Local 'Rosie the Riveter' to be honored a week before turning 100
Their manufacturing work became immortalized through the cultural icon known as 'Rosie the Riveter.'
Mary Masciangelo of Henrietta was a local Rosie.
'I worked at Shuron Optical, doing the pins for the parachutes and putting temples in the air force goggles,' Masciangelo said. 'Everything was secret. (They didn't tell us about) the pins, they wouldn't tell me because they were afraid of sabotage.'
Eight decades, three children and a 75-year marriage later, News 8 found Masciangelo at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport, ready to head to New Orleans.
The National World War Two Museum is there and it's at the museum Friday Masciangelo and 16 other Rosies will be honored for their work on the home front.
All of them have already received the Congressional Gold Medal — which is the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow.
All the recognition leaves Masciangelo a bit uneasy.'I never got honors like this,' she said, adding she doesn't know if she deserves it. ' I helped my folks, got electric in their house, got them a washing machine, refrigerator, we were very humble.'One week away from turning 100 years old, she still is, joking the secret to her longevity is dandelions.'My Italian family used to cook a lot of dandelions, eggs,' Masciangelo said.That family was at the airport to see her off.
Her daughter, Jean Kelly, though, was traveling with her.
Only one other person, Masciangelo says, she'd like to have along for this ride.'I wish he was here,' she said, lifting up a photo of a man in uniform. 'Henry, my hubby.'Henry died in 2018.
While he won't be with her, the many memories they created together will, as will the memories of the years she spent making the parts that changed the war and her life.
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