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Roesch, Genevieve (audio interview #2 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of three interviews conducted with Genevieve Roesch in her daughter's home in Fullerton. At the time of the interview, work was being done on her own home in Tujunga. Initially self conscious, she gradually warmed up and seemed to enjoy the interview process, noting that it was making her think about things she hadn't thought of for years. She was surprised when the tape was turned off, commenting on how much she was talking. 12/8/1980
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- SUBJECT BIO - Genevieve Roesch went to work at Lockheed in 1942 fully intending to work there for only one year, doing her part for the war effort. Born in Chicago, the first of two children, Roesch joined her engineer father in the Panama Canal Zone when she was nine years old. The family left the canal and moved to Long Beach in 1920, where she graduated from high school, after which she worked as a sales clerk for two years. She married in 1927 and went with her husband to New Jersey, returning to Los Angeles in 1931. She remained a full-time homemaker, caring for her two children, until 1939, when she began working part-time in various clerical and sales jobs. Her part-time earnings and the partial support from her ex-husband was enough for her to live comfortably. Although she originally planned to join the war effort for a short duration, she began to enjoy the regular paycheck. She transferred out of production work into a clerical position after one and half years, and continued as a clerk at Lockheed for the next thirty one years. TOPICS - learning about defense jobs; motivations for going to work in defense; patriotism; Lockheed/Vega employment office; hiring process; expectations; training; hours and wages; supervisor's reaction to women; parentaldevelopment of neighborhood block house system; hiring process; expectations about defense work; labor force demographics; race and sex designations at Lockheed; Japanese and German internment; security issues; worworking conditions; flirting and romantic relationships in the plant; men's attitudes; on-the-job training; confidence in her skills; union; relationship with supervisor; production pace; racism; lesbianism; restroliving arrangements; housing shortage; plant environment; working conditions; restroom matrons; medical facilities in the plant; first aid training; sabotage concerns; company services; wages and managing financesphysical toll of production work; working conditions; transfer to small tool repair; job responsibilities as department clerk; decrease in pay; work attire; postwar job expectations; postwar layoffs; and transfer
- *** File: rrrgroesch4.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:02-2:40)... Roesch learned about job opportunities at Lockheed by word-of-mouth. Before then, she was participated in the war effort by planting a victory garden and volunteering at the Red Cross. She accompanied a girlfriend to Lockheed in September 1942, and filled out an application. She was hired on the swing shift at Vega, Plant A1, but decided against reporting to work because she didn't want to work the swing shift. She returned in October, at which time she was placed on the day shift. When they went to work at Lockheed, Roesch and her girlfriends planned on working there for only a year. (2:40-4:50)... Between 1939-42, Roesch worked part-time as a store clerk in Tujunga for .25 cents/hour. Money was not an initial motivation for seeking work at Lockheed, but she was attracted to the starting wage of .60 cents/hour. Although she was able to support herself on the money she received from her ex-husband, as time progressed money became more of a motivation. (4:50-9:20)... Several of her girlfriends were already employed at Lockheed by the time Roesch applied for work, and that gave her an added impetus. She planned to work at the plant for the duration of the war, which she believed would last no longer than a year. Her only exposure to factory work had been portrayals in patriotic movies. She was hired as a general assembler and assigned to Department 1513, where she was trained to rivet and buck. After a few days of this training, she was placed in production on either B-17 or B-19 bombers, among the first group of women assigned to production in her department. Upon greeting their supervisor, he remarked, "Jesus, they told me I'd be getting all women pretty soon." (9:20-15:13)... When Roesch applied for work at Lockheed, she went to an employment office on Magnolia in Burbank where hiring for all Lockheed and Vega jobs was done. There were crowds of both men and women waiting in lines to apply. After filling out an application and being interviewed, she was went sent to Plant B1 at Lockheed, where she was interviewed again and given a physical examination. At the end of the hiring process, she was given an informational packet. She did not read its contents because she had no intention of returning to the plant. She was not interested in working the swing shift and was put off by the fact that the girlfriend she applied with was assigned to a different plant than her. (15:13-18:33)... Roesch worked only part-time on the weekends after she moved to Tujunga because she was extremely busy with PTA and club activities during the week, as well the mother's auxiliary of the Boy Scouts and a bridge club. Brownies also was just getting organized and she planned to hold office in that organization when the war broke out. When she thought about all the time she dedicated to these activities, she decided that it would be better to go to work at Lockheed to help with the war effort and earn money. She figured that she wouldn't be any busier working than she was managing all of her activities. (18:33-23:47)... After Roesch went to work at Lockheed, her mother came to her house everyday and took care of her children after school. Roesch volunteered her home as a block house and her mother agreed to be a block mother. In case of an emergency, a dozen children from the nearby school were to go directly to Roesch's home and wait for their parents to pick them up. Roesch recounts some of the wartime measures and conditions, including an incident in which the block warden accused her of signaling the enemy because a light came on whenever she opened her refrigerator. She also recalls hearing artillery vehicles patrol Foothill Boulevard, which was located less than a mile from her home. The war years were both an exciting and tense time, and the fear of being bombed was omnipresent. (23:47-26:11)... Roesch details how her home was designated as a block house during the war years. She recalls the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and thinking about moving to Arizona because it offered more of a buffer zone in case of an attack than the coastal region of California. End of tape. *** File: rrrgroesch5.mp3 (0:05-1:13)... Roesch details the block house system that was developed in her neighborhood during the war years. (1:13-2:29)... Roesch took an aptitude test the day she applied at Lockheed although her mechanical abilities were not tested. Even though she had typing and shorthand skills, she was not interested in working in a clerical capacity. Factory work was appealing to her "after seeing all the movies and the glamour of it." She was not concerned about the people she would encounter at Lockheed, indicating that all classes of people were employed in the plant and she worked along side her peers. After approximately eighteen months in production, however, the work became too burdensome and she was transferred to another department. (2:29-7:10)... During the war, employees at Lockheed were designated by numbered classifications according to their sex and race. Roesch also heard that the plant in Georgia color coded their timecards. She believes that these practices changed during the civil rights movement. Most of Lockheed's Asian employees began working at the plant during the postwar years. Roesch talks about a CCC camp near her home that was transformed into a concentration camp to house Japanese and German people during the war. Although at the time "this was the proper place for the enemy, it was a horrible thing to do to those people." She recalls that rumors about foreign spies and sabotage were rampant during the war. (7:10-11:12)... When she finally decided to go into defense work in October 1942, Roesch first went to a Lockheed subsidiary plant. The only shift available there was graveyard, but after going to the main plant to explain that she had children and could not work the swing shift, she was placed on the day shift and told to report to work a day or two later. To prepare, she purchased a pair of pants, a blouse, and a pair of closed-toed shoes as well as a round, plastic hat with a bill that was meant to protect her hair from getting caught in the machinery. Women were not allowed to wear jewelry to work for the same reason. She did not have to buy any tools because everything she needed was available from the tool crib in her department. Occasionally, her male co-workers played tricks on her when they asked her to retrieve tools that did not exist, such as a left-handed monkey wrench. (11:12-15:45)... Roesch experienced a bit of culture shock at Lockheed when she realized how self-absorbed people were. For instance, when she returned from sick leave on one occasion, she was surprised that no one inquired about her well-being. Initially, it was difficult for her to cope with the constant removal of her male co-workers as they went off to war. Men had mixed reactions towards women who worked in the plant. Some men resented women and did not want them in the same jobs as themselves, but after about six months "they realized that I was indispensable." When Lockheed decided to open a plant in Fresno, a group of men were brought to Burbank for training and many of them could not handle being trained by women. She talks about the camouflaging on the plant and the businesses and restaurants surrounding Lockheed. When the restaurant where her son worked caught fire, rumors abounded that it was caused by a saboteur. (15:45-16:58)... All classes of people were employed at Lockheed, including migrant workers. Important people frequently toured the plant, and there was also daily entertainment during lunch breaks. (16:58-18:11)... Roesch worked from 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. six days a week. On Saturdays, workers were paid time and a half only if they had worked the previous five days. The plant was located about twenty minutes from her home, and she carpooled to work every day for a nominal fee that she paid to the driver. (18:11-22:25)... Roesch did not have any expectations about the type of work she was going to be doing at Lockheed. Her only image of riveting was that it was similar to the equipment used to demolish pavement. After she was trained how to rivet, buck, and drill, she went to work as a skin fitter on the bulkhead. During the summer, the temperature in her section was almost unbearable because the hot weather added to the heat that emitted from the lights that were used to make the aluminum skins pliable. After eighteen months, Roesch she was transferred to an office position. (22:25-23:55)... One of Roesch's girlfriends approached a Women's Counselor at Lockheed and informed her that Roesch was having menstrual difficulty and was no longer cut out for production work. Following this, Roesch was transferred to a clerical position in small tool repair. She worked in this position until the end of the war, when she was replaced by a veteran and transferred to another department. (23:55-25:35)... As a general assembler, Roesch was trained to buck, rivet, and operate various hand tools. She had to wear safety goggles in these instances and was aware of her job hazards. Workers were required to attend safety lectures and she also took first-aid training at Lockheed. Her confidence in operating hand tools carried over after she left Lockheed, and she recounts her son's surprise upon learning that she purchased an electric drill. (25:35-26:43)... Roesch reiterates that she was among the first group of women in the production section of her department. Some men were obstinate about women's presence in the plant, but others were pleased, feeling that it lightened their day. Eventually, the men accepted the women. She recalls that there was always a lot of teasing and flirting among the employees and there were some "scandals." End of tape. *** File: rrrgroesch6.mp3 (0:03-2:12)... Roesch refers to "scandals" about romantic relationships between workers. Working in the plant during the war years was very exciting, but also extremely crowded. People usually worked elbow to elbow and the ground was covered with parts and wires. Conditions became even more crowded when a group of men from Fresno was sent to the plant for training. She reiterates that some of these men resented taking instruction from women. (2:12-4:36)... When she began working as a skin fitter, Roesch received on-the-job training from the man who had previously worked in that capacity. Since the training was so quick, she learned by trial and error and, like most of her new women workers made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. Within six months, however, she was skilled in the operation and became an indispensable employee in her department. She felt a sense of accomplishment as she progressed and was proud of herself. (4:36-4:58)... Roesch was never promoted while at Lockheed, but she received a .05 cent raise every three months. (4:58-7:21)... Immediately after she started working in the plant, Roesch was told about the union and encouraged to join. Although she joined Local 727 of the IAM, she was not active in union matters. She didn't think much of the union and attended only one meeting the entire time she worked at Lockheed. (7:21-11:20)... Although Roesch's supervisor initially was annoyed when women began working in his department, he eventually accepted them and learned to appreciate their contributions to the war effort. Around the same time that she left production and went into small tool repair, her son got a job in her former supervisor's department. The supervisor told her on a few occasions that he wished her son was as conscientious about his work as she was. Roesch explains how the supervisory positions were structured in her department. Work was usually waiting at her station at the beginning of each shift. However, there were quite a few production lulls during the eighteen-month period she worked in assembly. Even though she did not have anything to do, she was told to look busy whenever a supervisor was nearby. (11:20-11:59)... Roesch was tired at the end of her first day, but not exhausted and did not think her work was physically demanding. (11:59-13:52)... In addition to production lulls, there also were production runs. Occasionally, crews in Roesch's department competed to see which team could finish the work faster and better. She believes that time and motion studies were conducted in the plant. At one point, a male co-worker told her that if she continued to work at such a fast rate she would be expected to keep up that pace all the time. (13:52-17:06)... With only ten minutes allotted for each break, Roesch usually remained at or near her work station. During her lunch break, she either ate her lunch in her department or went to the cafeteria in the plant. She spent most of her time with a small group of women, one of whom she corresponded with for many years after they left Lockheed. However, she rarely, if ever, socialized with her co-workers outside of work. (17:06-19:00)... There were approximately thirty people in her section that were supervised by one leadman. There were a few Black employees in her department and she does not believe that they were socially or physically segregated from the rest of the employees. She discusses the racial segregation that existed during the years she lived in Panama. Although she held onto her racial prejudices during the war years, she later realized that her beliefs were wrong and she became friendly with many of her Black co-workers. (19:00-20:41)... Roesch refers to some rough women who worked at the plant. She notes that there were lesbians as well and when they were "discovered" they were let go. Matrons were responsible for keeping an eye out for lesbian behavior as well as preventing women from spending too much time in the restroom. (20:41-23:31)... Although Roesch says that she does not want to sound condescending, she comments that the men who worked on the assembly line were "of a lower caliber" than her. She was friendly with these men but had no interest in socializing with, or dating, them outside of work. The "finer" men were usually better educated and promoted fairly quickly to supervisory positions. (23:31-24:11)... The majority of women on her crew were the same age as Roesch. End of tape. *** File: rrrgroesch7.mp3 (0:03-3:18)... During the war years, Roesch was displaced twice and had a very difficult time finding new living quarters because of the housing shortage in California. Ultimately, her parents converted their garage into a room and she and her children lived there for a few years until she could afford to build her own home. (3:18-5:55)... Roesch describes the physical environment of the plant. She took her family to the plant during one of the open house events, and her daughter was more interested in the water receptacle in the women's restroom than Roesch's work station. Every restroom was equipped with one or two cots for women who wanted to rest during their shift. The restrooms were monitored by a matron who prevented women from spending too much time in there and "she was the one who caught the lesbians because I guess they were watching for that too." (5:55-8:42)... Roesch describes the lighting, ventilation, and temperature inside the plant. She never actually worked inside an airplane while she was at Lockheed. Her production department was located upstairs above the airplanes. She assembled the bulkhead sections separately before they were placed in the airplanes. She worked on a flat surface when assembling the skins on the bulkhead. She once worked in an area where she was required to rivet and buck from an elevated platform. (8:42-9:29)... Roesch spoke to a Women's Counselor when she wanted to transfer out of production, which she felt was taking a toll on her. (9:29-11:22)... Every plant was equipped with a first aid station where medical care was provided by licensed doctors and nurses. The company also had its own ambulance service to transport serious cases to the hospital. People were encouraged to take first aid training in preparation for an emergency in the plant. Roesch took advantage of this opportunity and was designated the captain of her crew in the event of an emergency. (11:22-12:17)... There were propaganda posters in the plant to remind people about sabotage. This issue was a constant topic of conversation. She recounts the rumors that circulated when the camouflaging caught fire on a restaurant near the plant. People tried not to make mistakes in their work because they did not want to be teased about being saboteurs. (12:17-14:37)... Lockheed organized social clubs and special activities during the war, but she was not involved except for occasionally attending a dance. The plant also was equipped with a company store where employees could purchase work-related supplies. Across the street from the plant, small banking booths were set up on payday so that employees had a convenient way of cashing their checks. After the war, this service was taken over by the restaurants located near the plant. (14:37-16:02)... A substantial portion of Roesch's earnings were put in savings and used to purchase war bonds. She saved her money in anticipation of building a house. She also purchased a used car during the war. Even though she was earning more money, she did not have time to spend her money and, therefore, did not notice a change or improvement in her standard of living during the war years. (16:02-17:05)... Roesch handled most of her household responsibilities and grocery shopping on Sundays, which was her only day off during the week. Her mother also helped prepare meals during the week and on Sundays, Roesch prepared a big dinner for her family. (17:05-20:02)... Her son, Roland, began working at Lockheed when he was sixteen years old as part of the high school sponsored student-worker program. Students worked four hours in the morning and went to school for four hours in the afternoon. He also worked a full day on Saturdays. He was assigned to the same department where Roesch initially worked, but by that time she was already in small tool repair. Roland worked at the plant for exactly one year and "made up his mind that he never wanted to work there" again. (20:02-21:32)... Roesch believes that childcare centers were organized during the war years because so many people were working and in need of childcare. She recalls that rumors circulated about people leaving their children in their cars while they worked a full shift in the plant. (21:32-25:16)... In her spare time, Roesch enjoyed going to the movies and socializing with her friends at dinner parties or bridge games. She enjoyed square dancing and occasionally went to nightclubs with her friends. She had a close-knit group of friends that comprised both single and married men and women. Most of the single men she dated during the war were from this group of friends or men she met through them. She never spent time with any of her co-workers outside of work until many years after the war. (25:16-26:55)... Roesch spent most of her time outside of work with her family. Her son began to distance himself from her when he was a teenager, which she thought was amusing. On long weekends, she took her children to Big Bear and they stayed in a friend's cabin. (26:55-27:54)... Roesch talks about the problems she had with food and gas rationing during the war. (27:54-28:55)... Although Roesch initially planned to work at Lockheed for a year, she decided to stay longer because she could no longer get along without the money she as earning. When the company cut back her hours from six to five days a week, she thought about getting another job to make up for the lost overtime pay. Even though her wages increased over the years, she received a pay cut when she transferred to a clerical position because office workers were paid less than production workers. End of tape. *** File: rrrgroesch8.mp3 (0:03-2:29)... Eventually, assembly work began to take a toll on Roesch. She got tired of standing on her feet for eight hours a day. Worse, she found the noise in the plant intolerable. After eighteen months. She comments: "I had my little fling with having fun as an assembler and as a war worker, and I needed to get back into office work because that was what I was supposed to be doing." (2:29-5:11)... Immediately after Roesch spoke with a Women's Counselor about the difficulty she was having in production, she was transferred to small tool repair where she worked as a department clerk. Two days after she started working in the office, she contracted measles and was out of work for a week. She was afraid that when she returned to the plant they would put her back in production so she decided to wear her most frilly dress to work that day. She took a pay cut when she transferred into a clerical position. After the war, she was replaced by a veteran who had worked in that position prior to going into the service. (5:11-7:38)... Roesch planned on continuing to work at Lockheed after the war. When the war ended, and the company began laying people off according to job classifications, she took a few days off and began looking for work elsewhere. She could not find anything that matched the pay and benefits she received at Lockheed. On the third day of layoffs in her job classification, the company stopped letting people go and she was spared. (7:38-9:40)... Roesch recalls the day the war ended and the emotional reaction of a co-worker whose son was a civilian worker on Wake Island. After Roesch lost her job in small tool repair when she was replaced by a veteran, she was transferred to facilities engineering. She worked in this department until she retired from Lockheed. End of tape.
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