WWII history featured at Floyd County Museum’s Chautauqua Talk

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The working women of World War II were the topic of the morning at the Floyd County Museum’s Chautauqua Talk on Saturday, March 15.

Author Linda McCann was the guest speaker for the event, sharing some of the behind-the-scenes stories from her book “Rosie the Riveters of Iowa.”

“Before the war actually started, the government and the military knew they were going to have to depend on women,” said McCann.

She talked about not just the extreme amount of work that women of the time put into producing airplanes, tanks and ammunition for the war machine, but also the challenges they faced in the sudden transition out of their historical gender roles.

Having spoken with 35 “Rosies” from around the state, McCann also shared how difficult it could be to coax their stories out of them as some to this day still felt obliged to their decades-old confidentiality terms.

“It was very interesting,” said Museum Director Mckenna Lloyd. “I’m glad she could come.”

Next month Lloyd herself will be presenting a Chautauqua Talk about the history of the Sherman Nursery.