Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Bridgeport at Work, Women

Bridgeport’s Rosie the Riveter

Marge Schneider should be an inspiration to young women today. During World War II, Marge Schneider lived with her family on Barnum Avenue near Central. With the flurry of war around her, Marge took a job at the Bridgeport Brass Company on Grand Street. Marge walked to work.

With the men all gone to war, jobs opened up at the factory for women. Marge’s boss asked her to pose for this photograph showing women the proper way to dress so that their clothing would not get caught by the machinery.

Marge also went around the factory making sure that women were dressed safely for work. No high heel shoes, no open toes. The fashion of the 1940’s were not conducive to working with machinery, so many of the women did not really know what to wear. It was Marge’s job to make sure they knew.

When the men came back from war, many of the women who worked in the factory had to leave to make room for the men. Marge worked at the Bridgeport Brass for three years during the war. Marge got married soon after the war, and later took a job part time working at Read’s. Marge was very involved with the YWCA since childhood, and continued her volunteer work for the Y until her death in 2000.

To learn more about Marge Snyder, hear and read her memories at http:\\www.bridgeporthistory.org

 

 

 

 

Mary Witkowski
Mary K. Witkowski is the former Bridgeport City Historian and the Department Head of the Bridgeport History Center, Emeritus. She is the author of Bridgeport at Work, and the co-author with Bruce Williams of Bridgeport on the Sound. Mary has had a newspaper column in the Bridgeport News, a blog for the Connecticut Post, and a weekly spot on WICC. She continues to be involved in many community based activities and initiatives on local history and historic preservation.