ELKINS — The fifth annual Our Town Inc. Rosie the Riveter Celebration will take place Friday, Aug. 8 in Parrish Hall at St. Brendan Catholic Church.

Seven new local Rosie the Riveters will be inducted into the Rosie Honor Roll during the event, which will run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The celebration will feature music from the Rosie era, educational displays, youth participation, refreshments and the opportunity to meet the family members of the Rosies being inducted.

This year’s candidates to be inducted into the Rosie Honor Roll include Gatha Lee Sharp McDaniel, Mary Elizabeth Bell Bosworth, Mary Stankus Williams, Jessie Lucille Roberson DeMotto, Evalena See Isner, Nola Nelson Tingler and Frankie J. Stalnaker Sponaugle.

“We have seven ladies who were nominated into the Rosie Honor Roll by their families,” Our Town volunteer Bobbi Trimboli told The Inter-Mountain. “Last year we had a really large group where we inducted 15 new women to the Honor Roll. This is kind of a more normal year, because in the past we had five and six women enter the Honor Roll.”

Each year the event takes place at a different location. Last year’s celebration was at the Randolph County Arts Center, where a Rosie the Riveter Exhibit was put on display for the public to enjoy. The Elkins-Randolph County library has also hosted one of the events.

The St. Brendan Catholic Church, this site of this year’s event, is located just outside Elkins off the Beverly Five-Lane, Route 219/250 south. Parrish Hall is on the first floor of the church.

“We like to move the event around to different places so we can highlight the place that is hosting the celebration,” Trimboli said, “It gives people an opportunity to attend things at different localities in the community.”

This year’s theme will have to do with the former Manos Theater, which was once located in downtown Elkins, and the newsreels people would have watched to get information during that time period. 

“We picked a theme this year that is a little bit different than we have done before,” Trimboli said. “I was able to come across and purchase a DVD of newscasts that were shown during World War II. The one I have showcases what women did during World War II, and I was able to dig up a little history on the Manos Theater that was in Elkins.

“So, we are going to incorporate some local history in talking about the Manos Theater, replicating what would have happened there during the war. We are going to set the environment for what it would have been like going to the theater and getting news back then. We are going to do a movie theme with tickets, popcorn and a drink.”

Trimboli said that Elkins High School student Juliann Harlan will be helping members of Our Town Inc. run the event.

“We are going to incorporate Julian into our event,” Trimboli said.

Harlan was recently selected as the top national essay award winner for the 2025 America’s Field Trip Contest.

She has also captured back-to-back state titles in the West Virginia American Legion Oratorical Contest.

For more information on the fifth annual Rosie the Riveter event, call 304-636-0415.