The West Virginia Rosie the Riveter program will join similar groups across the country on Labor Day to honor "Rosies" everywhere.
At 1 p.m. Monday, groups at more than a dozen locations will ring bells to commemorate the service of Rosies during World War II - an aging population that is quickly shrinking.
While some of those events will be held at well-known sites, such as the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the Netherlands Carillon near Arlington National Cemetery, others are celebrating Rosies' legacies closer to home.
During World War II, 6 million women worked on the home front to help war efforts, but little has been done to capture and preserve these women's stories so the public knows who they are.
The West Virginia Rosie the Riveter Program is coordinating two bell-ringings in Kanawha County.
The first will be held in Nitro at the corner of 21st and Bank streets, next to Rite-Aid.
Maxine Marshall, a Rosie from West Virginia who worked during the war efforts in the 1940s and went on to marry a soldier who was captured by German troops, plans to attend that event.
The other one is at the Wendy's in Cross Lanes at 312 Old Goff Mountain Road.
Manager Tammy Hamilton said visitors will meet in the parking lot beneath the flagpole and ring the bells for about five minutes beginning at 1 p.m. sharp.
That location will feature Agnes Smith, who worked as a Rosie in a Pittsburgh factory during World War II.
A a group called "Thanks! Plain and Simple, Inc." started the West Virginia Rosie the Riveter Program
Anne Montague, the group's founder, said the program works to find Rosies who are still living and document the stories of their contributions during the war.
"We're really trying to awaken America [and] let every community know to look for Rosies and get to know them before they die," Montague said.
The group has initiated 18 projects to date, including locating and interviewing Rosies, as well as raising money for the Rosie the Riveter community park in St. Albans four years ago.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.