Our Town Inc. volunteers, from left, Mary Murphy, Bobbi Trimboli and Summer Kirk-Swanson greet visitors attending the Rosie the Riveter Honor Roll celebration Aug. 9 in Parrish Hall at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Elkins. (Photo by Edgar Kelley)

ELKINS — Eight new members were inducted into the Our Town Inc. Rosie the Riveter Honor Roll during a special event Aug. 9 in Elkins.

This year’s inductees into the Rosie the Riveter Honor Roll included Olga “Jerry” Sneberger Ball, Jessie Lucille Roberson Demotto, Frankie Jean Stalnaker Sponaugle, Nola Nelson Tingler, Evalena See Isner, Gatha Lee Sharp McDaniel, Mary Elizabeth Bell Bosworth and Mary M. Stankus Williams.

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon that represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II. Any woman who received pay for essential work during war is considered a Rosie.

This was the fifth annual celebration hosted by Our Town to recognize women from the area who served their country during World War II.

The theme for this year’s event was “going to the movie theater during World War II.” Our Town organizers were inspired by the former Manos Theater, which was once located in downtown Elkins, as the “setting” for the event held in Parrish Hall at St. Brendan Catholic Church. Movie tickets, bells and movie theater snacks were distributed to those attending the event. Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco spoke about the important role Rosie the Riveters had during World War II.

Those attending Aug. 9 Rosie the Riveter Honor Roll event at the St. Brendan Catholic Church in Elkins were given popcorn and drinks as they entered the building. Juliann Harlan, left, was one of several ‘usherettes’ who escorted visitors to their seats. (Photo by Edgar Kelley)

“This year’s ceremony was very successful, and we were happy that over 80 people came out for the event,” Our Town volunteer and organizer Bobbi Trimboli said after the event. “For the program, we showed an old newsreel that was shown back during the Rosie area. It showed what women were doing during World War II and was happening with the war effort.

“Back then people would go to the movie theater to find out what was going on in the world. We did a play off of the old Manos Theater at that time, and gave everyone popcorn and a drink when they first came in. And we used usherettes to escort people to their seats.”

Family members for each Rosie inducted were invited to the event, and accepted certificates on behalf of those entered in the Honor Roll. Local Rosie the Riveter photographs and bios were on display throughout Parrish Hall.

“It was nice to see all the family members come out for the ceremony,” Trimboli said. “We had the traditional display of all the Rosies that we have found so far in Randolph County, which is now closing in on 50. People seemed to really enjoy all the exhibits we had up for the event.”

Biographies for this year’s Rosie the Riveter Honor Roll inductees include:

* Olga “Jerry” Sneberger Ball was born in 1917 in Columbus, but her family moved to Pickens when she was just 2 years old. She remained a resident of Randolph County for most of her life. During World War II she worked as a welder for Pratt and Whitney, which remains a world leader in the design, manufacturing, and service of aircraft engines in Hartford, Conn. Later in life, she worked in nursing at Walter Reed Army Hospital and as a beautician in Washington, D.C., and Elkins.

* Jessie Lucille Roberson Demotto was a graduate of the Davis & Elkins School of Nursing and earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing education from the University of Pittsburgh. During World War II, she worked at the Eastern Aircraft Company. In 1948, she was married and returned to reside in Coalton, where she raised her family and joined her husband in business.

* Frankie Jean Stalnaker Sponaugle was born in Mill Creek and graduated from Tygarts Valley High School. She worked in the shipyards of Baltimore and later returned to Randolph County, where she was married and raised her family.

* Nola Nelson Tingler was born and raised in Whitmer and left at the age of 16 to work in the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft factory in Baltimore. Nola would often laugh about how supervisors would have her crawl into the tight spaces of the wings because she was very slender. She married her husband, a Pearl Harbor survivor, and stayed a few more years in Baltimore to work in the factory after the war, before returning to West Virginia.

* Evalena See Isner was born in Mill Creek and graduated from Elkins High School. Seeing a need to assist with finances at home and do her duty for the home front, she decided to go to Baltimore during the summer between her junior and senior year to work in the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Factory. She trained to be a riveter at the factory and later was part of a duo, where she bucked or flattened out the rivets using a heavy steel bar. She said the riveting had to be just right so no leaking occurred. They worked 12 hours a day on fighter and cargo planes, and she said in her diary that, “It will be a summer I will never forget.”

* Gatha Lee Sharp McDaniel was born in Cass and later moved to Mingo and attended the schools of Randolph County. When she was 20, she moved to Baltimore to work in the Martin factory as a riveter. Even though leaving home was scary and exciting, she joined other young women who proudly stepped up when their country needed them.

* Mary Elizabeth Bell Bosworth graduated from Tygarts Valley High School in 1937, and continued her education at West Virginia Business College and Davis & Elkins College. During World War II, she was employed as an inspector at General Motors’ Fisher Body Division Plant No. 2 in Cleveland that was the largest supplier of B-29 parts in the country. The facility earned the Army-Navy “E” Award for excellence in war equipment manufacturing.

* Mary M. Stankus Williams hailed from Cassity, and while her husband served in the Marine Corps, Mary moved to Michigan during World War II to work in the Ford Motor Plant, which had been converted into an aircraft assembly plant. She worked there as a riveter on B-24s.