One community in the Rochester area has its own "Rosie the Riveter."

The students at Calkins Road Middle School in Pittsford helped Mary Masciangelo of Fairport celebrate her 100th birthday on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Mary Masciangelo is a recent recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal

  • Students at Calkins Road Middle School helped Masciangelo celebrate her birthday and learned about how she worked to help during World War II

  • Students had opportunities to ask questions and presented Masciangelo with handmade cards

“I never missed a day," Masciangelo told the students. "I enjoyed going to work. I did.”

Masciangelo described the job she started at the age of 16 during World War II producing critical supplies for soldiers overseas.

“I made pins for the parachutes. And I put screws in the temples and the Air Force goggles.”

She says it was secretive work, and she could tell no one.

“I think the reason is I worked for defense, and it’s just work that we couldn't tell anyone what we were making very secret," she said. "The boss would bring a pile of the pins, and they said, well, you've got to drill the holes. So, I drove the holes and then I had to inspect them, and I had to work also on the glasses.”

Masciangelo was one of countless other women who became known as Rosie the Riveter – like the iconic Norman Rockwell painting – who stepped into traditionally male-dominated roles during the war.

“It's really an indication of the immense number of women who worked in factories, worked in canning operations, even worked in farms, doing their part while so many men were off at the war," said Perinton Town Historian Bill Poray. "Those things needed to happen. And women really filled those roles admirably. And that was a great act of love for their country and support for their country and their families and communities."

He watched as the youngsters learned about history from a firsthand source.

“I think it's great for them to be exposed to someone who, first of all, has lived 100 years and experienced such a different life, but in some of the most momentous eras in history," Poray said.

Students there noted how their generation could be the last to know their own "Rosie the Riveter."

Students had opportunities to ask questions and presented Masciangelo with handmade cards.

She showed the students the medal she recently received, a Congressional Gold Medal from Rep. Joe Morelle, for her work during the war.

“I was quite surprised and appreciative," Masciangelo said. 

Students honored a 100-year-old gem in their community.

“I feel proud of what I did for the country," she said.