She does a job most people wouldn’t expect a 93-year-old to do. She is the country’s oldest park ranger.
And her tour is in high demand because of her unique perspective.
Five days a week, Betty Soskin gives tours of Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park.
“I still love this uniform. Partly because there’s a silent message to every little girl of color that I pass on the street or in an elevator or on an escalator who suddenly has it announced that there’s a career choice she may not have ever thought of.”
— Betty Soskin
Her life story is fascinating in itself. “The Today Show” did a short segment that made the interviewer cry:
At 27, her great-grandmother, a former slave, passed away. Betty worked through World War II as a clerk for a segregated union. And at age 85, she decided to become a park ranger for the Rosie the Riveter park. It didn’t seem like a big deal to her because her mother lived until 101, her great-grandmother lived until 102, and her great-aunt lived to 107. They all stayed busy until their passing.
The stories she keeps alive through her tours are amazing, too.
Like the many talented, hard-working women whose contributions kept America going during World War II.
A former waitress building ships:
Eastine Cowner works as a scaler to construct the Liberty ship SS George Washington Carver launched on May 7, 1943. Public domain.
A mom doing her best to juggle her work role and her home role:
Midnight-shift shipyard worker Arlene Corbin brings her daughter to a day care facility before going home to sleep. Public domain.
Here’s what Betty says about retiring:
Image by Jim Heaphy/Flickr (altered).
