Ann Rosener

California shipyard workers. Thousands of workers bound for the Richmond shipyards in San Francisco's East bay area leave the ferry and cross the ramp leading to the yards, February 1943

  

 Conversion. Pianos to airplane motors. Prior to the conversion of a Chicago piano factory to the manufacture of parts for trainer planes, Lorraine Avezzano operated this boring machine to prepare piano keyboards for further assembly. Today she uses the same machine to process connecting rods for trainer-plane motors. More than 1,000 of these rods pass through her hands each day. Gulbransen Company. July 1942

 

 Handicapped workers. Despite physical handicaps, these women are doing work that's vital to Uncle Sam's war effort. At the Maryland League for Crippled Children, they're hand-burring Y's for airplane engines, on subcontract to a Baltimore engineering company. White Engineering Company, Baltimore, Maryland. August 1942

 

 Mrs. Evelyn Hauser, Red Cross nurse, prepares a volunteer blood donor at San Quentin for his donation. During the Red Cross mobile unit's visit to the penitentiary, 150 prisoners gave blood and more than twice that number volunteered but were unable to give to the bank because of lack of time and equipment. ca. 1943

 

 Coffee and cakes taste pretty good to these San Quentin prisoners who have just given blood to the Red Cross mobile unit. Of the hundreds of men who volunteered to give blood to the bank, 150 were taken care of during the unit's four-hour visit to the penitentiary. Warden Clinton T. Duffy, who encourages such activities at the prison, chats with several Red Cross workers. ca. 1943

 

Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's manpower swelling the ranks of the armed forces, women must step into many new occupations in both urban and rural life. These women harvest hands in Rochelle, Illinois, are helping the national welfare by picking the summer asparagus crop. September 1942

Ann Rosener

 Women in essential services. Ruth Anderson, San Francisco's only woman radio news reporter, has entered a field formerly open only to men. A graduate of radio soap operas, Miss Anderson began her newscasts last October on a probational basis and has been editing, preparing and broadcasting reports on world news ever since. February 1943

  

 Women in industry. Flare gun production. "What's new about women working in war industries?" asks Mrs. Annette Caines of Detroit, who manned a milling machine in a gun factory during the last war and hasn't stopped work since. Now employed by a Midwest vacuum cleaner plant which has been converted to war work, Mrs. Caines processes flare gun parts on a drill press with the vigor of an eager, youthful worker. With a thirty-two-year-old son in the Army, Mrs. Caines has a deep personel interest in her job. "We women want to fight with our men folks," she says. "Maybe we can't shoot guns, but we sure can make the stuff for them to shoot with." Eureka Vacuum, Detroit, Michigan. July 1942

  

 Women in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make America strong. Women near Rochelle, Illinois, many of them schoolteachers and pupils, work in asparagus canning factories during the summer months. September 1942

 

 Women in war. Supercharger plant workers. A former bank clerk and a college graduate who majored in physics, find war jobs in the shipping department of a large Midwest supercharger plant. Betty Hinz (left) whose husband is in the Army Air Corps, left a job in a Milwaukee bank to take a more active part in the war effort. October 1942

[note that the lettering on the left side of the box has 

been "redacted," no doubt a bit of wartime censorship]

 

Women in war. Supercharger plant workers. Plant foremen point to 20-year-old Annie Tabor as one of their best lathe operators, despite her lack of previous industrial experience. October 1942

Ann Rosener

These photos of a "war workers' nursery" in Oakland, California were taken in 1943.

 A mid-morning tomato juice is thoroughly appreciated by these 

war workers' children who attend an Oakland, California nursery school

  

 A young supervisor at the Bella Vista Nursery School in Oakland, California, 

eats luncheon with the smallest to prevent dawdling over food

  

 Catherine Simmons plays Red Cross nurse at the 

Bella Vista Nursery School in Oakland, California

  

 Finger painting is a healthy outlet for nursery school youngsters. 

With oilcloth aprons to protect their clothes, the elbow's the limit for a junior artist.

  

 Playing waitress is an envied job at the Bella Vista Nursery School in Oakland, California, where a complete and nourishing luncheon is served daily in addition to midmorning cod liver oil and tomato juice and afternoon milk and crackers.

  

The morning checkup at modern nursery schools includes mouth and throat inspection. 

Mrs. Arlene Corbin, time checker at a Richmond, California shipyard waits

Ann Rosener

 California shipyard workers. Eight hours of work in a Richmond, California shipyard find these two workers grateful for the calm and quiet of the ferry trip back to San Francisco, February 1943

  

 California shipyard workers. This woman worker pushes back her helmet during a moment's pause from her welding job at the Richmond shipyard in California, February 1943

  

 Production. Aircraft engines. Using multi-colored pins to mark 

residences of its employees, a Midwest aircraft factory innovates 

its car-pooling system. Like hundreds of other U.S. factories, July 1942

  

 War housing needs. Crowds of homeseekers wait in line for housing information in every "boom town" war housing center. Like millions of Americans who have migrated to busy industrial areas, these newcomers to San Francisco are hoping for news that a house, a room, or even a bed will be made available for them before the day is over. February 1943

  

 Washington, D.C. Two blood donors talking it over after having given a pint of blood. Note how girl on right holds cotton pad on her arm where needle was injected, June 1943

  

Women in industry. Gas mask production. Lacing head harnesses of gas masks after they have passed through all the stages of assembly and made ready for packaging, is the job of this young woman who works in a large Midwest vacuum cleaner factory which has been converted to war production. Note the lei of string she's wearing--the better to lace the masks with! Eureka Vacuum, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

Ann Rosener

 I'll carry mine. Delivery vans, 1942 style, line up outside a Greenbelt, Maryland, grocery store awaiting customers. Tire scarcity and gasoline rationing have placed such service at a premium, and these youngsters who are using their express wagons to carry home Mrs. America's purchases are doing their country a real service. November 1942

  

 I'll carry mine. Junior should wipe that worried frown off his face, for he's doing his Uncle Sam a favor by sharing the carriage with his mother's purchases, November 1942

  

 I'll carry mine. There's nothing like a husky and willing escort to simplify a shopping expedition, now that deliveries of goods have been curtailed to conserve tires and gasoline, December 1942

  

 In the war against waste, American housewives are learning the basic steps of wise buying - buy by weight, not by number; buy in quantity, February 1942

  

 That washing machine has to last for a long time, so keep it in good 

condition. Drain it immediately after use, rinse tub thoroughly, 

remove agitator or suction cups and rinse with clear water. February 1942

 

 There's no June in January for the housewife with economy and Victory on her mind. Buying foods out of season means less food for more money, and less money available for household staples and defense stamps. February 1942

 

 Wartime food demonstration. With wartime food shortages creating many nutritional problems for housewives, Ida Lansden, home economist, explains the necessity of preserving the vitamin content of available foods to war workers' wives in an Alexandria, Virginia housing settlement. March 1943

 

Women in war. Supercharger plant workers. A good day's work done, employees of a large Midwest supercharger plant line up to punch their timecards. With women comprising 80 percent of its workers, its nothing unusual to find an all-female contingent like this one at the plant. Allis Manufacture Company. October 1942

Ann Rosener

World War II home front pictures.

 "Can I wear it today?" Attractive playsuits for daughter can be made from that old housedress, the one with the splitting seams, and Junior's first long pants (no cuffs) can emerge from father's old overcoat. February 1942

 

 Agriculture. Women on farms. Like many another U.S. farmer's wife, Mrs. Harold Sontag of Maple Park, Illinois, takes an active part in the management of her farm but at the end of a long and active day, she still finds time to entertain her tow-headed youngsters with tales of farm life "when I was a little girl." September 1942

 

 Agriculture. Women on farms. There's a feminine hand at the controls of many of America's activities these days. Like many other farm wives whose husbands are engaged in war work, Mrs. William Wood manages a 120 acre farm in Colona, Michigan, with little male assistance. With a crop of corn, tomatoes and rasberries to harvest, she still finds time to care for her own Victory garden and to attend a first-aid class. And for the scrap drive Mrs. Wood salvaged 1,600 pounds of outworn metal and rubber articles from the farm, and contributed them to her local collection agency. 1942-43

 

 All nursing and no play might make Frances Bullock (right) a dull girl! To preclude such a possibility, Army nurses hold dances in the nurses' home. May 1943

  

 Cardinal "don't" for housekeepers: don't put hot food into the refrigerator. Allow cooked foods to cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator. February 1942

  

 Conservation of durable goods. So-o-o-o big! But still not quite big enough to sell to the junk man or give to the Red Cross, Boy Scouts or other agencies in the neighborhood. Conservation of waste paper will save millions of dollars annually for Uncle Sam. February 1942

 

 Do you know why sugar must be rationed? Why you can't buy any more refrigerators or pleasure cars? There's plenty of material available on these subjects which can be obtained from the government. February 1942

  

Don't let pretty labels on cans mislead you, but learn the difference between grades and the relative economy of buying larger instead of small cans. The Pure Food Law requires packers to state exact quantity and quality of canned products, so take advantage of this information and buy only after thorough inspection of labels. February 1942

Ann Rosener

Ann Rosener was one of the photographers taking pictures of home-front factory work in World War II. Most of her photos focused on women manufacturing war materiel. Here's her obituary.

 Both men and women man the machines which are turning out parts for America's bomber planes at Willow Run, Michigan, 1942

 Negro women with no previous industrial experience are reconditioning used spark plugs in a large Midwest airplane plant, Buick plant, Melrose Park, 1942

 Pioneers of the production line, these two young workers are among the first women ever to operate a centerless grinder, Republic Drill and Tool Company, Chicago, 1942

 Reconditioning used spark plugs for reuse in testing airplane motors, Mighnon Gunn operates this small testing machine with speed and precision although she was new to the job two months ago, 1942

 Spot welding parts for the nacelle of an aircraft engine. These women work in the largest one-story building in the works, the giant bomber plant at Willow Run, Michigan, 1942

 Steady of eye and hand, women workers at the great Willow Run bomber plant are among those throughout the country who are relieving serious shortages of skilled workers by doing such semi-skilled jobs as the one shown here, 1942

Women at work for victory. These young employees of a Midwest drill and tool plant are operating cylindrical grinders which taper drills to specified size, Republic Drill and Tool Company, Chicago, 1942