Seneca_History

Megan Sack, writer
Citing Sources

Primary Sources

Interview
Bluemer, R.G. Personal interview. 14 Jan. 2006.

Mr. Bluemer lived in the Illinois Valley during World War II and upon his retirement wrote the book Home Front: WW II in the Illinois Valley using local newspaper accounts, personal interviews, and records to tell the story of how the civilian population united on farms and in factories to fill the needs of the military. I interviewed him after he spoke at a book-signing symposium. He told me how he conducted his research and provided a lot of information about the Green River Ordinance, a bomb packing facility in the area and its hiring procedures. We talked about how tire and fuel rationing had an impact on commuting shipyard workers and how the shipyard brought a population shift providing business opportunities. He also explained how rationing and war bonds worked. Mr. Bluemer provided research direction and helped set home front efforts into perspective.

Gilette, Don. Personal interview. 14 Jan. 2006.

Mr. Gilette moved to Seneca due to his parents both working in the shipyard. His father was in the labor union that cleared the topsoil from the shipyard site and continued to work as a heavy machine operator throughout the shipyards existence. The family moved to Seneca for job opportunities as the Depression had resulted in the loss of their family farm. Don’s mother had been a housewife but upon the move to Seneca took advantage of the opportunity and became a seam caulker. As parents of three children they relied upon government housing, the Kaiser Daycare centers, and the schools that provided meals for their children while Mr. and Mrs. Gilette were working. From Mr. Gilette’s first hand account of growing up in the war boom community I was directed toward finding out more about the coordinated efforts of the government and support agencies.

Gilette, Don. Phone interview. 20 Jan. 2006.

During the phone interview I asked him questions that had arisen in my mind after our initial interview and I got specifics on his family. I found out ages of his family members when they moved there and more on the school and daycare programs and things such as how and where they purchased groceries. I also asked for physical descriptions of housing and how at the end of the war they no longer employed his mother there so she returned to the role of being a housewife.
Tedford, Mildred. Mail interview. 7 Feb. 2006.        Telephone interview. 5 May 2006.
Mrs. Tedford told how the Rosie the Riveter song inspired her to join the war effort. The summer of her junior year of high school she saw in the newspaper about the National Youth Administration training girls to be welders. She left home and lived in a dormitory in Metrapolis IL while being trained by a male instructor. Upon passing she was offered a job and safe place to live near the job. She first went to Mendota, IL to weld cans for Conkey’s who had a war contract for gas and water cans. The shipyard job paid much more than the 1 cent for a leaky can, 3 cents per leak proof can (6 cents for the second) she was receiving. Mildred told of how her girlfriend who was a war bride convinced her to take the job. She said it was physically hard work but they got breaks for ten minutes every hour. She told of having to wear slacks for the first time in her life and the safety requirements of the job. Mildred also told of her postwar work which paid less but was still physically challenging and how she knew the work was temporary but her friends often spoke of missing the pay and camaraderie of the shipyard days. She didn’t have problems with male harassment. Mrs. Telford provided me with the perspective of a young adventurous girl looking for economic opportunities and finding it at the shipyard.

Books

Coulter, W.E. Soldiers of Industry. Seneca: Privately printed, 1945.
This publication provided shipyard statistics that gave information on women employed in the Seneca workforce. I used it to get a sense of the many jobs women filled and the magnitude of the workforce. It was interesting to see where these women came from and how they were trained to take on the various roles.

Havighurst, Robert J. and H. Gerthon Morgan. The Social History of a War- Boom Community. {New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1951}
This book had a study of the community of Seneca and data compiled on the shipyard by various sources. It also included about how the government and other private agencies did a sociological study and then published the results of the study. To me it was informative of the governments role and look at different parts of Seneca.

Our Prairie Shipyard, Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. Historical Edition.1945.
From this magazine I acquired pictures and references of the day-to-day work at the Seneca Shipyard. I also had found poems and insights into operations. Statistical information on labor force, materials, accidents, war bond sales, and other records of assisting program compiled by Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. I learned of the vast amount of labor and materials and the intricate cooperation efforts of many groups including the Navy, CB&I, and government agencies.

Journals
Bozzoni, Frank. Official shipyard photographer journal, Seneca Public Library.
This journal provided a visual and written timeline of the shipyard. It gave a first hand account from the stand point of a civilian hired to document, create propaganda and a record of the industries proceedings. His personal comments on the running of the shipyard were helpful in helping me understand how many bosses it took to keep the many unions and departments running smoothly. The Navy worked with CB and I Company and every daily procedure required cooperation from many groups of individuals. I learned of the propaganda campaign associated with the war effort shipbuilding.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 3.4 (May 1944).
This article had a cartoon of a woman welder explaining headgear. Since many women hadn’t worked before they did not know the ramifications of their job. Being housewives before they wore makeup and always were dressed for the best therefore new things had to be explained.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 1.10 (May 1943).
From this article from Our Prairie Shipyard I learned of the girl of the month. This article tells of where the girl is from, what she does at the shipyard, and other personal facts. The girl of the month was selected for different traits and explained in the informational article along with her picture placed in the magazine. This magazine was trying to help the women through tough times and this added a little boost to all of the women.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 1.11 (May 1943).
This article had a photo of the female employees lined up. I learned that the women varied in size and age. Most of the women seemed as though they were between the ages of 20 and 30 and they all had on handkerchief turbines.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 1.12 (July 1943).
This article talked about safety records at the shipyard and how safety was a priority. The equipment used at the shipyard was not lightweight so the women had to think of safety such as steel toed boots, slacks, hair worn up, leather gloves, and countless other things.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 2.3 (Sept. 1943).
This article provided statistics on the number of women in each department of the shipyard. The statistics really helped me see the reality of how many women actually worked in the different jobs.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 2.3 (Sept. 1943).
This article contained some women welders’ biographies. They helped me better understand the women and where they were from and what they were like. It helped me know what they were like before they went into the work force.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 2.4 (Sept. 1943).
This article encouraged good housekeeping and having your work area cleaned up. This was just another safety procedure taken at the shipyard to prevent any hazards. It opened my eyes to what the company really pushed for, safety.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 2.5 (Oct. 1943).
Included in this article was discouragement of being absent from work. The CB&I company needed everyone there in order for production to be at its peak. They wanted everyone there so that they could turn out as many ships as possible and the women seemed to be happy to do that. Absence from work was definitely not encouraged but acceptable from time to time.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 2.7 (Dec. 1943).
This article recognized all the women who had helped make the Seneca Shipyard a success. The women needed this recognition because after the war was over their jobs were over. Most companies turned all the jobs back over to the men because working was the men’s priority. Putting this piece in the magazine helped the women know that they had been a part of a great thing and that they would be remembered.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 2.8 (Dec. 1943).
This article had a story about the childcare that was given at the Seneca Shipyard. The shipyard had a daycare center and also a school that were provided to any working mothers children. The article was telling the women of their services and qualifications for attendance. I learned that the daycare services were a very successful idea and the services were definitely made for the workingwomen’s children.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim Leather." Our Prairie Shipyards 3.3 (Apr. 1944).
This contained an article of a woman welding with her children by her side. Some mothers did not have a place for their children. I learned that the Kaiser daycare centers were definitely a great idea because women did not have to rely on family to watch their children. It helped with their schedules and made their lives a little easier knowing their children were being fed and watched.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 3.10 (Oct. 1944).
This cartoon explained the hazards of driving at night which helps describes the daily life of a woman commuting to work. Some drives were often long and women were tired after a long day at work.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Works. "Denim and Leather." Our Prairie Shipyard 4.4 (Mar. 1945).
This was propaganda put out to keep the moral of the shipyard workers up. These boosts every once in awhile made a big difference and made the women feel as if they were really needed.

Websites
"Transcript of Pamphlet." History Wired. 29 Jan. 2006 http://historywired.si.edu/.
This site talked about Negro women who took jobs in the war industry and the opportunities that available. This site also discussed post war effects of empowerment and experience with higher wages.

"The Image and Reality of Women Who Worked During World War II." National Park Service. 29 Jan. 2006 http://www.nps.gov/.
This National Park Service site was oral histories of shipyard workers. I gathered oral histories and personal experiences from this.

"American Women in War." The Victory Home: War Work-Women. 29 Jan. 2006 http://tvh.bfn.org/women.html#Stories.
This website gave many home front accounts from women in different areas of industry. I learned of the different hardships each woman went through with the area of industry they were experienced with.

"Rosie the Riveter Government Poster." U.S. National Archives & Records Information. 29 Jan. 2006 http://www.archives.gov/.
An assortment of government propaganda. This poster was unique in itself because the picture holds a story of women before and during the workforce.

The WAC. 29 Jan. 2006 http://www.mscd.edu?`history/camphale/www_001.html.
This website told of different changes in women’s roles during the World War II. It was neat to see the different changes during and after the war were over. Going from not working to working to being taken off the job by men seemed to be kind of hard on some women and not so tough on others.

"Rosie the Riveter." Women's History. 29 Jan. 2006. http://womenhistory.about.com/.
This was a site that told of the women’s roles in different plants throughout the country. I learned that most plants were like the Seneca one and that childcare was provided at most do to the large number of working mothers.

"Library of Congress." Women Workers of World War 2. 18 Feb. 2006 http://www.loc.gov/.
Pictures 1, 14, 32, 34, 36, 39, 40, 41, 43, 47, 49. These are assorted photos of women in the war industry and posters. The photos really impacted me in that I had visual evidence of how the women would have been lured in by them. It was neat to see the different tactics.

Magazines
Bourke-White, Margaret. Women in Steel. Life (August 9 1943):74 to 81.
This described jobs available to women during World War II in the metal industry. It described training and trade opportunities. I learned that there were a wide variety of job openings in the metals industry and I now have a better understanding of how much work it really requires to build a LST.

Bradley, La Verne. Women at Work. National Geographic (August 1944): 193 to 220.
This included a listing of jobs available to women during World War II. I got to see the diverse occupations and how many new career opportunities there were.

Leach, D.A. Building and Launching LSTs. Seneca: Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. reprint,   Chicago: Journal of The Western Society of Engineers. Vol. 50. No. 1 (March, 1945)

Stolz, Lois Meek. The Nursery Comes to the Shipyard. The New York Times Magazine (November 7, 1943): 20, 39.
This magazine discusses the government’s attempt to accommodate working mothers by providing nursery care for children. I learned about the Kaiser experimental plan that provided innovative, quality childcare.

Newspaper
Coulter, Dr. W.E. (1943 June 6). ‘Soldiers of Industry.’ Chicago Sun-Tribune.

Later reprinted in more thorough and comprehensive source available at Seneca Library, this article featured background information and statistics that helped explain the magnitude of the challenge facing the ship building industry as related to the Seneca site.

Films
V for Victory. Hosted by Eric Sevarait. Women at War from the Home Front to the Front Live.   Produced by Peter Edward. Capital Video 1989. Atlas Video Inc.
Women’s roles in WW II workforce and examples of movie reels used as propaganda to entice females into the war industry. I learned how hard the industry advertised to get women into the war efforts.

Song
Evan, Redd, and Loeb, John Jacob, “Rosie the Riveter Song.” Released early 1943.
Lyrics and information on its popularity were used for a quote on my project board as it illustrates the patriotism campaign used by the government to lure women into the workforce and change societal views as to working women. This is a song promoting and glorifying the work effort of a female World War II war industry worker. I learned of the persuasive propaganda message barraging young women as to the honorable and patriotic qualities of workers.

Sites Visited

Highway Route 6. Ottawa to Seneca.
I drove the same two-lane Illinois River road through little settlements. I got the feel for the drive several of my interviewers had mentioned as being long, tiring, and tedious. I also better understand the crowded car pool condition and hardships of traffic back up of the women workers.
Seneca Public Library. Seneca, Illinois.

A model of an LST, photo records of each ship built, journal accounts of workers, and the official librarian Margaret Buck suggested available sources I viewed the LST display pursuing files. I was struck with the enormous task of building an ocean going ship post. It also surprised me that during the Depression when equipment and machinery were not readily available the Seneca Shipyard had it all.
Seneca Shipyard Memorial. Seneca, Illinois.
A view of the Illinois River and site of where the shipyard once stood is located in Seneca. The memorial installed recently has a granite etching of an LST and poems commemorating women workers, home front soldiers, and LST sailors. Standing on the banks of the Illinois River I could just imagine what it would be like to go to work at the site every day.

Cartoons

Reprinted from DesMoines Register. Courtesy of: Historical Pictures, DesMoines, Iowa, 1943.
This was a cartoon depicting women’s patriotic duty post war of giving up their high paying jobs to return home. It illustrates how women wouldn’t give up their new financial independence and strength of spirit easily. I learned of the OWI’s War Magazine Guide asking editors at the end of the war to produce articles encouraging women in the war industry to return to more traditional women’s roles and give up their higher paying jobs to the returning men.

Reprinted from Touched with Fire; An American Community in World War II. By permission of the publisher: Daily Hampshire Gazette, North Hampton, Massachusetts, 9 January 1943.
This is the image of more manpower Paul McNutt, with a woman war worker as Miss America 1943. This year he measures her strength with a tape measure- not her beauty. From this it shows society’s shifting ideas of what was important in a woman.

Secondary Sources

Sites Visited

LaSalle County Historical Society and Museum. Utica, Illinois.
A model of a Landing Ship Tank and a minimal display introduce the topic of the Seneca Prairie Shipyard. Here I first heard of the shipyard and then went into the reference archive files for information the shipyard. I found before and after pictures of the shipyard area along the IL River and copies of the Prairie Shipyard Magazines’

Utica Library. Utica, Illinois.
In this library I found all of the copies of Chicago Bridge and Iron Works issues. They had file folders upon file folders of all the articles. I also found commemorative articles and news clippings from throughout the years.

Interviews

Lorraine (Johnson) Jackson and Marion (Hayne) Kuhn’s
These interviews were of their personal accounts at the shipyard and told of their point of view on things. They also spoke of effects that it had on them long term and what they did once the war was over and the Seneca shipyard quit hiring women.

Stowell, George (1990, May 9th). “Women recall days at Seneca shipyard.” Daily Times.
This was an interview which gave a firsthand account of the worker’s roles and gave insight into hiring and training.

Books

Atlas, Jacoba and Schulman, Heidi and Thompson, Kyra. A Century of Women. Atlanta: TBS Books, 1994.
Based on a documentary this book follows the evolving role of women in American society from the time period of the late 1800s to the late 1900s. Using illustrations and quotes it portrays work and family, sexuality and social justice, and image and popular culture. It gave me insights into society’s view of women during the Progressive Era and how the Great Depression affected working women and there was an increase of married women in low paying jobs. It also explained how the governments war campaign drew women into the workforce and discussed the difficulties some women experienced in the transition back.

Bluemer, R.G. (2005). Home Front: WWII in the Illinois Valley. Granville, Illinois: Grand Village Press, 2005.
This is a compilation from Illinois Valley newspapers of newspaper articles, advertisements, and photographs that help explain what was going on on the home front during World War II. From this source I got lists of names of shipyard workers that I then tracked down to interview. I also got a feel for the patriotic efforts and other war industries in the area and how they recruited women. This broadened my understanding of what was going on in the entire Illinois Valley and how the community was investing its energy.

Bingham, Jane and Chandler, Fiona and Taplin, Sam. Usborne World History The Last 500            Years. New York: Scholastic Incorporated, 2000.
This book gives a brief synopsis of important historic events of the last 500 years. From it I used a World War II timeline for reproduction on the display. This book put everything that I had learned about during social studies into an order that I better understood.

Burger, Melvin D. Large Slow Target: A History of the LST Vol. III. New York: Taylor, 1986.
An article written by Mrs. Margaret Oswood Johnson where she gave a first hand account of the rumors that the shipyard was going to be built and how preposterous she and others thought a shipyard to build ocean going ships was. She then tells how the land was cleared and the shipyard constructed. She explained E.L. Cochrane made it a reality as the designer of the shipyard. She explained how housewives, grandmothers, girls, and women of all ages filled jobs. Women were hired to weld who previously didn’t know what a welder was. I learned how inexperienced women were given jobs and the communities initial disbelief that ocean going ships could be made in the middle of Illinois cornfields.

Centennial Committee. Seneca Area Centennial Celebration: The Story of 100 Years. Illinois: Seneca Centennial Committee, 1965.
An article written by William E. Steep that told of how Senators Hart and Little introduced Senate Bill 709 to create the Seneca Regional Port District and to define its powers and duties. It became a law and is responsible for promoting industrial development of the former CB&I Companies property along the Illinois River. From this I learned how the LST memorial was conceived and how the monument honoring women workers was begun.

Colman, Penny. Girls: A History of Growing Up Female in America. New York: Scholastic   Incorporated, 2000.
A compilation of stories, articles, journals, and first hand accounts written by American girls from the 1700s to modern day. The author analyzes what it was like to be a girl growing up at different times throughout history. The author uses these primary sources to analyze what it was like to be young and female at different points throughout history. Out of this book I got from the section about girls during the depression gave me insights as to how the women who became the welders of the 1940s lived in the 1930s. It also maintains a section on stories of shipyard daycare and working mothers. It also talked about the first wonder woman action hero of 1941 comic strips and the empowerment of young women. It also showed how society evolved into being more accepting to women in more powerful situations.

Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter. New York: Crown Publishers, 1995.
It looks at the jobs women took, the impact women had on the workplace, the public relations campaigns that got them into the workforce, and what happened to women post war. This book had great visuals and a timeline that discussed the governments various war campaigns and commissions. I learned of the role of media in influencing women to work. This book lead me to looking up additional resources including Ottilie Juliet Gattuss’s letter to President Truman.

Honey, Maureen. Creating Rosie the Riveter: Class, Gender, and Propaganda During World War II. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1984.
This source included information about the office of war information’s propaganda campaign and war workers. I learned a lot about the different campaigns and I also got dates and offices. The different campaign techniques stuck out to me and lead me to finding more out in different books.

McCandless, William. The Cornfield Shipyard Miracle. Keep I&M Canal History Alive, Joliet, Illinois, 2005.
History of the Landing Ship Tanks and the creation of the Seneca Shipyard. It describes the pecking order and support groups that made the industry possible. It also discussed the task based construction system used to produce the ships and provided many photographs. I learned Mary Bell was hired by CB&I to counsel the women employees and women’s acceptance into the trade workers unions. I also learned about Harriet Bois Williams who was the first woman welder hired and was given the opportunity to christen the first completed Seneca LST #197, December 13th, 1943.

Stout, Steve. (1997). Starved Rock Stories. Utica, Illinois: Utica House Publishing Company.
Overview of the shipyards role and personal accounts of two sailors aboard LSTs and a christening launching with Caesar Romero as the celebrate breaking the Champaign bottle. Mr. Stout mentioned just a few high points of the Seneca Shipyard’s years. I learned about the christenings and how every time they would launch a new ship they would have a significant person christen it for all to see.

Thomas, Kathleen. (2004). Don’t Call Me Rosie: The Women who Welded the LSTs and the Men who Sailed on Them. Tigard, Oregon: Thomas/Wright, Inc.
Accounts of women in the shipbuilding industry including personal narratives and accounts from men who sailed on the ships. The photographs and images of pay stubs and women socializing after hours helped provide prospective from the point of view of young, single, white, middle-class women who took jobs for the first time. It impressed upon me their call to patriotic duty and the notoriety they got in their community for being a home front soldier. They were very proud to have done the jobs and then stepped down and let men resume as soon as they returned home from war.

Dissertation

Revelle, Anita. Prairie Shipbuilders: Women Workers in World War II. Illinois: Illinois State   University, 1993.
This article gave a history on the creation and running of the shipyard and discussed the roles of the women at the shipyard. It provided statistical data on the female workers and spoke of welder training and working conditions. It told of the evolving role of the shipbuilder’s women’s counselor. From this I learned of the company’s attempts to assimilate female workers and of hardships and female employment in Seneca. It also addressed how post war the women were laid off and went back to former jobs or returned to being housewives but often said they missed the companionship of fellow shipyard workers.

Websites

Atlanticville. 29 Jan. 2006 http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/.
This site had pictures of the women working. These pictures showed how the women looked and you can read into their eyes and see that they were proud to be helping their country.

Women at Grumman During World War II. 29 Jan. 2006.       http://www.bethpagecommunity.com/Grumman/women.htm.
This website gave me insight into the working conditions of the shipyard. The women worked through all sorts of conditions outdoors just for their country. Dedication drove them through all seasons and that is obvious through the stories told of how horrible the weather could be whether scorching hot or freezing cold.