Rosie the Riveter factory preserves women's history

'Rosie the Riveter' factory demolition: Willow Run, the iconic factory used by legions of 'Rosie the Riveter' female workers during WWII, is set for demolition. Is it too late to save this piece of women's history?

The wrecking ball is poised to demolish the iconic Willow Run plant in Michigan, which produced not only bombers for World War II, but also inspired the iconic symbol of female empowerment and American wartime unity, "Rosie the Riveter." Its a good time for parents to remind kids that Rosie the Riveter is not only a Halloween costume.

Correspondent

Lisa Suhay, who has four sons at home in Norfolk, Va., is a childrens book author and founder of the Norfolk (Va.) Initiative for Chess Excellence (NICE) , a nonprofit organization serving at-risk youth via mentoring and teaching the game of chess for critical thinking and life strategies.

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Long before there was a Lean In philosophy from Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg (who has a net worth of more than $1 billion, according to Forbes) or the queendom of Oprah (who has a net worth of $2.9 billion, according to Forbes), there were everyday women sweating in factories to support Americas war effort while their men were an ocean away, waiting for the munitions and planes they labored to produce.

Before even discussing the fact that the factory where women played a crucial role in the war effort is about to be demolished, I feel the need to back up and explain the significance of what were really talking about here.

As kids typically learn around the 8th grade, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, much of the male workforce went off to war as America became engaged in World War II.

That meant precious few able-bodied men were left at home to man the factories and produce munitions and aircraft to supply the war effort.

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Rosie the Riveter factory preserves women's history