SPRINGFIELD — Our local Rosies remember a groundbreaking time for women in the workforce.
During WWII, over six million women were building planes, welding machines, assembling ships, and doing any job that had previously been held by a man.
Although those women were ready to change their lifestyles in the blink of an eye to support their country, society was not as quick to adapt to women in the working world.
In 1953, the percentage of women participating in the labor force was just under 35% and didn’t peak until 1999 at 60%.
Almost 20 years after the war ended, the US passed laws that protected women in the workforce, like the Civil Rights Act and affirmative action. By the time most of our local Rosies were in their late 40s, the US passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, which allowed women to open a bank account without a man’s signature.
Even the Rosies did not belong to a national organization until 53 years after the war ended.
Just before 2000, Dr. Frances Carter, a former Rosie who built B-29 airplanes, established the national Rosie the Riveter organization.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 46% of women participated in the labor force as of 2023, and those percentages plummet dramatically when considering fields such as auto mechanics, manufacturing, and construction.
Despite the lack of representation of women in these fields, girls in the Springfield Public School District are still participating in their shop classes and loving it.
“I definitely think girls should take [metal fabrication classes] because it is a lot of fun,” said Destiny Hartgenbush, a senior at Thurston High School. “It looks really intimidating at first, but once you get comfortable with Miss Kohl and the tools and skills you’re learning, It’s a lot of fun.”
BOB WILLIAMS / CHRONICLE PHOTO
Destiny Hartgenbush, senior at THS, is the SkillsUSA president and one of the four girls in her advanced welding class.
Polly Kohl is the metal fabrication teacher at Thurston High School and is in her 9th year of teaching.
“I like being here and being able to show my students that they can think outside the box and that if they choose to do something that’s not traditionally female, then it’s okay,” Kohl said.
When asked about their experiences taking Kohl’s welding classes, the four girls in the advanced metal fabrication class all addressed their appreciation for their teacher.
McKenzie Speldrich, a junior at THS, said having a female teacher interested her in the intro courses. “It’s nicer having a female teacher,” Speldrich said, “Our role model is a female.”
The students explained that it is not always easy being a girl in a class that is majority male, but having their teacher’s kindness, patience, and representation helps.
“I think a challenge is that there’s not very many women in the shop. So [boys] will underestimate you,” senior Kendall Miller said, “Even if you can weld as good as them.”
Speldrich and Hartgenbush echoed that they have had very similar experiences.
“’I’ve learned I kind of just don’t listen to them,” Hartgenbush said regarding criticism from her male classmates, “’I’m good. I don’t need your opinion.”
The three girls all decided to take the metal fabrication classes because their brothers, uncles, or fathers had some experience with welding, but they continued the programs because they were interested in bettering their welding skills.
Speldrich said her dad has even acknowledged that her welding skills are the best in the families. “So now I kind of just became the welder we need to fix something. I’m the one who fixes it,” she laughed.
Over her nine years in the classroom, Kohl said she has seen the number of girls in her classes increase but not as much as she would like.
“They just don’t see themselves in the metal shop unless they have a relative that they’ve worked on cars with or works in that field, you know, they just have a hard time coming in the door,” Kohl said.
Right now, she is very happy to have four girls in her 17-person advanced welding class, but she hopes that it will inspire more girls to join.
Kohl said that she imagines the years of societal roles for women are what prevent girls from taking the class and that she is “chipping away” at that for the girls at Thurston.
The advanced welding girls all said they would encourage freshman girls to try the introduction class despite all saying they were intimidated at the start.
Miller encouraged taking the welding class to have a collaborative experience. Ava Perey, a junior, emphasized the importance of learning to use power tools and moving outside of her comfort zone.
Speldrich is using her welding skills to repair her 1989 Bronco, and Hartgenbush plans on attending welding school in Nevada. She is also the current president of the Skills USA program at Thurston and encourages her peers to join the club to develop professional skills for their careers.
Although Kohl has taught several girls who have gone on to welding schools, she said she would like to find more examples of current female welders to come in and inspire her students.
It may be a struggle to find these examples because less than 1/4th of the manufacturing workforce in Lane County is women, sitting at 21.6%. In Oregon, it bumps up to 25.6% and almost reaches 30% on the US scale, but it is still leading in traditionally male-dominated fields compared to other areas. Only 10.8% of the construction workforce in the US is women and it doesn’t increase much the closer we get to home. According to the US Census Bureau, 11.9% of women are in the Oregon construction workforce, and 10.1% is the population of Lane County. Only 8.1% of the county’s utility workforce is women compared to the state and national percentages in the higher 20s. The US Census Bureau did not have local statistics for the percentage of women in the auto repairs and maintenance industry, but it sits at 12.3% on the US level.
Yet, Grace Paugh and Ashlynn Edwards still needed to work to the advanced automotive class at Springfield High School. Both seniors started in the small gas engine class and have progressed each year. Edwards said that she had some mechanical knowledge from her dad and wanted to progress on that, while Paugh decided to start so she could be the first in her family to have some mechanical understanding.
TATUM STUART/ CHRONICLE PHOTO
Grace Paugh (left) and Ashlynn Edwards are the only two girls in their advanced automotive class at Springfield High School.
“I just wanted to know how to be independent and fix my own stuff,” Paugh said.
The two praised each other and often finished each other’s sentences or made the other laugh while they spoke.
“I’m so happy that I’m not the only girl in the class,” Paugh said and Edwards agreed with her friend.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Edwards said, “So it’s really nice to see her smile and like, be excited to come in here.”
The girls explained that in the advanced class, they feel pretty comfortable around their male peers and think they have all come to a mutual understanding of the girls’ skills, but it wasn’t always that way in the earlier classes.
“There was some stigma about girls coming into a male-dominated field.” Edwards said, “But, I had to ignore it.” The girls explained that not everyone gets accepted into the advanced automotive class, so they both had to excel in their earlier classes to make it to where they are now.
The two of them also encouraged more girls to take the classes saying that it is not just for guys. They both said they were worried that physical strength would be an issue, but that it had actually never caused any problems. They said that they often see girls paying great attention to detail which helps them excel in the program.
“I realized that I just had to have a brain,” Paugh laughed. She also added that her acrylic nails did not prevent her from being able to do anything in her auto class last year.
“A lot of people told me I would not be able to do anything with them, and they were so wrong,” she laughed.
The two credit their teacher, Mark Simmons for making the classes achievable and so helpful for their learning experiences.
“I really hope they find a good replacement for him,” Edwards said as she recalled her teacher saying he was nearing retirement.
Since the two are nearing the end of their high school experience, they are looking to find out what their plans are for after high school.
Paugh said she plans to attend the Oregon Institute of Technology in the Portland Metro area to pursue a degree in sustainable energy.
Edwards is not as interested in attending a four-year program and said she has looked into the Lane Community College automotive programs. Still, she has learned enough skills to help her with her new car.
On the day of her interview, Nov. 21, Edwards had purchased a 1994 Ford F-150 from the school. She said that as soon as the car was donated to the school, she loved it. The money from her purchase will go directly into the SHS automotive program.
Both girls raved about the class, agreed that it was one of their favorite classes, and said they didn’t know where they would be without it.
“I don’t know,” Paugh said while looking at her friend and chuckling. “Probably online school or something.”
Rosies as seen as a previous Bohemia Mining Days Parade.
