Test Single (deleteme)

Participant Info

Membership Number
3987
Salutation
Mrs
First Name
Louise Elaine
Middle/Maiden/Previous
Last Name
Unkrich
Address 1
1427 James Ave
Address 2
City
Swedesburg
State
IA
Zip Code
52652
Phone
319-254-2494
Code
RO
Work Code #
1
State Membership
IA
Status
1
Date of Birth
08/11/1924
Date of Death
03/25/2024
Deceased At Join?
No
Comments
In 1943 I graduated from Olds High School, located in Southeast Iowa. The summer after graduation, I read in the Des Moines Register abut the American Technical School in regards to drafting. I signed up for this four-week session and received a certificate to aircraft sheet metal training. During my training at ATS, our class restored an old German plane. My instructor comments, “Miss Tolander is quire mechanically-minded and has proved be an extremely competent sheet metal worker. She will be an excellent addition to any organization.” At the end of four weeks in Des Moines, several of my classmates and I traveled to the Glenn L Martin airplane plant, South of Omaha, Nebraska. I worked as a riveter and as a bucker on the B-29., which was called the “Superfortress.” The B-29’s played an integral part in winning WWII and we were very proud to play a role in the Allied victory. We were to driven to succeed, that while working on the B-29’s, as team of four of us sent a time record assembling the ailerons on a Superfortress. There was an article about is in the local Omaha newspaper with a picture me on the assembly line. There was a lot of fear and anxiety during those times of war, but we had a job to do and we worked hard to support our troops. Everybody was working somewhere during those times. It wasn’t all work though, as I played catcher on the plant softball team. We were called the Bomberettes! There was such a sense of community and American pride during those times, because all of us had the same mission and purpose, to win the war and return our loved one home safely. I worked from July 1943 to October 1944 then I returned home to Swedesburg, Iowa. My. High school sweetheart, Clarence Unkrich, had gone to USNR Midshipman’s School and graduated as an Ensign from Columbia University in New York. He was stationed at Ft Pierce, Florida for amphibious training. After bing there four months, he was to be sent to Newport, Rhode Island. He asked if he could go home to get married and it was granted, so five day later, on October 15, 1944 we were married! I traveled with my new husband to Newport, where we lived for three moths. Then Clarence spent the next year in the Pacific, and I returned to Iowa. My prayers were answered when my husband returned safely in March of 1946. Working on the farm for much of my childhood and working as a riveter really prepared me for the farming life Clarence and I chose. We raised corn, soybeans, cattle, swine, and most importantly, three children, Patricia, Stan, and Julia. I still love to garden. Clarence passed away in 1999, and now my son, Stan, and grandsons, Brendan and Tyson, continue farming. I have three children, six grandchildren, and ten great- grandchildren. One of my proudest accomplishments has been starting a Swedish American Museum in 1991 in our tiny town of Swedesburg. I am still the museum Director. Last year, due to my work as a Rosie the Riveter, community service, church work, and starting the Swedish Museum, I was honored at the Iowa State Fair as the Iowan of the Day! It was a great honor. Decades ago, I traveled to Des Moines to become a Rosie and serve my country, not knowing what the future would hold. Seventy years later, here I stood, being honored and enjoying the freedom America has to offer! God is good. I am so proud to be a Rosie the Riveter!
Name/Location of Company Worked
Glenn L Martin airplane plant
Dates of Work
July 1943 to October 1944
Type of Work
Riveter on B-29s called the "Superfortress"
Rosie Name if Rb or Rv
Is/Was Rosie a member of ARRA?
Yes
Contact Name (Deceased Rosie Contact)
Julia Unkrich
Contact Email Address
junkrich1@gmail.com
Contact Phone Number
303-903-9324
Contact Relationship
Daughter