The Port Chicago Disaster and Aftermath
3/26, 4/9 @ 2:00 PM (30 minutes)
What kind of questions were sailors and civilians asking after ten million pounds of explosives blew up in Concord in 1944?
"Of Lost Conversations" (First Come - First Served Seating)
3/24, 3/27, 3/31, 4/3, 4/7, 4/21, 4/24, 4/28 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour)
3/22, 3/29, 4/5, 4/26 @ 11:00 AM (1 hour)
Park Ranger Betty Soskin discusses her experience as a young African American woman in Richmond during WWII.
Richmond Bus Tour with a Park Ranger*
3/21, 4/18 @ 10:30 AM (2 hours)
Hop aboard with a park ranger for an overview of the park sites located throughout the City of Richmond. A short tour of the Maritime Child Development Center is included. Bus leaves from the Visitor Education Center. *Space is limited, reservations are required: call 510-232-5050 x0
What We Wore During the War
3/21 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour)
4/6 @ 2:30 PM (1 hour)
The war changed everything--including fashions which changed to meet new needs: leather, wool, and nylon were needed by our fighting forces, so we made do on the Home Front. We'll have a look at the clothing worn by working men and women, children, and even Hollywood stars!
The Cartoon War: From Disney to Dr. Seuss
3/28 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour)
Boosting morale during WWII took many forms--including comic books, editorial cartoons and movie cartoons. Experience some of the favorites enjoyed by kids, GIs, and workers on the Home Front.
Warbling through the War Years
4/18 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour)
Dancing the jitterbug, laughing to silly tunes-and mending broken hearts: music during World War II helped us get through fearful times. We'll see and hear how we listened through samples from radio, records, and the movies.
"Blossoms and Thorns"
3/29, 4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour)
A docent from the Japanese American Citizens' League screens the documentary film "Blossoms and Thorns", about Richmond's pre- and post-war community of flowers and nursery garden owners, and shares from their experiences in a WWII internment camp.
Spring Home Front Film Festival: "Das Boot" (1981)**
4/19 @ 7:00 PM (Boarding at 6:30 PM)
Location: Red Oak Victory Ship
Fees: $10 Donation Suggested
Considered one of the best submarine movies ever made, this may also be the best film from the German perspective of WWII.
**Film will be shown aboard the historic SS Red Oak Victory. For info and directions to the ship, please call 510-237-2933. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $10 to help preserve and maintain the ship.
Rationing on the Home Front
4/13 @ 12:30 PM (30 minutes)
During WWII, Americans were asked to sacrifice in support of the troops, and this was evident daily at the dinner table. Listen to stories about the Federal Government's rationing program and how it affected families on the Home Front.
Rosie Meet and Greet
3/23, 3/30, 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (2 hours) & 1:20 PM - 2:00 PM (40 minutes)
Most Fridays, a group of civilian WWII docents share their stories in an informal setting at the Visitor Center. Here is your chance ask the experts-real Rosies from the Kaiser shipyards-about life and work on the WWII American Home Front!
Henry J. Kaiser: "Build Em' by the Mile and Cut Em' off by the Yard"
3/31, 4/28 @ 3:30 PM (1 hour)
Join author Steve Gilford for a 45 minute presentation about the extraordinary life of ship builder Henry J. Kaiser, an industrialist who was a loyal friend to (organized) labor.
She Built Ships (Reservations Required)
4/14 @ 11:00 AM (1 hour)
Local author Jeane Slone will highlight stories of love, loss, prejudice, courage and sacrifice from her historical novel about the Richmond Home Front, the Port Chicago Explosion and the incarceration of Japanese Americans before, during and after WWII.
Rosie the Riveter Memorial - a closer look
4/1, drop-in from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM (1 hour - Rain Cancels)
Location: Marina Bay Park
Drop by Marina Bay Park (Melville Square) to visit the Rosie the Riveter Memorial-a very thoughtful public art sculpture of a World War II cargo ship under construction along a 450-foot timeline. A docent will be available to answer questions and introduce the memorial.
Bay Trail Walk
4/8 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour - Rain Cancels)
Location: Visitor Center
Take a leisurly one-hour stroll along the Bay Trail and explore home front history with a park ranger.
A Second Gold Rush: Migration to California, 1940-45
4/29 @ 2:00 PM (1 hour)
Join UC Berkeley Professor of History Emeritus Thomas Metcalf for a presentation about how the unprecedented migration during WWII created the California we know today. |
