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Description

Opal Nelson was born in Jackson County just outside of Huntington, Indiana. As part of a Quaker family, several of Nelson’s relatives were conscientious objectors during World War II, and Nelson herself was asked to leave her job at a coil factory for her anti-war sentiments. Nelson moved to Santa Monica, California with a friend and took a job working in aircraft construction at Douglas Aircraft, where she met her husband Jim Nelson. After moving back to Indiana in 1945, she worked as a train porter for Erie Railroad. In this interview, Nelson discusses her work in St. Louis and Denver, her Quaker upbringing and experience with the Church of the Brethren, moving to California and working the graveyard shift for Douglas Aircraft, her relationship with former boyfriend Carl, and her involvement with the Rosie the Riveter Association.

Details

Title
Opal Nelson: Rosie the Riveter WWII American Home Front Oral History Project
Creator
Nelson, Opal, interviewee
Dunham, David, interviewer
Published
Berkeley, CA, Oral History Center, 2016
Link to Content
View Oral History Video
Full Collection Name
Rosie the Riveter World War II American Home Front Oral Histories
Subject (Topic)
Community and Identity
Type
Text
Format
Oral histories.
Archive
The Bancroft Library Oral History Center
Note
Interview date(s) 2016
Usage Statement
Researchers may make free and open use of the UC Berkeley Library’s digitized public domain materials. However, some materials in our online collections may be protected by U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. § 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher. To learn more or make inquiries, please see our permissions policies (https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/visit/bancroft/oral-history-center/projects?section=permissions).
Linked Resources
Project website
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