Rosie Had a Name:Women War Workers from Western New York
By Heidi Ziemer
All Images Library of Congress, unless otherwise noted
Norman Rockwell’s iconic painting of “Rosie” the riveter graced the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on Memorial Day, May 29, 1943. Rockwell used 19-year-old Mary Doyle Keefe of Simsbury, CT, as his model, though he enlarged his subject to make her look more muscular.Credit- Norman Rockwell Museum
Most readers are probably familiar in some way with the Second World War character of “Rosie the Riveter”—that iconic, “can do” girl with the indomitable look and posture that said to American forces, “I have your back” and will keep the supplies coming until we win the war. “Rosie” was the American government’s recruitment tool for encouraging women to fill wartime factory jobs left by the men fighting overseas.
The iconic character that was Rosie the Riveter may be familiar, but who were the real Rosies— the real women, who, between 1941-1945, spent countless hours at jobs for which they had little or no real training—and possibly even less interest—hoisting steel, testing chemicals, making parts for machine guns, torpedoes, ships, tanks and airplanes? A portion of their story is preserved in a collection of photos at the Library of Congress, part of the Records of the Office of War Information and Farm Security Act. During World War II, the Rosie campaign alone was not enough to compel more women to join the heavy manufacturing workforce. So, the American government recruited a group of photographers to capture the real working women in factories across the country, casting them in a positive light to entice more women to join them.
One of these photographers, Marjory Collins, came to the Buffalo-Niagara region in 1942 and 1943. While here, she captured images of women working in places like Republic Steel, Symington-Gould, Niacet Chemical, Bell Aircraft, Ross Heater, Pratt & Letchworth, New York Car Wheel Company and more. In her field notes, Collins observed that women were taking on almost every aspect of industrial labor with little or no formal training. She also noted that many workplaces were not originally intended to be co-ed, so the new female workers would often find themselves taking a break to “powder their noses” in half-finished bathrooms and locker rooms. In several of the larger plants, women even had to bring their own tools to work. This was a challenge since most women had never used tools like these before! In order to accustom them to their new role, many were started as “sweepers,” tasked with cleaning up areas before they progressed to what were considered less-familiar tasks.
One of the most valuable aspects of Marjory’s work is the fact that she recorded the names and other bits of information for several of the women she photographed, in order to “personalize” the images. With this information and today’s digital search technologies, we can really get to know more about some of the “Rosies” from Western New York and pay them the tribute they deserve for their service.
Some of the Western New York women identified in Collins’ photos include: Cecelia Wrazen, Laura Czaya, Gladys Chase, Nan Hennegan, Florence Bergtold, Mabel Goodwin, Esther O’Hara, Frances O’Neil and Jennie Gravante. There is another, a “Mrs. Grimm,” whose story received unique coverage from the photographer. But let’s start by meeting some of the others.
Cecelia Wrazen
Collins describes Cecelia Wrazen’s work as, “a roller, inserting tubes into condensers for the Navy at the Ross Heater plant.” Her job involved using a tool to expand condenser tubes so that the condenser did not leak. If the work was not precise and consistent, the ship’s distilling or discharge systems might fail. Cecelia was just 19 when she was photographed in May 1943. She was working alongside the man who would soon become her husband, Bronislaus Stanley Nowak. Nowak had been deferred from service due to the essential nature of his work as a precision lathe operator at the plant. The parents of both Cecelia and Bronislaus had emigrated from Poland. During the war years, the Nowaks were living on Buffalo’s Ivy Street, while the Wrazen family (Cecelia, her parents, John and Feliria, and their six children) were living on Houghton Street. Cecelia and Bronislaus were married during the war and Collins was there, photographing the wedding. Following the war, the couple would live with Bronislaus’ parents for a time on Gittere Street (the upper level). Bronislaus eventually owned and operated Bruno’s Tavern on Genesee Street, where Cecelia worked until she retired in 1981. The Nowak’s had a son and a daughter. Bronislaus passed away in 1998. Cecelia died in January 2005, and is buried in Saint Stanislaus Cemetery in Cheektowaga.
Laura Czaya
Like Cecelia, Laura Czaya, was the daughter of Polish immigrants who had settled in Buffalo. In 1940, the family was living on Neoga Street in Depew. Born Laura Estella Pomaski in 1917, Laura had been married the previous year, in May 1942, six months before her husband Frank was drafted. Frank was a corporal, stationed at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas, and was home on a 10-day furlough when Collins took her photograph. Laura was working in the Symington-Gould plant and living in an apartment with her family in Depew. Her job was painting parts of railroad car couplers called “snubbers.”. Before that, Laura had been working at Gould Battery, and she was also a forelady of a WPA (Work Projects Administration) sewing project. After the war, Laura and Frank eventually settled in Depew, where Laura bowled with the Ladies League of the Polish Depew Club. They had a daughter, Patricia. Frank passed away in April 1986 and Laura in February 2020. Both are buried in Saint Augustine Cemetery in Lancaster.
Gladys Chase
Later known as “Mother Chase” to friends and family, Gladys Chase was born in Easton, MD, in 1900 to Isaac M. and Nellie E. Turner. Gladys moved to Baltimore around 1920 and married Frederick Chase soon after. In 1931, the couple moved to Buffalo, where they lived on Clinton Street. Gladys’ support for the war effort began when she became a “scarfer” in the finishing department at Republic Steel. Her job required using an acetylene torch to burn defects from 20-foot steel billets that were then shaped into machine gun barrels. According to the notes Collins made for the photos, the scarfing process tool about 6 months to learn.
By 1951, Gladys was residing on Clinton Street and was described working as a “charwoman” (cleaner) for Louis Liakeas, who owned the Garden of Sweets Candy Shop on Bailey Avenue. She worked as a cleaner there through 1956. In 1960, she is listed as “widowed” and was now a clerk at the candy shop. In later years, she lived on Perry Street. Gladys loved her church and loved to sing. She was a member of St. Luke’s AME Zion Church and helped start the Durham Memorial AME Church on East Eagle Street in Buffalo in 1958. Gladys became a member of the Gospel Chorus at both St. Luke’s and Durham Memorial. She worked in various other church-related activities, ands served 40 years as the president of the Sisterhood of the Durham Memorial AME Church. Gladys passed away in 1999 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Jennie Gravante
There were many women war workers at Republic Steel, and Jennie Gravante was another one of them. Born Jennie Annunziata, she immigrated to America from Italy in 1909. In February 1917, she met and married Joseph Gravante, who had immigrated from Italy in 1905. Jennie, her husband and six children were living on Fulton Street in 1940, with Jennie is listed as keeping house and her husband a city sewer worker. At Republic Steel, Jennie, age 43, was one of the many “hookers” whose job it was to place slings and chains around material to be hoisted by the crane. In some cases, if the hooker missed, red-hot steel would get loose on the floor and tear up men—or in this case women—and machines. Jennie’s son James was listed as a “steelworker” in 1941, but entered the Army the following year.
Jennie is mentioned in a May 10, 1943, news article from the Glens Falls Times focused on the more than 800 women employed in the Lackawanna and Buffalo steel mills. The article identified Jennie and her two sons in the Army and reported that, “Like the rest, she likes the work and her sons admire her for it. ‘Mama, we’re mighty proud of you,’ one wrote. ‘You’re a good strong woman and you couldn’t do more important work anywhere. We’re depending on the stuff made from the steel you are helping to make.’”
A 1942 city directory lists Jennie as a machine operator for Bison Waste & Wiper Company, where she may have worked at before going to Republic Steel. It was not unusual for women to take on jobs at plants and factories where their son, brother, husband or even father had been employed before joining the military service. Following the war, Jennie and Joseph were living on Niagara Street in 1950 with two of their children, and in 1951 they were living on West Avenue in Buffalo (until at least 1960). Jennie died in 1980 and is buried in Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Cheektowaga.
Florence O’Neil
Like Jennie Gravante, 39-year-old Florence “Frances” O’Neil was also a Republic Steel “hooker” in 1943. She had many family connections to the steel industry: her father William Isch had been a rail car repairman and then an ironworker and her husband was a switchman for a steel plant. Frances was already in the workforce at age 17 in 1920, working as a forelady at the National Anilene & Chemical Company (previously the Schoellkopf Aniline and Chemical Company). She had seven siblings and the family resided on Spaulding Street in Buffalo.
Mabel Goodwin
Not every woman was a novice war worker. At age 45, Mabel Goodwin went to work for Bell Aircraft, having also been a war worker in WWI. Born Mabel A. Roth to George Roth and Florence Hill in 1898, the family lived on Clifford Avenue in Rochester before Mabel married Myles J. Goodwin and moved to Greece, NY. The Goodwins, their one son and three daughters lived in Greece, where Myles worked as a milling operator for Bausch & Lomb for several years. He must have suffered poor health because he died in 1952. Before WWII, Mabel lists her employment as a “photographic inspector” and although her job at Bell is not given in the records, she did hold a job there. After the war, it does not appear that Mabel held any other jobs. She lived on English Road back in Rochester in 1960, and died in November 1980. She is buried in Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Rochester.
Nan Hennegan
If Mabel was one of the older workers, Nan Hennegan had to be one of the younger ones. Angela Alice “Nan” Hennegan (spelled “Hannegan” at the Library of Congress) was only 19 when she began her work as a chemical operator at the Niacet Chemical Company in Niagara Falls. Nan was born in Saint Catherines, Ontairo, in 1923 or 1924, to Dennis and Annie Hennegan. By 1940, Annie and Angela had moved to Royal Avenue in Niagara Falls, living with a nephew, William McDougall. Annie is listed as “widowed” and head of household and Angela, or Nan, was age 16. Nan’s brother, Ivan Hennegan, served in WWII. This may be one reason why Annie and Nan took in both soldiers and women war workers as boarders at their home during the war years.
Nan was earning 39 dollars a week at Niacet, corresponded with about 26 servicemen and was one of 19 local women doing door-to-door recruiting for women to work in war plants. She was engaged to Carl William Bailey, a sergeant in the 125th Armor Engineers and former boarder at her mother’s house, whom she would marry in 1946. The couple went on to have six children. Nan died in Niagara Falls in 2022 at age 78. According to an online family research resource, she remained active in community service throughout her life, including church and scouting leadership positions and as a volunteer at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Hospital. Nan worked as a recreational supervisor for the City of Niagara Falls from 1970 through 1988.
Florence Bergtold
The roster at Republic Steel’s metallurgical laboratory included another young and talented woman. Florence Bergtold was born in August 1921 to George Bergtold and Margaret Mallory. According to Collins, she had a supervisory role at Republic, which is not surprising given that she had a college education. It is possible she landed the job at the same place her father worked. George Bergtold’s occupation in 1940 is listed as “inspector, steel mill.” According to the records, Florence had been at Republic Steel for one year as of May 1943 and prior to that had been working at J.N. Adam’s Metals in the electric appliances department. Florence married Joseph Gentile in August 1945, and in 1950, they are listed as residing in Kenmore on Chapel Road. Joseph’s occupation is listed as “testing manager for a testing lab, making one wonder if the lab at Republic is where the two might have met! Florence and Joseph had five children, with two sons pre-deceasing them. The couple was residing in Tonawanda when Joseph passed away in 2001, followed by Florence 15 years later in 2016. They are buried in the Lancaster Rural Cemetery.
Mrs. Grimm
Now we come to the story of “Mrs. Grimm.” In 1943, Collins described her as, “a widow of twenty-six with six children under twelve, [and] a crane operator at Pratt and Letchworth. Her two youngest children, Carol, five, and Mona, two, live in a foster home during the week.” The other children, Beverly Ann (11), Peter (10), Mary (8), and Patsy (6), are all featured in several photos compiled by Collins while in Buffalo. The images try to convey the everyday experiences of a family trying to cope with wartime circumstances, exacerbated by the fact that this was a single-parent household at a time when that was the exception. We see Beverly Ann at the grocery store, buying food and other goods with food stamps, and Peter with his wagon, outside Loblaws, helping people carry their groceries so he can earn money to buy his own school supplies. Then we catch glimpses of Mary, Patsy and even five-year-old Carol, doing various household chores to keep things running smoothly while “Mrs. Grimm” is at work. Unlike the other women in the series, who were identified by first and last names, the identity of “Mrs. Grimm” was kept vague. Some assumed Grimm was not even her real name, but an avatar to describe the circumstances of her life.
It wasn’t until the release of the 1950 Census that we could finally discern the truth by searching for Beverly Ann Grimm. In 1950, Beverly Ann, now age 18, was working as a cashier for an insurance agency. The other five children are listed with one interesting difference: there is Ramona L., 9; Carol J., 11; Patricia (Patsy) M, 13, Marylew (Mary), 15; and Alton J (not Peter), 17, living with their mother, 33-year-old Thelma I. Grimm, listed as head of household. Why did Marjory Collins decide not to name Thelma? Why did she call the son Peter rather than Alton? We may never know the answer, but what information we do have has led to a more detailed profile of this family.
Thelma was born Thelma I. Morgan in LeRoy, NY, on February 28, 1917, to Fred and Anna Morgan. She married Alton Grimm in Yorkshire, NY, on May 17, 1931, and moved to Bloomfield Avenue in Buffalo. Alton was the son of millwright Hiram Grimm and his wife Lillie, living in Collins, NY. He died in Buffalo in September 1940. His obituary from the Springville Journal noted burial in the North Otto Cemetery, where his parents are also buried. It is believed Alton died while a patient at the Buffalo State Hospital, where his name is found in the 1940 Census. He was only about 43 years old.
(Left) Eleven-year-old Beverly Ann Grimm buys groceries and other items from a list given to her by her mother. (Right) Five-year-old Carol Grimm participates in a peanut race at a birthday party for her sister Mona, given by her foster mother.
After Alton’s death, we discover Thelma and five of her children living on Newman Street in Lackawanna (Ramona was born in 1941). Thelma was not employed at the time. Following the war, Beverly Ann attended Lafayette High School and Alton attended McKinley High School. The 1950 Census and 1951 Buffalo City Directory show members of the Grimm family residing on Herkimer Street in Buffalo. Beverly Ann is listed as a “typist,” Alton was employed as a foreman at Craft Industries and Thelma was still employed as a crane operator, though the location is now simply described as a “steel factory.”
Thelma died seven years later, at age 41, in August 1958. At the time, she was residing in Black Rock. Further traces of the Grimm family show up, mainly in city directory listings and death notices. We discover that Alton Jr. joined the military around 1953 and served in Korea. He married in 1956, had four children and died May 31, 2018, at age 85, a resident of Marietta, GA. All five sisters married and had their own families. Beverly Ann married Salvatore Rizzo in November 1951. She died in 1989 and is buried with her husband in Mount Calvary Cemetery. Patricia (Patsy) married Robert Coe in 1955, passed away in 2004 and is buried with her husband at Osborne Memorial Cemetery in Joplin, MO. Marylew was also married in 1955, to Daniel Beger. She was residing in West Seneca when she died in 2010. Carol married Donald Blatner in 1965, while Ramona married Jerry Kellogg in 1966.
During the war years, there was very little media attention given to the tremendous effort these women put into their war work. One small article at the bottom of the May 20, 1943, Lackawanna Leader indicated that several women had been hired at both Bethlehem Steel and Republic Steel since February of that year. Mrs. Anna H. Rosenberg of the Regional Office of the War Manpower Commission stated that 500 women were working at Bethlehem Steel, and of those, 308 were industrial positions, working a 48-hour week.
When the war had ended, however, so did the women war workers. In the 1950 Census, most of the women mentioned above had returned to their homes and were no longer working, or even seeking work. Rarely, if ever, was their wartime work mentioned in the obituaries or other postwar records of these amazing women. Luckily, we have Marjory Collins and the Library of Congress to thank for capturing and preserving images of a mere handful of these women, along with tidbits of biographical information. These have made it possible to rediscover a small sample of the women war workers of Western New York and to finally give them the recognition they so rightly deserve. For everyone listed here, however, there were many more. Stop by their graves, plant a little flag and salute our “Rosies,” who each had a name and a story to share.
Grace A. Pankow (1924-2015) worked on brake lines for P-39 fighters at Bell Aircraft in Wheatfield. The photo on the lid of her toolbox is her husband, Vernon C. Pankow, in his parade uniform as a volunteer fireman for the Adams Fire Department on Nash Road. Vernon was in the Army, serving in North Africa when Bell photographers captured this image of Grace.Credit- Courtesy Wheatfield Historian’s Office, Pankow Collection
Author Bio
Heidi Ziemer is the Outreach & Digital Equity Coordinator for the Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC). She joined WNYLRC in 1990 as Regional Archivist for their Documentary Heritage Program, after receiving training as an archivist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Heidi is also a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Coach.
