Rosie the Riveter Comes to Everett
Editor’s note: Originally published December 19, 2017. Republished March 5, 2020.
Every time I buy beets I think of Rosie the Riveter.
I get produce at the Co-op, located on the ground floor of the Public Market on the corner of Grand & California.
During World War II the building served as the Everett Boeing Subassembly Plant.
In this building women (and some men) once assembled fuselages for B-29 Superfortress bombers.
When their work was done in Everett, the semi-completed airplane cabins were trucked down to Boeing in Seattle for further assembly.
Nearly 19 million American women held jobs during World War II.
One U.S. propaganda poster asked women: "Can you use an electric mixer? If so, you can learn to operate a drill."
“We wore blue overalls and caps,” remembers Everett riveter Margaret Mickelson. “We weren’t wearing things that could get caught in the machinery.”
The women workers of Mill Town labored in small teams, bucking rivets and gluing cabin seams. They were trained on the job.
The work had to be perfect. An non-airtight airplane cabin would kill a pilot and crew.
“You did [everything] with your hands,” said Mickelson. “I could do this well and they were satisfied with my work.”
Most of the employees at the Everett Subassembly Plant were army wives. Many of them were new to Everett. Their husbands had been transferred to Paine Field for the war.
All three floors of the building were used for airplane production. The plant ran three shifts a day, seven days a week. Starting wage was 65 cents an hour but it went up to 85 cents an hour if you stayed on for six months.
The women got two coffee breaks and a lunch. There was no cafeteria. Most of the workers brought food from home— lunches made from rationed supplies or produce from victory gardens.
There was a sign in the factory that said, “Loose lips sink ships.”
When the war ended the plant simply shut down and the workers went home. That was it.
Many women, however, got a taste for joining the workforce. Some took up other jobs after the Allies had declared victory.
Yes, once upon a time the women of Everett came together to buck rivets for Uncle Sam in an effort to overthrow Axis powers.
Something to think about next time you're at the Co-op.
Just another cool old story in a city of cool old stories.
you can VISIT THE PUBLIC MARKET BUILDING AT 2804 GRAND AVE.
Home of Sisters Restaurant and the Sno-Isle Co-op (among other cool businesses).
May I recommend the co-op's selection of craft beers?
Richard Porter is a writer for Live in Everett.
