Rose Marie Alkofer was born in Ludden, North Dakota in 1923. After graduation from Guelph High School in 1941, she left her parents’ farm, to work as a housekeeper, waitress, department store clerk, and in various odd jobs in nearby Minneapolis.
When a high school teacher visited family in California, Rose and her friend, classmate Laura Koch tagged along. They traveled along Route 66. Stopping in a small town on the way, all the hotel rooms were full. Yes, there was “no room at the inn” so the nuns at a local Catholic hospital let them sleep in a room for the night.
Rose and her friend Laura went on to work as a team at Vega, the Lockheed Aircraft parts division, in Burbank. Rose worked there from 1942 until World War II ended. In their production team, Rose was indeed the riveter, and Laura would assist her in the process with the parts as the “bucker”.
Now 97, Rose lives with family in the Los Angeles area. Over the years, she has especially enjoyed jobs that let her work with her hands. Along with riveting, this included working in a shop building shutters. Over the last few years, she has shown another talent, acting in film, TV and commercials. Rose had 3 children, and now has 4 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild.