Ross helps fund Rosie statue
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ELKINS -- The Emma Scott Garden Club has received a boost toward the purchase of a Rosie the Riveter Statue that will stand in close proximity to the All-Veterans Memorial on Railroad Avenue.
ESGC President Linda Shomo announced in November that her organization still needed to raise $23,000 to complete the purchase of the 8-foot statue.
Shomo told the Randolph County Commission at the time that local businessman Mike Ross had put out a challenge to others in the community to match a $1,000 donation he was giving toward the purchase of the statue, which will feature the names of Rosies from across West Virginia.
"Even though we have the statue itself paid for, we still need to raise about $20,000 to get the statue to Elkins," Shomo told The Inter-Mountain Thursday.
"We have to do a lot of work where it's going to be, like putting in sidewalks and things of that nature. We also have to pay for the base of the statue and pay for shipping, which will cost around $2,500. There are so many little details that go with getting the statue, I never expected this."
Shomo recently received a check from Ross, who is now a member of the Garden Club, and received donations from two other individuals who matched Ross' offer, David Goldberg and Camille Phares. Goldberg is president and CEO of Mon Health System and matched Ross' $1,000. Phares gave $1,500 in memory of Shomo's mother, Leona M. Phares, who was a Rosie. Camille Phares and Shomo are not related.
"I received another $50 check in the mail on Wednesday and we are chipping away at the money we need," said Shomo. "We really appreciate everything that we have received."
Shomo said the outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming, and said she is hoping to possibly have the statue up by Labor Day.
"We have an incredible community and the support has been great," Shomo said. "America wouldn't be America if not for the Rosie the Riveters, and all of us have a Rosie in our family. They didn't all rivet, they typed, they sewed, they raised gardens, they did all kinds of stuff. They are an important part of history, and the statue will help honor them."
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.
"I recently spoke to someone in Washington, D.C. and they told me they were excited that Elkins is doing something like this for the Rosies," Shomo said. "Our community can only benefit from this. I think Elkins will get a lot of tourists coming to town to see this statue."
For more information or to make a donation to the project, call the ESGC at 304-614-3079.