Saturday, Oct 25, 2025 |
The unexpected behind the scenes of producing my second book: She Built Ships During World War II. You will be quite surprised!
After publishing She Flew Bombers, I became increasingly curious about the women on the Home Front during the war and what their experience was like.
After conducting extensive written research, I sought to discover new information that I had never heard about before.
I was interested in visiting the local Richmond, California, Museum, which was well known for information about women on the Home Front.
I called the museum to find out the location and hours. I was astonished to learn that I needed to make an appointment. I had visited many museums in my life, but I was never told that I needed to make an appointment to go to a public museum.
Fortunately, my hardworking, history buff husband wanted to go as well. We drove to the museum, an hour away from home. I was full of anticipation on the way there to further enhance my research. We got to the stately museum and parked.
In the surrounding neighborhood, there were many abandoned buildings, open drug sales, loitering, and a gang presence. The scene before us frightened me, so I grabbed my muscular husband’s arm. Having spent most of my life in the country, comfortably sheltered, I found myself in an unusual situation. I was relieved that my husband accompanied me, as he was a big, strong-looking guy, and I felt protected with him; I wouldn’t have even gotten out of my truck if I had been alone.
I later found out that this area was widely known as the most dangerous part of Richmond, CA, and known as the Iron Triangle, and was one of the city’s highest-crime zones that included narcotics and gun activity.
My husband quickly held my hand as we walked up the multiple wide flights of stairs to the entrance door of Richmond Museum, which was historically the 1910 Carnegie public Library. On the front door, there was a sign that said, “Go to the side door.” At the side door, another sign read, “Appointment only, ring the buzzer.” I rang the buzzer, and a man pushed a curtain aside, looked out at us, and then opened the door. At this point, I felt like I was in a spy movie and wondered what would happen next!
The small older man with a clipboard asked, “Do you have an appointment?’ I replied yes and gave him our names. He checked us off and then warmly said, “Welcome to the Richmond Museum.”
There before us was a musty-smelling museum chock-full of memorabilia of World War II. There were photographs, documents, artifacts, and maps.
We were both enthralled, forgetting the dangers outside. I was so pleased and honored to explore this museum for my research.
I was enamored by a 17 X 11 photograph of a gorgeous, complexioned woman with a beautiful white smile wearing a man-sized welding uniform and large work gloves. The only item that fit was her “cool” looking welding hood.
At the bottom of the photo was written Wendy the Welder, Dorothy Price, Runner-up, ‘Joan of Arc’ welding contest, Richmond Kaiser Shipyard #3, July 1943.
I bought the well-matted photograph of her and received written permission to use it for my book. It was the perfect cover for She Built Ships, and I was thrilled.
It was interesting for me to discover the phrase “Wendy the Welder” that our tour guide said used to be as popular a nickname as “Rosie the Riveter for the women on the Home Front.
Another fascinating discovery at this fine museum was to view an exhibit of watercolor paintings created by children from the Kaiser Richmond Maritime Child Development Center in 1944.
Our tour guide informed us that Richmond had about 30–35 wartime child-care/nursery units for Kaiser shipyard workers.
I took photographs of two paintings featured in my book, She Built Ships During WW II.
The first one was a watercolor painted by Joe Fitzgerald, age 8. It depicted a ship on the ocean with two Japanese airplanes being bombed during Pearl Harbor.
The second watercolor, painted by Donald, age 10, in my book, showed the outfitting dock at the Richmond Kaiser Shipyard with a rough-looking man with a wrench in his hand, wearing a hat and a long cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was in front of 2 ships on the dock.
I was deeply moved to see how very young children painted and depicted the war. It also made me feel very sad. I was the owner/director of a large pre-school, where our children painted flowers and happy family members. When the horrific bombing of our country occurred during 9/11, I had to put a sign on the door for parents not to discuss the event at the center.
We left the museum, thanked the excellent tour guide, and cautiously went outside. We were relieved to see that our truck was not vandalized. We quickly got into our vehicle, locked the doors, and sped out of there.
On the way home, my mind wandered to the painting of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by a very young child, and it made me think about how children were exposed to war during that time. I was the owner and director of a large daycare center, and we protected our kids from frightening events, such as the 9/11 attacks on our country. I had to post a sign on the door informing parents not to discuss it. Our children painted flowers and happy family members, NOT bombings.
I placed the beautiful photograph of WENDY THE WELDER on my desk to enhance my writing.
Stay tuned for upcoming events, while writing my historical novel, She Built Ships During WW II. These activities included Victory Visitors, attending a welding class, studying the Maritime Child Development Center in Richmond, CA, and touring the Port Chicago Naval Base in Concord, CA, to learn about the devastating Port Chicago explosion.
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Monday, Oct 6, 2025 |
My interview with a Woman Airforce Service Pilot, Adeline Wolak Ellison in class 6, 1943 at the standing-room-only event on September 19, 2009, was hysterically entertaining.
I found my previous interview with Betty Budde, Class 43-3 a hoot, but “Addie” really topped the cake with her funny true stories as a WASP and was candid and delightfully expressive.
Please enjoy Addie Wolak’s interview:
“It took a lot of work to be a WASP, but we did manage to have fun and had many crazy things happened to us. One of the funniest was when ten of us flew our brand-new BT 13’s from Texas and were scheduled to stop in Blithe, California overnight to have our instrument ratings checked and then fly off to deliver them to an army base.
We got there and went to dinner then went to bed to be ready for our flight.
In the morning, when we went to the flightline and much to our shocking surprise there were ladders at each of our planes with GI’s disassembling them by taking out the nuts and bolts.
We screamed at them, “What are you doing? We gotta fly our airplanes out of here to another army base for the men to fly them into combat.”
One GI answered, “Well, we thought if we disabled them you could come to a big dance we are having tonight, and we only have ugly nurses to dance with!”
“I said, oh sure we can call back to our base and tell them GIs disassembled our planes and have to stay one more night!”
Thank goodness that scared all the GIs to put them back together again!”
This outrageous story caused a burst of raucous laughter from the audience.
Addie continued, “Another time I was flying a plane alone to an Army base in Midland, Texas which I was looking forward to eating steak that I heard was wonderful there.
After I landed a GI asked me if I could bowl. I said sure but I only bowl a 135.That day at the bowling alley I surprised myself and bowled a 250!
This event caused all the locals to come over and watch me bowl again thinking I was a top bowler, but then I only bowled my usual 135! After the game the GI’s and I went out to steak dinner. There was a huge group of us and a big Texan at the table announced when the bill came, “Kids, the bills on me!”
The next day one of the GI’s asked if I wanted to fly in formation with a group of them.
I answered, “Sure but only if I could be the head pilot!”
We all flew up in our planes, and the GIs purposely went up 2 at a time as the tower started screaming, “One at a time, one at a time!”
They ignored the tower and hemmed me in the middle! After 15 minutes the “stinkers” peeled off wiggling their wings at me and flew away!
Another crazy event was when a bunch of us gals were flying in a bomber and one of the gals wore uncomfortable large of pants and decided to take them off and folded them up and put them in the back of the plane. We were about to land when she opened the hatch and her pants flew out!
She called to the tower, “Send a lady mechanic to bring me pants because mine flew out.”
By the time the plane landed there were a huge number of male mechanics “knee deep” waiting to see a girl pilot in her underwear!”
A female mechanic brought out a surplus male size 44 coveralls for her to wear. She came out of the plane wearing the coveralls that had the crouch down to her ankles and the GI’s burst out laughing!”
Addie continued, “I hate to brag but during basic training my instructor told me that I flew better than 95% of the male pilots that he did check flights on.
The WASPs were suddenly disbanded on December 20, 1944, 8 months before the war was over and the male pilots were returning and wanted their jobs back. The WASPs were so disappointed they offered to keep flying for $1.00 a year but were still rejected. Furthermore, they were sent home without being able to celebrate the glorious end of the war together.
I married an Airforce pilot and had two children and decided to join the Airforce Reserves as a 1st Lieutenant. I was the only woman in a class of 35 men. One day I was chit-chatting with a colonel after class and I happened to mention my children to him.
He asked me, “You have children”?
I answered, “Yes, I have two.”
The colonel asked, “Is that on your record?”
I answered, “No there was nothing on the forms.”
The colonel raised his voice, “I’m sorry but you can’t be in the Air Force reserves if you have a family unless you put them up for adoption!”
A wave of laughter rolled through the audience.
The colonel continued, “Since the class is half over, I will give you an honorable discharge.”
“He broke my heart, and I knew I surely would have become a colonel just like him if he had let me stay.”
Clapping broke out from the audience.”
As MC I said, “Addie’s daughter Andrea is in the audience and I’m sure she’s glad that she was not put up for adoption.”
The interview of the six WASPs concluded with Q & A from the audience.
Nancye Crout listed all the many planes she got to fly.
Florence Emig Wheeler attended all the yearly reunions that continue to happen. Last year’s reunion had 100 WASPs attending.
Florence Wheeler was a pilot instructor and flew until she was 72 and had taught her 56-year-old father to fly and get his pilot’s license.
I had heard on the radio that the WASPs were to receive the Gold Medal of Honor on March 10, 2010.
I called up Florence Wheeler and asked her if she was going to Washington for her Medal of Honor.
Florence answered, “I’m thinking about it.”
I asked, “Will they pay for your trip and hotel expenses?”
Florence answered, “No.”
I responded, “That’s terrible.”
Florence replied, “This is nothing new and has always been this way in the army.”
Adeline Ellison added, “It was one of the highlights of my life to travel to Washington, DC to receive the Gold Medal of Honor.”
In 2012, a Cessna 172 was named “ADELINE,” was unveiled by owner Ralph Sauceda in a special honor given to Addie at the Commemorative Air Force, Modesto, California Airport.
Adeline Wolak Ellison was born on September 26, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois. She Died on June 10, 2017, at the age of 97 1/2 years old. On her gravestone it reads, “Two Hot Pilots Together at Last.”
This concludes the last interview of six WASPs. An amazing DVD was filmed by the Cmedia Lab in Santa Rosa is available to buy from my web site: www.jeaneslone.com/shop.
