(H)our History Lesson: Women’s Contributions to the Home Front in Paterson, New Jersey, WWII Heritage City

Image 1: Catherine Hunzinga, 21, is operating the same high speed pneumatic grinder or burr that her brother, George Hunzinga, 24, used before he left to join the Army. She took his place at the bench job a few days later.

Credit: The Paterson Museum

About this Lesson

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front, with Paterson, New Jersey designated as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains photographs and newspaper articles to contribute to learners’ understandings about the home front contributions of women in Paterson.

Women worked and served in many ways in Paterson during World War II. The lesson does not cover all roles and specifically focuses on paid war industry work and service. The extension shares an example of how local Jewish women volunteered to humanitarian efforts. Volunteer work and contributions can be explored more in this lesson examining the volunteerism of children in Paterson.

Objectives:

1. Explain why women entered Paterson’s industry workforce, and the importance of this to home front efforts.

2. Describe the experiences of women working on the home front in Paterson, with details such as workplace safety, types of jobs, challenges, and benefits.

3. Compare historical perspectives on women in the workforce during World War II.

Materials for Students:

1. Readings 1, 2, 3 (three primary) and Extension

2. Recommended: map of Paterson, New Jersey, to refer to throughout lessons

3. Images-All images from this lesson are available in the Paterson, NJ Gallery:

Paterson, NJ: World War II Her...

17 Images

This album accompanies Paterson, NJ: A World War II Heritage City Lesson Collection. They are part of Teaching with Historic Places.

Teacher Tip: The images in the Patterson Gallery are labeled with the name of this lesson ("Women's Contributions") and the image number in the title. The high quality images in the gallery can be used for your classroom slides or for students to do close analysis.

Getting Started: Essential Question

How did women in Paterson, New Jersey, contribute to home front war efforts in industry and service?

Read to Connect

Reading 1: Newspaper on Aviation Industry

Aviation Industry To Attain ‘Impossible’ Warplane Output in 1943, Says Air Expert 

The Morning Call, January 1, 1943 

 . . . Women workers assumed an increasingly important role as the demand for manpower with which to operate these facilities and replace those employees lost to the services became more acute. The Aeroplane Division more than doubled its employment, had to replace more than 9,000 workers who joined the armed services, and estimated that more than 50% of its total number of employees will be women by Jan. 1, (1943). The Wright Engine Division, now increasing its workers to about 1,500% above pre-war levels, has lost over 5,000 men to the services, and is now proceeding to employ more than 30,000 women workers in its New Jersey and Ohio plants. The Propeller Division is likewise employing a large number of women workers. 

‘Our women workers have shown by their work that they are apparently as much at home in our machine shops as they are in their own kitchens.’ Mr. Vaughan said. ‘In the Wright engine plants, for example, they are serving as machine tool operators, assemblers, coremakers, bench workers, technicians, production planners, draftsmen, operations sheets sketchers, and the like. The Aeroplane Division is employing them on the assembly lines; and the Propeller Division has assigned them throughout the plants. In every way, their work has been highly satisfactory. 

Facilities for training new employees were greatly expanded. The Aeroplane Division, with 99% of its current trainees made up of women, announced plans for assigning women college students to technical universities, then employing them as engineering assistants; it also organized classes for training men for more responsible positions. The Wright Engine Company, with a training program first begun in 1936, and the Propeller Division also enlarged their schools. The Aeroplane Division was training 500 service mechanics for the Army in one plant alone and contemplated establishing similar schools in other plants. The Wright Engine and Propeller Divisions were likewise training large numbers of mechanics for the services. . . . 

Reading 2: Newspaper on Women's Work Clothes

Practical Clothes 

Women War Workers Show Sensible Approach To the Problem 

The News, January 28, 1943, p. 8 

Women in New Jersey war plants are combining the practical and the attractive in clothes they wear while on the job—with emphasis on the practical for safety’s sake, the Office of War Information reported today. 

A survey of major war industries in Newark and other New Jersey communities shows that, with few exceptions, women have a sensible approach to the need for wearing clothes that will protect them from the hazards of occupations which, only a short time ago, were strange to thousands of them. 

Typical of the New Jersey war industries that are consistently educating their women employees to the use of apparel that is designed for safety, primarily and attractiveness, too, are the Curtiss Wright Propeller Division and the National Union Radio Corp. in Newark, and the Wright Aeronautical Corporation in Paterson. 

Women in these and other New Jersey plants are apparently taking the advice of the Women’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor on the proper things to wear at work. Some of these suggestions are: 

Wear safety caps when the job requires it. Hair should be fully tucked under the cap, and so avoid scalping and other injuries as well as pain, costly medical care and permanent disfigurement.  

Electric and acetylene welders should wear fire-proof hair covering to prevent serious burns.  

Women exposed to dust or fumes need covering to protect the hair and to prevent its carrying toxic material. For this purpose, when there is no machine danger, a closely-woven washable turban is good. 

Women workers exposed to oil or grease also need to protect the hair and thereby aid in preventing skin infections. 

Curtiss Propeller Division officials in Caldwell report that they are urging women workers to wear steel-toed shoes which would prevent injury by heavy articles falling on their feet. Women there are wearing the most attractive caps they can find to protect their hair from machinery. Compliance with safety measures is stressed daily, according to the company.  

When a woman starts her job at the Wright plant in Paterson she receives a safety uniform which consists of navy blue denim twill slacks, blouse, canvas apron in the same color and a cap of transparent rayon. This outfit is more attractive than it sounds. The cap has a brim and mesh on the sides to keep the hair tucked in and is good protection against oil, dust and other harmful substances.  

Women workers at the Wright plant are not allowed to wear jewelry of any kind which might get caught in machines and cause serous injury. Leather-soled shoes with low or Cuban heels are required. Open-toed shoes are taboo for standard machine tool operators as steel shavings may injure feet. Grinders are required to wear non-breakable goggles. If the grinding creates dust, the woman worker is required to wear a mask. The masks women can select are made of plastic, protect the entire face and are not uncomfortable. The plastic mask is most popular at the plant, it is reported. For variety’s sake, women can wear turbans offered in three colors or berets available in two colors to keep the hair tucked in.  

Hair nets are provided women workers at the National Union Radio Corporation plant. They also wear a heavy rubber apron which protects the entire body if they are working with acids. If they handle hot tubes, they are required to wear heavy heat-resisting cotton gloves. A safety education program is conducted at all times to persuade women that safety precautions are the best policy. . .  

Reading 3: Newspaper on WAAC Recruitment

Teacher Tip: The text uses historical language not used today to describe the race of individuals. Discuss this with students. 

Many Women Seek Blanks at P.O. for WAAC Training 

Paterson Evening News, October 23, 1942 

Paterson women, who rushed to the Post Office building yesterday to secure WAAC application blanks, proved they are no longer willing to limit their part in the war effort to knit one purl two. 

Blanks were given out in such quantities that the supply was completely exhausted before 3 o’clock but even that did little to dim the enthusiasm of the women who kept streaming into the recruiting office to talk to Lt. Jean Robb.  

Lt. Robb, who was sent from her regular post in the Newark Post Office building for the day, stated the response was extremely heartening. She commended the action taken and stated, ‘The response was wonderful. Paterson has proven its interest.’  

She stressed the need in the Women’s Army for musicians—women who can play the trombone, French horn, cornet, clarinet, saxophone, snare or bass drum will be given a resounding welcome if they apply for service. 

In addition, the needs include stenographers, switchboard operators, cooks, bookkeepers, typists, dieticians, clerks, camera technicians, photograph laboratory technicians and radio mechanics.  

Negro girls are urged by Lt. Robb to send for their applications at once.  
All recruits are sent to Des Moines, Iowa, for a four-week training period. The age brackets are from 21 to 45 and married women will be accepted. . . . 

Image 2: Eleanor Taylor supervises the distribution of war bonds at the N.J. plants while her husband, Charles Taylor is training with the U.S. Armed Forces at Camp Dilworth, N.C. 1942.

Credit: The Paterson Museum.

By the numbers:

• Seven Wright Aeronautical Corporation plants operated in the area, and in August 1943, 10,912 women were employed across the seven plants. 3,795 women were hired from January to August 25, 1943 alone.

• Absentee rates among women were at about 3%, with only a 0.05% increase for the Corporation from January to August 1943.

- Numbers from “See Little Absenteeism Among Women Workers Here” in The Paterson Evening News, August 25, 1943, p. 9

Quotations to consider:

“What is a cylinder head? What kind of hand lotion will remove oil? Where can I meet some young people my own age?

These are only three of a barrage of questions that newly-recruited women at the Wright Aeronautical Corporation fling daily at 30 employee councilors who serve as problem solvers, reception committees, and all around ‘house mothers’ to women shop workers.

When a ‘rookie war worker’ comes to one of the WAC plants, the employee councilor is one of the first persons she meets. From the initial question-and-answer session, the councilor becomes a constant guide and companion to the working woman, who wants to know what factory work and aircraft engines are all about.”

- “Wright Women Workers Make All Sorts of Queries,” The Paterson Evening News, January 12, 1943

Image 3: Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps recruiting poster

Credit: UNT Digital Library

Student Activities

Questions for Reading 1, Photos, and Quotation to Consider

1. How did the demand for workers in the aviation industry change during the war?

2. How does the photo collection of women working at Wright Aeronautical Corporation show examples of how women in Paterson responded to demand? Consider their unique stories.

3. Why did Mr. Vaughan compare machine shops to kitchens? How does this show gender stereotypes women were challenging during the war?

4. What specific roles did women workers have, according to Mr. Vaughan?

5. What initiatives were taken to train and support women entering this work?

Questions for Reading 2

1. The author says that the occupations, “only a short time ago, were strange to thousands of them.” How did the war expand women’s opportunities on the home front?

2. What considerations were there for women’s safety?

3. Why do you think the author refers to attractiveness with work clothes and safety throughout the text?

4. What are some of the challenges women faced working in this field, as described in the reading?

Questions for Reading 3

1. What was the response from Paterson women toward the WAAC recruiter?

2. Why may Lt. Jean Robb have emphasized the need for musicians in the Women's Army? How might this reflect the different types of goals of the military during the war?

3. Why do you think the WAAC accepted women of different ages, races, and marriage status?

Lesson Closing

• How did women in Paterson, New Jersey, contribute to home front war efforts in industry and service?

• What other ways may women in Paterson have contributed to home front efforts that are not shared in this lesson?

• How did the involvement of women workers in traditionally male-dominated roles impact the perception of women's capabilities in the workforce?

Extension Image: Wheelchair donation during the war to Hope Dell Hospital in Paterson, NJ.

Credit: Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey

Extension Activities

Volunteer Work of Jewish Women in Paterson

Background: This lesson focused on women in paid war work and service; however, women also were volunteering in Paterson in a variety of ways. The local Paterson Jewish community was active in raising money and making items for Jewish humanitarian needs. B’nai B’rith, a Jewish nonprofit organization, engaged women in this work. This is one example, occurring prior to the formal entry of the United States into the war. 

Newspaper Excerpt 

Davis Commends Women For Aid to Red Cross 

B’nai B’rith Auxiliaries Participating in Red Cross Appeal for Blankets to be Sent to Poland for War Refugees, Mrs. Levy, President, Announces 

The Morning Call, March 8, 1940 

A message from Norman Davis, chairman of the American Red Cross, expressing pleasure that the Women’s Auxiliaries of B’nai B’rith, the oldest and largest Jewish service organization in the United States, is participating in the Red Cross appeal for blankets to be sent to Poland or nearby countries housing Polish war refugees was made public here by Mrs. Evelyn Levy, president of the Women’s Auxiliary B’nai B’rith of Paterson. 

Simultaneously Mrs. Levy announced that her organization had already undertaken an intensive campaign among its own membership to obtain its quota of blankets. Similar campaigns are being held in all of 325 auxiliaries throughout the country pursuant to suggestions received from the women's Grand Lodges of B’nai B’rith, she said.  

All blankets collected in Patterson by the B’nai B’rith women will be turned over in bulk to the local American Red Cross chapter, which has received instructions from Red Cross headquarters in Washington regarding the B’nai B’rith campaign.  . . . 

Mrs. Levy said that the local B’nai B’rith Women's Auxiliary planned to raise its quota through various projects. In many communities the B’nai B’rith Women are holding blanket showers, with a new blanket as the price of admission. Special fundraising projects, the proceeds of which will go toward the blanket fund, or contributions equal to the price of a new blanket, are other methods being employed by the 35,000 B’nai B’rith women. 

Questions 

1. What methods did the B’nai B’rith Women's Auxiliary in Paterson plan to use to reach their quota of blankets for the campaign?  

2. How does the coordination between local B’nai B’rith Women's Auxiliaries and the American Red Cross show partnership in addressing humanitarian needs, and a connection between the home front and overseas? 

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This lesson was written by Sarah Nestor Lane, an educator and consultant with the Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education, funded by the National Council on Public History's cooperative agreement with the National Park Service.