texas…Many historians believe the reason for the favorable outcome of World War II owed a lot to the productive capacity of the U.S. and all the manufacturing of war material that was possible in the United States that far outstripped productive capacity of the countries that were fighting against the U.S.?
For more information on the Willow Run Bomber Plant or to make a donation, visit www.savethebomberplant.org.