Photo By Victoria Pendleton | Margaret McCabe was honored in an elaborate collage of illustrations that highlighted...... read more read more
The Heritage Hour: A Glance into the Vital History of Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Log 03-24: The First Ladies of NNSY
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is a place of many historic firsts such as the first successful drydocking in the United States and conversion of the first aircraft carrier. In honor of Women’s History Month, we will be taking a look at some of the history-making women both past and present who have left their mark on the impressive and vast story onboard America’s Shipyard.
Kitty Harris and Margaret McCabe were two of the first women to work in the yard, entering the gates during World War I in 1918. McCabe was remembered in the 1946 Naval Shipyard’s Hall of Fame, illustrating her time in the employment office, where she oversaw a rise in the NNSY personnel numbers from 3,600 to 49,000. Among those numbers were the first four women who led the way for the 3,500 women who entered the waterfront workforce on March 29, 1942.
At war’s end, the women left the waterfront but remained a presence in the shipyard. Edna Etheridge, declared the highest paid woman in the yard, became the supervisor budget specialist and head of the Comptroller Department’s Budget and Statistics division in December 1957. She had started as a typist, moving up steadily until succeeding her male predecessor in the GS-13 position. It wouldn’t be until 1974, with the promotion of Lorraine Ratio as the Supervisory Labor Management Relations Specialist, that a woman would reach GS-14 for the first time at NNSY.
Time moved forward, and women began to return to the waterfront shops. Some had served during the war years but the first class of shipyard apprentices to have women in their numbers occurred at the very end of 1971. Ruth Goodman, Louise Lucas, Sandra Butler and Otelia Mozell became journeymen in Shop 11 Shipfitter, Shop 17 Sheet Metal Worker, Shop 51 Electrician and Shop 67 Fire Control, respectively.
An article in a 1974 edition of Service to the Fleet referred to the women as invading the yard’s workforce. Dorothy Sharp, upon her appointment as the first woman general foreman laborer in 1975, said it best. “There are more women here and they are here to stay.”
Almost 50 years later, her words echoed across time as the shipyard welcomed its first woman Shipyard Commander, now Admiral Dianna Wolfson, and the first woman Command Master Chief of the four shipyards. CMC Stephanie Canteen said, “Women are just as smart, resilient, strong and can handle the load as well." Reflecting on these women and the many more who were the first to step into each of the shops, reach valedictorian of the apprenticeship, shop superintendent, achieve GS-15, and all the small achievements often overlooked, the women of NNSY are proof of the truth in Canteen’s words.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2024 07:51 |
| Story ID: | 465447 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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