Tulsa will have yet another fiberglass giant coming to its Route 66 corridor.
This time, it’s a 19-foot-tall, Rosie the Riveter/UniRoyal Gal model that will be erected sometime Thursday morning just west of Ike’s Chili in the Meadow Gold District, announced Muffler Man champion and entrepreneur Mary Beth Babcock.
She wrote:
“Rosie the Riveter” refers to both a cultural icon and specific women from Tulsa who contributed to the World War II effort. Marina Metevelis was a well-known local “Rosie” who built B-17 and B-25 bombers during the war and is now honored with a Route 66 statue in Tulsa.
Another Tulsa-born woman, Naomi Parker Fraley, served as the inspiration for the famous “Rosie the Riveter” image. Additionally, Delora Simpkins Mealor and Inez Vitato Fuchs were other local women recognized for their wartime contributions, working in aircraft maintenance and with aircraft parts, respectively.
This would be the fifth fiberglass giant in the Meadow Gold District — Buck Atom, Stella Atom, Meadow Gold Mack and Cowboy Bob.
On the Road with Susan had this history of Uniroyal Gals:
The Uniroyal Gal was created in the 1960s by International Fiberglass, the same California company behind the Muffler Men. She was originally commissioned by Uniroyal Tires as a promotional figure to stand outside dealerships. Standing about 19 feet tall, she was built with a hand-on-hip stance and designed to draw just as much attention as her male counterparts.
Unlike the burly Muffler Men, who came in versions like the lumberjack, cowboy, or gas station attendant, the Uniroyal Gal was styled more like a “fashion model” of the time. Her look was distinctly feminine, but still had that same fiberglass stiffness and towering presence. […]
Over the years, many of these statues were retired, repainted, or lost. A few, however, survived — and they’ve become prized roadside oddities for travelers and retro enthusiasts.
(Image of the forthcoming Rosie the Riveter/Uniroyal Gal via Mary Beth Babcock via Facebook)