“Ruthie” the riveter

Two admirable Newport Harbor High coeds from the war years come to

mind May 4 as “Rosie the Riveters” were honored after 60 years at a

colorful luncheon in Seattle, sponsored by the Women in Trades

Association, a nonprofit labor organization.

Both of the Newport Harbor High ladies, former Newport Beach Mayor

Ruthelyn Plummer, Class of ‘43, and the late Betty Dodge, Class of ‘37,

who created the school’s alma mater, put careers aside when the war came

and entered the airplane industry.

The sneak attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, killing more than 2,000

Americans and destroying numerous ships, prompted men to rush toward

enlistment while wartime factories called on women to help build aircraft

and ships, among other jobs.

The female riveters, were nicknamed “Rosies,” after one of the first

women to work in a defense factory. The women were immortalized in a

poster of a worker flexing her muscles with the slogan “We Can Do It.”

Plummer, a noted swimmer in prep days, was a perfectionist at

McDonnell-Douglas in the military world of riveting. One source said she

had a habit of personally inspecting the rivets on planes she was flying

as a passenger.

Dodge, who went to work for North American Aviation in Los Angeles,

was the daughter of Judge Donald Dodge. Her alma mater has been played at

Newport Harbor football and basketball games for decades.

Both ladies were active in girls athletics while Plummer was also a

popular song leader in ’42. Dodge passed away a few years ago in the San

Luis Obispo area.

The late John Ikeda, a ’41 Newport Harbor High quarterback, always

carried high regard for Judge Dodge. He recalled how “kind and patient”

the judge was trying to help the Japanese-American farm families in the

area before they were shipped off to become interns at inland locations.

The war took a toll on parties in all directions.

Amusement out of the 1943 sports period found athletic director Ralph

Reed editing the football program so that his new varsity grid coach, Les

Miller, would not be considered a stranger. Reed put him down as a

graduate of the University of Kansas.

In short time, Miller approached Reed to stress that he was not a

Kansas grad. He explained that he earned his sheepskin at Baker

University in Kansas.

Reed grinned, then said, “Let’s face it, Les. No one around here ever

heard of Baker.”

The late mayor Alvin Pinkley once spent a world of Sundays at Lion’s

Field park when he was sponsoring the Costa Mesa Merchant baseball teams.

Natives may recall his earlier days around the same park standing in a

tower every night as an official airplane spotter for the government

during the war.

The betting excitement over the recent Kentucky Derby prompted a

recall of yesteryear when Joe Muniz, a ’44 blocking back on the Tar

varsity grid team, chose to bet on a horse.

Muniz, who also races horses, owns a past champion named Chicks

Beduino.

“He won a lot of races and earned a half-million dollars. There were

so many write-ups,” Muniz remembered.

He said, “Despite the gaming element, I’m not a gambler,” though he

does admit to one rare wager, but shuddered afterward. “I just didn’t do

things like that, but I thought everyone was overlooking this one horse

and placed $200 on the nose.”

It paid off too.

After Muniz tried to collect, they closed the window because they

didn’t have enough cash on hand to pay him.

“It was embarrassing,” he said.

Ed Mayer, a stout tackle who helped Orange Coast College to a ’51 grid

championship, said the pro football shuffling around for recruits has

kept Mike White hustling along with Dick Vermeil to generate ample energy

for the Kansas City Chiefs in the upcoming season.

White, assistant to Vermeil and a one-time walk-on assistant to Jeff

Brinkley at Newport Harbor High in 1989, is often kept away from the

local scene due to heavy commitments. However, Mayer, an old friend of

White, said there will be an opportunity for the two to visit in June.

White lives on Balboa Island when he’s off duty.