When visiting Wright Museum in Wolfeboro, one of the highlights for many people is the chance for a picture with Rosie the Riveter, the iconic image of hardworking women during WWII popularized in the 1980s.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone to be a ‘Rosie,’” said museum Executive Director Mike Culver. “Visitors can have their pictures taken and then share it on their choice of social media platforms–it’s been a great hit.”
It has also been a hit for volunteers, including Linda Matchett, who said she loves the image itself and the photo opportunity at Wright Museum because “it reminds folks that ‘We can do it.’”
“Rosie exemplifies all the ordinary men and women who did extraordinary things during the war, especially those women who went to work and juggled that responsibility with raising their families and keeping their households running,” she said.
Matchett, an author of historical mystery and romantic fiction who additionally sponsored the museum’s recent Comedy Show, volunteers her time there two days a week and said her life is more full because of it.
“I learn at least one new thing every time I go because the exhibits are well-presented and well-researched,” she said. “The museum is a gem, and hopefully my support helps as many people as possible get to experience it.”
For Culver, the ‘Rosie the Riveter’ photo opportunity at the museum serves as a fun, albeit poignant source of inspiration for many Americans.
“Women were an integral part of the war effort, and their contributions to the war and American society in general is captured in that iconic image,” he said.
The region’s leading resource for educators and learners of all ages on World War II, the Wright Museum features more than 14,000 items in its collection that are representative of both the homefront and battlefield.
