As sad as we were to see Superintendent Judy Hart retire not quite five years after breathing life into Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park, we couldn’t ask for a better interim superintendent than Howard Levitt. He comes across the Bay as somewhat of a a gift from Rosie admirer Brian O’Neil, legendary Superintendent of the sprawling Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Following is an article from today’s West County Times:

Rosie park gets interim overseer
Posted on Fri, Feb. 18, 2005
By Martin SnappBy Martin Snapp
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

In the wake of the retirement of Judy Hart, the superintendent who guided the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond through its first four years of existence, the National Park Service has appointed an interim superintendent who's more than a mere caretaker.

"There's no time to wait," said Howard Levitt, who is taking a break from his regular job as chief of interpretation and education at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for the next four or five months to guide the Rosie park. "Too many things are happening right now."

For instance, after protracted negotiations, the long-abandoned Ford Assembly Building, which in its heyday built 49,000 jeeps and prepared 90,000 tanks for shipment overseas, has been bought by a new owner.

"This finally gives us somebody we can talk to. Now we can go ahead with our plans to put our permanent visitors center in the Ford Building. There's a good chance it'll be open by 2007."

Next month, the S.S. Red Oak Victory, one of the 747 ships built at the Kaiser shipyards during the war, will be moved to Shipyard No. 3. The month after that, it will be joined by one of the shipyard's huge "Whirly Cranes."

Work is going ahead on the park's master plan, which will govern its development over the next 20 years. Under Hart's direction, four different visions were widely disseminated last fall through public meetings, mass mailings and the media. Levitt is working hard to keep the momentum going.

"The public responded with a lot of suggestions, which we're integrating into the master plan," he said. "We're combining the best features from each vision. We hope to have a draft plan within the next three months."

But the most compelling reason for urgency is that the Rosies themselves are now in their 80s and 90s.

"We know we won't have them with us forever, so it's urgent to get their stories now, while we still can," he said. "This park is about more than the buildings. It's about the lives of the people who worked here and the sacrifices they made."

To this end, the park will become a high-tech resource center, working with colleges, universities, museums and other institutions that have part of the Rosie story to tell.

So was Rosie a real person? Yes and no. She first appeared as a fictional character in the 1942 song, "Rosie the Riveter," recorded by bandleader Kay Kyser:

"All the day long/Whether rain or shine/She's part of the assembly line/She's making history/Working for victory/Rosie the Riveter."

A few months later, her real-life counterpart was discovered when movie star Walter Pigeon made a promotional tour of the Ford Motor plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., and met a riveter on the production line named Rose Will Monroe. She was soon starring as herself in government films promoting the war effort.

Then Norman Rockwell got into the act with a 1943 "Saturday Evening Post" cover featuring Rosie the way we picture her today, with rolled up sleeves, can-do attitude and polka-dot bandanna, the official headgear of the Women Ordinance Workers.

By that time, Rosie had become the symbol for everyone working on the home front -- women and men alike. "Most people don't realize that women constituted only about a quarter of the work force," Levitt said.

More than 9,000 home-front workers have already contacted the park. Two thousand have shared their stories, either in writing or on tape. Another 2,000 have donated priceless artifacts, from welding masks to ration books.

"They left their roots in the South or the Midwest, put down new roots here, and reinvented themselves as Californians," Levitt said. "Most came to better their lives economically, but I think they found much more than that: They found that they could overcome their different backgrounds and work together for the common good. And that's an important lesson for our own time."

Reach Martin Snapp at 510-262-2787 or msnapp@cctimes.com.

HOW TO SHARE YOUR HOME FRONT STORY:

If you, or someone you know, worked on the home front during World War II or have a Rosie the Riveter experience, memento, anecdote or memory, it can become a permanent part of the collection at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

Call 510-2322-050; write Superintendent, Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, 1401 Marina Way South, Richmond, CA 94804; or log on to www.nps.gov/rori.

In the wake of the retirement of Judy Hart, the superintendent who guided the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond through its first four years of existence, the National Park Service has appointed an interim superintendent who's more than a mere caretaker.

"There's no time to wait," said Howard Levitt, who is taking a break from his regular job as chief of interpretation and education at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for the next four or five months to guide the Rosie park. "Too many things are happening right now."

For instance, after protracted negotiations, the long-abandoned Ford Assembly Building, which in its heyday built 49,000 jeeps and prepared 90,000 tanks for shipment overseas, has been bought by a new owner.

"This finally gives us somebody we can talk to. Now we can go ahead with our plans to put our permanent visitors center in the Ford Building. There's a good chance it'll be open by 2007."

Next month, the S.S. Red Oak Victory, one of the 747 ships built at the Kaiser shipyards during the war, will be moved to Shipyard No. 3. The month after that, it will be joined by one of the shipyard's huge "Whirly Cranes."

Work is going ahead on the park's master plan, which will govern its development over the next 20 years. Under Hart's direction, four different visions were widely disseminated last fall through public meetings, mass mailings and the media. Levitt is working hard to keep the momentum going.

"The public responded with a lot of suggestions, which we're integrating into the master plan," he said. "We're combining the best features from each vision. We hope to have a draft plan within the next three months."

But the most compelling reason for urgency is that the Rosies themselves are now in their 80s and 90s.

"We know we won't have them with us forever, so it's urgent to get their stories now, while we still can," he said. "This park is about more than the buildings. It's about the lives of the people who worked here and the sacrifices they made."

To this end, the park will become a high-tech resource center, working with colleges, universities, museums and other institutions that have part of the Rosie story to tell.

So was Rosie a real person? Yes and no. She first appeared as a fictional character in the 1942 song, "Rosie the Riveter," recorded by bandleader Kay Kyser:

"All the day long/Whether rain or shine/She's part of the assembly line/She's making history/Working for victory/Rosie the Riveter."

A few months later, her real-life counterpart was discovered when movie star Walter Pigeon made a promotional tour of the Ford Motor plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., and met a riveter on the production line named Rose Will Monroe. She was soon starring as herself in government films promoting the war effort.

Then Norman Rockwell got into the act with a 1943 "Saturday Evening Post" cover featuring Rosie the way we picture her today, with rolled up sleeves, can-do attitude and polka-dot bandanna, the official headgear of the Women Ordinance Workers.

By that time, Rosie had become the symbol for everyone working on the home front -- women and men alike. "Most people don't realize that women constituted only about a quarter of the work force," Levitt said.

More than 9,000 home-front workers have already contacted the park. Two thousand have shared their stories, either in writing or on tape. Another 2,000 have donated priceless artifacts, from welding masks to ration books.

"They left their roots in the South or the Midwest, put down new roots here, and reinvented themselves as Californians," Levitt said. "Most came to better their lives economically, but I think they found much more than that: They found that they could overcome their different backgrounds and work together for the common good. And that's an important lesson for our own time."

Reach Martin Snapp at 510-262-2787 or msnapp@cctimes.com.

HOW TO SHARE YOUR HOME FRONT STORY:

If you, or someone you know, worked on the home front during World War II or have a Rosie the Riveter experience, memento, anecdote or memory, it can become a permanent part of the collection at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

Call 510-2322-050; write Superintendent, Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, 1401 Marina Way South, Richmond, CA 94804; or log on to www.nps.gov/rori.