Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Historical actresses visit Gurdon to promote Chatauqua

It took only a few minutes to for most to begin believing that Margaret Bourke-White and Rosie the Riveter had decided to spend some time in Gurdon. In reality, it was Dr. Sally Ann Drucker and Dr. Doris Dwyer, taking on the characters' roles for audiences that included children at the Gurdon Library and Gurdon Rotarians. The two were part of a historical event known as Chautauqua that included several performances at DeGray Lake State Park. This year's theme was "World War II: I Remember Like Yesterday." The five performers took on the roles of people who played an important part in the war.

Drucker, an English teacher for a college in New York City, said, "This is what we do for our summer vacation. In a sense, all teachers are performers." She said taking on a character gives her a chance to learn about that person and the time frame, then bring the information to life for her audiences.

For Drucker's character, Rosie, the war meant a change in the traditional role for women. Until the war, women usually stayed at home. Those who did work held "pink collar" positions - waiting tables or secretarial duties.

With many men going off to war and the increased need for production of war supplies, women became a valued workforce. On the cover of the May 29, 1943, edition of the Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell's rendition of "Rosie" gave a face to the millions of the women who were filling these positions. Soon, Rosie the Riveter was a recognized icon, representing all those women who held jobs traditional filled by men.

While Rosie is portrayed as a white female, feminine enough to have a little make-up and some curls hidden under her bandana, there were other groups impacted by the war. Drucker said African Americans and those with handicaps also found their services more in demand with better pay.

Drucker said there were some myths about Rosie.

"They were not bored housewives," she said. About 2/3 of the Rosies had worked before, but held those "pink collar" jobs. "The Rosies were thrilled to do the defense work," Drucker said. "It was better pay. It wasn't difficult to get the women to these jobs."

But there were some facts about the Rosies.

Often, her job would be to put the rivets in planes or other defense weapons. She might be a welder in a shipyard or hold any number of other jobs. A lot of the women readily agreed to work night or "swing" shifts so they could be home with smaller children during the day. They were usually very patriotic.

Some advertisements that encouraged the Rosies used catchy slogans to appeal to that patriotism - "Be the woman behind the man behind the gun," or "Rosie, the soldier of the homefront."

But Rosies also held very dangerous jobs. Drucker said statistics show that beginning in 1944, there were more people who died in industrial accidents than those died on the war fronts.

It's only recently that the contributions of those Rosies have been recognized, Drucker said.

After the war, there was a "push" to get the women back to their traditional roles, Drucker said. The majority wanted to continue to work but were driven back to those jobs they held before the war.

While Rosie held a position on the homefront, Margaret Bourke-White became famous for her photography on the war front. Portrayed for Rotarians by Dr. Doris Dwyer, she told Rotarians she was with the American pilots when they bombed German forces and took pictures of the invastion of Italy in 1945. There's little argument that her coverage of the war brought her name to fame, but Dwyer said Bourke-White had also spent some time in Arkansas, photographing the rural areas of the south with Erskine Caldwell. Caldwell had written a novel called "Tobacco Road." The book caught the attention of the nation and brought significant criticism to Caldwell. He then hired Bourke-White to record the rural south. The couple traveled across the south in 1936, produced a book comprised of photos and information gathered from that trip. They later married but divorced after only two years.

Bourke-White's reason for going on the trip was to see the rural south for herself, Dwyer said. She said the couple were ill-fated from the beginning, including Caldwell's reluctance to work with a woman. She cited an instance that should have warned Bourke-White that the marriage was doomed. When they were just beginning the journey, Bourke-White was putting her luggage in the trunk of the car when the lid fell on her head. Caldwell reportedly said, "I hope something funny like that happens everyday of our trip."

Dwyer said Bourke-White is a great character.

"She did whatever she wanted to do," she said. "She was a little more courageous than me. She was the first woman ever on a bombing mission."

Other "visitors" over the week included military figure Genjamin Davis Jr., Harry S. Truman and Winston Churchill.