BARNABUS — Gloria Farmer was just out of high school when World War II was going on and she wanted to lend a hand in the war effort.

So, the 84-year-old Farmer, who then lived at Lyburn and graduated from Logan High School in 1944, headed to Detroit with her cousins and became a "Rosie the Riveter."

Now, Farmer and other women from West Virginia who worked during the war are being honored for their service to the country.

Farmer said times were different in 1944 and people — both men and women — wanted to help the fighting men overseas.

"At that time, the war was going on and people were very patriotic and everyone was doing something to help the war effort," Farmer said. "People were sacrificing. All the rationing was going on and people weren't complaining. Everybody wanted to do something to help. The boys were going into the service during their senior year. I know some whose mothers picked up their diploma.

"So, these country girls wanted to do something, too. Me and my cousins went to Detroit and were working there. We always went to different plants, but I'm the only riveter."

According to wikipedia, “Rosie the Riveter” is a cultural icon of the United States, that represented the American women who worked in war factories during World War II, “many of whom worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and materiel. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The character is considered a feminist icon in the U.S.”

The term, "Rosie the Riveter," was taken from a 1942 song about women working for the war effort.

"I went to work in a telenews theater and all they had was news from the war," Farmer said. "It was 24 hours, showing the latest news. This was my first job in Detroit, which is a big city. I started riveting and we had to cover the hair and the riveting gun was so heavy. My first two weeks working with the riveting gun, my wrist and hand hurt so bad that my sister would put ice on it at night.

"Riveting was hard work and a fragile person couldn't handle it. I worked on B-24s and we were on a scaffold and you had this piece of aluminum, a wide piece, and you had what looked like a rib that had rivets on two sides and there was a piece on the bottom and you riveted that together. You had close inspections and if the rivets weren't perfect, they had to come out. They were very strict on their inspections."

Farmer said she is glad she worked during the war as a riveter.

"It was an experience I'll never, ever forget," Farmer said. "The war ended in 1945 and we were laid off, so I worked as a riveter about a year. I had fun. I'm an old woman now, but I still like to have fun. I love life and it doesn't take a lot for me to say I'm having fun. I enjoyed being there. It was a good experience. I was young and an attractive girl and I had fun."

Farmer said the money wasn't too bad, either, and it allowed her to enjoy life.

"It was hard work, but I liked it and we were making what then was good money — $2.25 an hour — which was good money back then," she said.

"We bought nice clothes. We bought hats and things that were popular then. Boy, we bought the clothes. I remember I bought a fake fur and I still have it. I cut it off and made a short coat out of it."

Farmer was married to the late Clarence Farmer, a Baptist minister who was also in the military, and they had five boys, Jimmy, twins Rodney and Ronnie, then Keith and David. She said life was tough after she and Clarence got out of the military, but they survived and thrived.

"These girls today wouldn't have toughed it out like I did," Farmer said.

Farmer, who still resides in Barnabus, still lives life to the fullest, she said. She still likes to go dancing and travels quite a bit.

"I think my time as a riveter changed me and got me off to a good start," she said. "One good thing I got from that is that I am still patriotic. I want people to take off their hats and put their hands over their hearts and respect the Star-Spangled Banner. It made me a stronger person and it showed me you can be what you want to be. I hate to hear kids moan around and say they can’t do this and that. If you have your health, you can do anything. And I still live by that.”