Three Independence Township residents were among the 2,096 women and girls who dressed as the World War II Rosie the Riveter icon to set a new world record, Oct. 24.
“It was a great experience,” said Violet Bergman, a fourth grader at Pine Knob Elementary. “Now I have this great story to tell my children and my great grandchildren. It was great to be part of it because I made history. I get to be in the Guinness Book of World Records.”
“I really wanted to break the record like Violet,” added Maya Bergman, a seventh grader at Sashabaw Middle School. “I will be able to tell my nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren. Now I get to share it with everyone.”
The event was held at Willow Run Bomber Plant and included women from 16 states and Canada. Michigan set the first record with 776 Rosies. Then, California broke it with 1,084 Rosies.
“We ended up breaking the record by 1,012,” Maya smiled.
Maya, Violet and their mom Krystal joined other Rosies who dressed very specifically for the event, from the red bandana with white polka dots to the dark denim jeans rolled up to show red socks, and black or brown work boots.
“It was really cool because when we walked in, everyone was wearing the same outfit,” Maya said.
It took the three two weeks to get all the items and they brought extra just in case they didn’t wear the right item.
Krystal found out about the event when a friend posted about it on Facebook. Both Maya and Violet were excited.
“My reaction was like ‘gasp, oh my gosh,'” said Violet, adding she also wanted to know when it was just in case the family had something else on the calendar for the day.
“Maya has always been drawn to the figure,” Krystal said. “I thought this would be perfect.”
“She is inspiring,” Maya smiled about the icon of World War II. “Some people don’t think girls can play sports or do anything. Rosie the Riveter proved them wrong in the factories and building all these planes. They were doing all the work so the men could go to war and fight for the country. They also helped save our country.”
While at Willow Run Bomber Plant, Maya and Violet were able to learn about the history of the plant, explore some of the planes as well as go inside a B-17 bomber and check out some of the exhibits.
“They had photo booths, which was cool, and frames or bookmarks,” Maya added. “They had a lot of cool stuff. They had an American Girl doll outfit of Rosie. All the money went to save the bomber plant.”
The money raised will help turn the plant into a museum, which Maya added was important.
“It’s part of our country’s history,” she said. “It helped us win the war when the ladies stepped up and helped when the men were at war.”
There were even 43 original Rosies at the event.
?”It was amazing,” Violet said about seeing the original Rosies.
“There were two ladies there who met at Willow Run,” Maya added. “They saw each other for the first time at the event. It was really cool to see the original Rosies because they were the ones helping.”
When it was time to get their picture taken, they joined the other 2,093 women and girls in one area. After the picture was taken and the new record was set, all of them sang four songs.