Regarding the Dec. 31 article, “Local site perfect for 747 plant,” part of a special report on the Boeing 747:
The article, and the information provided in two pictures by Boeing, attempt to give a visual picture of their military endeavors in Everett’s past.
But there are some important facts left out: the identity of the women’s place of work and the year, and the importance of the airplane they were working on. The year was 1944 or 1945 and they were working on one of the most important aircraft that Boeing built, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The top floor of this building was used for the assembly of the radio room section of the plane. The window that the women were looking through was the photo reconnaissance camera window in the bottom of the radio room.
The historical significance of the B-17 also could have been mentioned in the story text, along with the right era, WWII 1944 Everett. And the real “Rosie the Riveters” pictured are working on the aluminum section of the company’s military endeavor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, in the building currently occupied by many businesses, as well as the Sister’s restaurant.
And as of Dec. 31, the entire top floor was occupied by Everett’s largest antique mall. And of note, to this day, on that top floor, wherever it is not covered by carpet, the original wood floor still holds hundreds of dropped rivets embedded in the joints. Where the floor meets the walls, small tools, “Clecos” that hold the metal to be riveted and hundreds of more rivets were swept there during clean-up.
It is important to the Puget Sound area and Everett, that the history of the first “Queen of the Skies,” the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and when, where and who built them in Everett must not also be swept under and away!
MICHAEL DESKINS
Marysville
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