Family shares story of ‘Rosie the Riveter’ Evva Gore
OSMOND — Not long ago, a local person was in western Nebraska when he walked into a bar (no, this is not the beginning of a bad joke), and he saw the name “Evva Gore” up on the wall. The name sounded familiar, so he spoke to the bar owner and discovered she — Jeanne Goetzinger — was the daughter of Evva, who was born and raised in Osmond.
According to Jeanne, Evva’s story has been submitted for publication in the American Rosie the Riveter Association’s Book No. 7. The previous books published to date are in homes and libraries across the country, as well as the national archives in Washington, D.C.
“They are not only entertaining, but they are also of historic value, as the stories of our Rosies need to be preserved,” Jeanne said.
The following is Evva’s story, with some additional local information added.
Evva was the daughter of Otis and Ottie Gore, and a graduate with the OHS Class of 1944. According to the Osmond centennial book, some of her employers here were Gene Liewer, owner of the Osmond Republican; Dorothy Lorenz, manager of the telephone company, and Carrie Wright, owner of Carrie’s Bar.
After graduation, Evva moved to Omaha and was employed by the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant. According to the information about Evva that was hanging on the wall of the bar in Chadron, she worked directly on the B-29 planes, standing on a scaffolding, fitting the leading edges on the wings between the engines, wiring the fire extinguishers throughout the planes and installing the generators in the tail sections.
Evva was part of Lester Trout’s team that worked on the Enola Gay, the B-29 plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II.
In an excerpt from Evva’s story of her life, she said, “I always worked 12-hour days, as the need for the planes was crucial. I, like most people were doing what they could to help. After I had been there a short while, I was handed a note which informed me to be at a union meeting. Of course, I ignored it. I knew nothing about the union and was not about to donate to them.
“One day, when I was on top of the ship drilling the holes into which I would bolt the leading edge, a young man in a suit and tie came up my ladder and interrupted my work. This annoyed me, as we had a time frame by which we tried to do our work. When I found out he was union, I was really irritated!
“He wanted to know why I was not at the meeting, and had not answered their correspondence. I told him he was a gutless wonder and to get off my ladder! I turned my drill on him and he fell half-way down from my platform ladder. After that I had two very close calls with threats from them.”
When the war ended, the “love of her life,” Kenneth Goetzinger of Plainview came home and they were united in marriage in 1946, subsequently settling in Chadron. During the war, Kenneth had “carried her with him.” He had fashioned a special grip on his sidearm, with her photograph on the handgrip of his 45.
In another excerpt from the story of her life, Evva related, “In the 1950s, I was walking down Second Street in Chadron, when a man and a young boy came walking toward me. I looked up and said ‘Lester!’ and he said ‘Evva!’ Lester Trout, my leadman from the bomber plant, and I both ended up in Chadron after the war. He managed the gas company which was across the street from my business, the 77 Lounge.”
Evva and Kenneth Goetzinger had two daughters, Jeanne and Nancy. After nine years, their marriage dissolved; however, Evva and Kenny remained good friends and business associates until his death in 1982. He is buried in the military cemetery in Sturgis, S.D.
In 1990, daughter Jeanne returned to Chadron and took over ownership of the business, which now included a hotel, and renamed it the Old Maine Street Inn, but the bar in front is still known as the 77 Long Branch Saloon. Daughter Nancy lives in Alliance and is a massage therapist.
In 2014, Evva was honored at the American Rosie Convention in Omaha for working at the Omaha plant and helping build the B-29 airplanes. She died peacefully at home on Aug. 26, 2019, at the age of 93, surrounded by her family.
