According to the Los Angeles Times, Betty Reid Soskin spent her last full day at Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park telling visitors about how American women who fought in World War II had changed their lives. Her life was a part of it. Finally say goodbye to colleagues after more than a decade of sticking with this park.
Betty Reid Soskin – America’s oldest ranger, officially retired on March 31 at the age of 100, after more than 15 years working at Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park in Richmond, California.
Soskin often leads tours of parks and museums that honor women who worked in factories during wartime and shares her own experiences as an African-American woman in the midst of American society. there. She even served in the US Air Force in 1942.
Soskin’s dedication to Rosie the Riveter Park over the years has contributed to helping the American public better understand how women from a variety of backgrounds contributed to the Allied victory. .
“Being a key player in sharing that history, which is also the history of yourself, of a national park is exciting and satisfying.”said Mrs. Soskin. “It gave meaning to my final years.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ms. Soskin held the position of temporary supervisor at the age of 84 and became a full-time employee in 2011. Ms. Soskin also celebrated her 100th birthday last September.
It is known that Mrs. Soskin is also one of the contributors to Rosie the Riveter park after the city of Richmond and the US National Park Service (NPS) intend to build the park to honor those who have contributed. World War II efforts. Among those honored was Rosie the Riveter, a symbolic representation of white women who worked in shipyards and factories, taking on the vacancies of men in war.
To combat racism, Soskin decided in 2003 to become a consultant for a project that shares stories of African-American women who worked in wartime factories and shipyards and became ranger in 2007, at the age of 85.
NPS director Chuck Sams said: “Betty has had a profound impact on the National Park Service and the way we carry out our mission. Her efforts remind us that people must seek out and explore the park space in order to be able to tell American history in its fullest and most inclusive way.”
Rosie the Riveter Park is scheduled to hold a ceremony honoring Soskin’s work in mid-April in Richmond.
According to NPS, Soskin was born in 1921 and grew up in a Cajun-Creole African-American family who settled in Oakland. The Soskin family moved to East Oakland (California) after the historic Mississippi flood (1927) devastated New Orleans.
During World War II, Soskin received a job as a clerk in Richmond, which she described as “a huge step forward” for an African-American in American society at the time.
In 1945, Mrs. Soskin and her first husband founded one of the first African-American-owned record stores in the area.
Ms. Soskin is also a civil rights activist and has attended meetings to develop a joint management plan for the Home Front park and has won several titles.
Soskin was named California Woman of the Year in 1995.
In 2013, Ms. Soskin became known throughout the United States as the oldest ranger when she was interviewed by a local TV channel about the US government shutdown.
In 2015, Ms. Soskin was honored to join former US President Barack Obama to light the National Christmas tree at the White House.
Soskin is also honored to be recorded in the US Congress record. Glamor magazine named her woman of the year 2018.
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