Naomi Parker Franley who was the inspiration for the Rosie the Riveter poster which was one of Americas most iconic images and an enduring symbol of feminists died on Saturday aged 96.
The “We Can Do It” poster was by Pittsburgh artist J Howard Miller and was based on a photograph of a woman standing at a lathe and was published by many magazines but was never captioned. Millers poster was only displayed in house at Westinghouse electric plants only becoming iconic years later.
Geraldine Doyle who was a metal presser at a Michigan industrial plant thought she was the woman in the original photograph and over time her claim to being the woman in the photograph became widely accepted.
That was until James Kimble an associate professor of communication at Seton Hall University in New Jersey started to research the poster. Obviously Mr Kimble was very tenacious as he searched for six years for a version of the photograph with a caption.
Finally he found another image of Parker Franley and via a reverse image search he managed to trace it to a vintage newspaper with a caption which said. “Pretty Naomi Parker looks like she might catch her nose in the turret lathe she is operating”. “The women wore safety clothes instead of feminine frills and the girls don’t mind- they’re doing their part”. “Glamour is secondary these days”.
Naomi went to work at the Naval Air Station in Alameda and it was there in the workshop that the photograph was taken for the Acme photo agency.
Parker Franley had seen the famous poster and did think it looked like herself but didn’t connect it with the photograph of her taken earlier at her lathe.
Eventually Miller managed to trace Naomi and informed her that her earlier photograph was the inspiration for the famous Rosie the Riveter poster.
Well done Naomi, well done Rosie the Riveter, both icons.
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About The Diary of a Country Bumpkin
I am a retired actor, although to be honest I only retired because I wasn't getting any work due to losing my agent when I became a full time carer to my mother who had dementia. and the option of becoming an unemployed actor/waiter at my age was ludicrous, especially as my waiting skills are non-existent.
Having said I’m retired, I don’t think there really is such a thing as a retired actor for I am still available for work, I just don’t have an agent or any connections with regards to obtaining any worthwhile work.
I have over the years done student films when there is nothing else available, always low paid (if at all) the only incentive was always the promised copy of the finished film for your show reel which nine times out of ten always failed to materialise.
I spent many years looking after my aged mother and shortly after her death I was lucky enough to run into an ex-girlfriend of many years ago and our romance blossomed once again, resulting in us getting married in 2013.
My move to the countryside inspired me to write The Diary of a Country Bumpkin which tells of my continuing dilemmas in dealing with the rigors of the countryside from the unexpectedly large number of pollens, fungal moulds and hay products waiting to attack the unsuspecting townie.
I enjoy writing, see my play Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori on The Wireless Theatre Company, The Plays Wot I Wrote and The Battle of Barking Creek both available on Amazon.co.uk and am very fond of classic cars so my ideal occupation would be acting in a film I had written set in the 1930s/40s, we live in hopes.
I am delighted to say that since venturing to the countryside where space is not quite the premium it is in town, I have due to the availability of two double garages acquired more classic cars to form a small collection the pride of which are a 1947 Bentley Mk VI and a 2000 Bentley Arnage.
My various blogs and websites are continually evolving and I’m sure that by following the appropriate links you will find something which will edify or amuse.
I have written a number of different books all available on Amazon, so don't be shy should you feel the urge to purchase. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Joe-Wells/e/B06XKWFQHT/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
The Diary of a Country Bumpkin 