Bike-a-thon raises funds for Rosie the Riveter statue
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ELKINS -- Ever since it was announced that a Rosie the Riveter statue would be constructed and placed in downtown Elkins, local volunteers have been hard at work raising funds for the project.
Ashton White, a senior at Elkins High School, along with the Emma Scott Garden Club, which is spearheading the campaign, have been making strides in their efforts to collect money for the life-sized statue, as well as other planned upgrades to Elkins Veterans Memorial Park.
White took it upon himself to present a bike-a-thon for the project and single-handedly raised more than $6,000 for the statue and the enhancements to the park. The total cost of the project will be approximately $70,000.
During the past month, White has sought out sponsorships from businesses and individuals, who in turn made donations for each mile he rode. This past Saturday morning, White was joined by other bike enthusiasts as the group set out to raise more money for the bike-a-thon.
"It has been an honor to be able to support the Rosie the Riveters in the community," White, who has logged over 300 miles on his bike during his crusade, told The Inter-Mountain. "They are a huge icon from World War II, and I'm not riding just for Rosie the Riveters, but to support all the veterans who fought during World War II. It's a huge honor for me to be able to do this and I'm hoping to raise as much money as possible."
Emma Scott Garden Club president Linda Shomo said White came up with the project on his own.
"Ashton joined the Garden Club about a month ago and found out about this Rosie the Riveter project," Shomo said. "And without any prompting or anything, he said he wanted to do a bike-a-thon for it."
The Emma Scott Garden Club has been working equally hard as an organization to raise funds. Last Thursday, the club received some exciting news when the Randolph County Commission announced during its regular meeting that it was providing $35,000 to help fund the project. The money will be taken from the county's community development line item fund.
Shomo, who made two presentations to the county commission in the past month, thanked them for their support and introduced a pair of Rosies, Ruth Hepler and Virginia Cassels, who sat in during the meeting.
Helper, who is 99 years old and Cassels, 96, were both enshrined into the Randolph County Rosie the Riveter Honor Roll in 2021.
"I want to thank the commission supporting this project," Shomo said. "This means a lot to us and especially to the Rosies, who are here attending the meeting with us today."
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of World War II that represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war. Any woman who received pay for any essential work during WWII is considered a Rosie.
Along with the statue, the project's plans include a new parking lot, walkways and other additions to honor all branches of the military at Elkins Veterans Memorial Park.
For more information or to make a donation to the project, call the ESGC at 304-614-3079.