These are the people you talked to when you applied for a job at Calship in World War II. I am at the top left, the last one in the row.
I had all of the job requisitions on my desk, and I assigned people to certain areas in the shipyard.
Employment was located in Wilmington. We had to wear dresses. We were told that we were the Calship Front Door and they wanted us to make a good impression.
I wonder how many people living in the area today remember when they were hired at the Employment Office.
Near the end of the war the Employment Office closed and I was transferred to Progress and Statistics.
I was standing on the balcony of the rigging loft when the war ended. Tears of joy were rolling down my cheeks. Whistles were blowing and people were yelling. Now my husband would be coming home.
He had been drafted for the war when our son was 2 months old, and he was gone for 2" years. He had worked in the bookkeeping department of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Bill French and I graduated from Poly High School in 1936.
... Evelyn Kelley French
Read about Calship online at http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwtwo/kcalifornia.htm, or check out the Web site of the floating museum, the SS Lane Victory, at www.lanevictory.org.
I was employed at Calship in the summer of 1944 at the age of 16 between my Junior and Senior years at Poly. I was a Pipefitter Helper installing fire eqipment on board the Liberty ships. I don't remember all the details of my hiring, but I do have memories of the shipyard and the work I did along with riding the PE from my home at 11th and American to the shipyard and back. Thanks for the picture and your comments. You were part of the tremendous display of patriotism and dedication that made our country great at that time in our history.
My Grandfather Wilfred Hynd was a foreman who worked on the Liberty and Victory ships back then. I now have his old aluminum helmet with two green half moons painted on the front. He was very proud of the work he did and told me several stories about his experiences there. If anyone is interested, send me an e-mail. lingley@earthlink.net