McLoud native Alice Beeson may not have been on the front lines, but her work was just as vital to the Allied victory of World War II.
With tools in hand, Beeson served for about 15 months as a famed “Rosie the Riveter” at Douglas Aircraft in Midwest City. Beeson, a 1943 graduate of McLoud High School, helped construct C-47 Skytrains, which were used as military transports.
Beeson would arrive to work between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. five or six days each week, she said, and would work until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. During her first year at the plant, she assembled parts of fuselages using rivets. The rivet gun “didn’t seem so big to me,” Beeson said, “but it was powerful.”
The sections of fuselage would arrive at her station horizontally, she said, and would then be positioned vertically. One worker would enter the section to hold the rivet while a worker on the outside would use the rivet gun to secure it in place.
Workers would alternate between these duties, Beeson said.
Once a section was compete, it would be sent down the assembly line where other workers would add additional parts until the plane was complete, Beeson said. When workers were finished, the C-47s were flight-ready.
The assembly line was a noisy place to be, Beeson said, but the noise did not bother her.
“At break time, everything got very quiet,” she said, laughing.
After a year on the assembly line, Beeson was transferred to a building on the property known as the “confidential room.” In this room, she and several others manufactured parts using electrical wires.
“We were not to tell anybody what we were doing or what we were making,” she said of the secretive work. “We never did know what we were making.”
Beeson said later on she heard it may have been camera equipment.
Beeson worked in the confidential room for five months and then left her job at Douglas. The long hours, she said, were her reason for leaving.
She took a beautician course at a beauty shop in McLoud, and worked at a cafe in McLoud after leaving Douglas. On July 19, 1946, she and her husband Edgar married.
During Beeson’s time constructing aircraft, Edgar was serving in them in the skies over Europe.
He took part in 50 bombing missions as the engineer and waist gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
The couple settled in the McLoud area to begin farming and built their home in 1962. Together they have raised milk cows and chickens, while Edgar worked for a time as a carpenter.
Beeson stayed on the farm until the couple’s three sons were grown and moved away from home.
She then went to work at a Montgomery Ward store in Oklahoma City and transferred to the Montgomery Ward store in Shawnee.
After a year and a half at the Shawnee store, she went to work at Holiday Inn in Shawnee.
“And, from there, back to the farm,” she said.
During her time as a “Rosie the Riveter,” Beeson said there were occasional trips by USO bus to Norman, where the riveters would dance with sailors.
“That was a lot of fun,” she said.
Beeson said she was happy to do what she could for her country in order to bring those fighting back home.
“We were doing everything we could,” she said.
Beeson said her sister, Vivian Broden, also worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” during the war. Broden passed away Saturday, Beeson said.
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932 or william.j.smith@news-star.com.
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McLoud native Alice Beeson may not have been on the front lines, but her work was just as vital to the Allied victory of World War II.
With tools in hand, Beeson served for about 15 months as a famed “Rosie the Riveter” at Douglas Aircraft in Midwest City. Beeson, a 1943 graduate of McLoud High School, helped construct C-47 Skytrains, which were used as military transports.
Beeson would arrive to work between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. five or six days each week, she said, and would work until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. During her first year at the plant, she assembled parts of fuselages using rivets. The rivet gun “didn’t seem so big to me,” Beeson said, “but it was powerful.”
The sections of fuselage would arrive at her station horizontally, she said, and would then be positioned vertically. One worker would enter the section to hold the rivet while a worker on the outside would use the rivet gun to secure it in place.
Workers would alternate between these duties, Beeson said.
Once a section was compete, it would be sent down the assembly line where other workers would add additional parts until the plane was complete, Beeson said. When workers were finished, the C-47s were flight-ready.
The assembly line was a noisy place to be, Beeson said, but the noise did not bother her.
“At break time, everything got very quiet,” she said, laughing.
After a year on the assembly line, Beeson was transferred to a building on the property known as the “confidential room.” In this room, she and several others manufactured parts using electrical wires.
“We were not to tell anybody what we were doing or what we were making,” she said of the secretive work. “We never did know what we were making.”
Beeson said later on she heard it may have been camera equipment.
Beeson worked in the confidential room for five months and then left her job at Douglas. The long hours, she said, were her reason for leaving.
She took a beautician course at a beauty shop in McLoud, and worked at a cafe in McLoud after leaving Douglas. On July 19, 1946, she and her husband Edgar married.
During Beeson’s time constructing aircraft, Edgar was serving in them in the skies over Europe.
He took part in 50 bombing missions as the engineer and waist gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
The couple settled in the McLoud area to begin farming and built their home in 1962. Together they have raised milk cows and chickens, while Edgar worked for a time as a carpenter.
Beeson stayed on the farm until the couple’s three sons were grown and moved away from home.
She then went to work at a Montgomery Ward store in Oklahoma City and transferred to the Montgomery Ward store in Shawnee.
After a year and a half at the Shawnee store, she went to work at Holiday Inn in Shawnee.
“And, from there, back to the farm,” she said.
During her time as a “Rosie the Riveter,” Beeson said there were occasional trips by USO bus to Norman, where the riveters would dance with sailors.
“That was a lot of fun,” she said.
Beeson said she was happy to do what she could for her country in order to bring those fighting back home.
“We were doing everything we could,” she said.
Beeson said her sister, Vivian Broden, also worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” during the war. Broden passed away Saturday, Beeson said.
——
Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932 or william.j.smith@news-star.com.
