The Shipyard Agent reveals the untold story of Augusta Clawson, the undercover investigator who helped shape the future for World War II's women welders. From the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf Coast and up the Eastern seaboard, during World War II women welders worked at a fever pitch in the nation's shipyards to assemble the behemoths that would safely carry their men to war. Some dubbed these women "Wendy the Welder" or referred to them as "welderettes," as though the work they did was an imitation or substitution for that done by the male welders. But there was nothing dainty or feminine about the exact, difficult, and exhausting work that female welders performed. In 1943, Special Agent Augusta Clawson of the U.S. Office of Education was assigned to work with industries and employment agencies preparing and training women for jobs in war-production factories. Her special agent position became clandestine when she was sent to the shipyard on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, with an extraordinary assignment. Without identifying the true nature of her role, she was to present herself as one of the many women traveling to work in the shipyards, so that she could observe an unfiltered representation of the world of women welders. Her goal was to learn why some women--especially the welders--were quitting after only a short time on the job. Clawson entered Swan Island Shipyard exactly as many other women did, inexperienced and untrained, and soon joined the ranks of female welders. Meanwhile she surreptitiously sent reports back to Washington, DC, cataloging her daily observations and experiences. Her frank and honest reports--the truth as only a woman welder could tell it--were published in 1944 under the title Shipyard Diary of a Woman Welder, but the full story of her instrumental role in establishing improved training and safety guidelines for the women laboring to build America's ships has not been told--until now.
Beverly Lionberger Hodgins was born in Portland, Oregon, and for many years enjoyed the surrounding rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests before moving to equally lovely Washington State. As the great-granddaughter of Oregon pioneers, Hodgins has a distinct interest in all things regarding the settling, development, and history of the Pacific and Inland Northwest, and enjoys writing about fascinating people who lived before--particularly women who lived life on their own terms. Hodgins's screenplay Wayward Warrior, based on her husband's Vietnam service, was a semi-finalist for the FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards. She once served as a personal interest story reporter for the Washington State Employees' Intranet. She is the author of Mercy and Madness: Dr. Mary Archard Latham's Tragic Fall from Female Physician to Felon (TwoDot), the essay "A New Dawn" published in the anthology Chocolate for a Woman's Courage, and poems published in college literary reviews. She lives in Spokane, Washington, with her husband, Tom.
"The intriguing story of workplace spy Augusta Clawson and her background in the rare topic of vocational education for women. Beverly Hodgins' personal connection to the women welders is fascinating and clearly drove her meticulous research to uncover yet another aspect of American women's little-known but invaluable contributions on the WWII home front. The Shipyard Agent captures some of the excitement with which women jumped at the chance to learn new skills and work in jobs previously limited to men, as well as the risks to health and safety they incurred while serving their country in wartime." --Mary Cronk Farrell, author of Close-Up on War: The Story of Pioneering Photojournalist Catherine Leroy in Vietnam "The significant employment of women in World War II shipyards has become better recognized during the last few decades. Hodgins' book, however, weaves the story of the wide-ranging Henry Kaiser shipyard innovations with the lesser-known history of a US 'spy'--Augusta Holmes Clawson--who entered the shipyards and became an undercover welder to determine why some women left employment too soon. Hodgins' research provides additional background and context to the story of women's WWII employment and the empowerment that would provide energy to the women's movement decades later--a fascinating tale presaging many of the legal rights and social opportunities of the 1960s onward." --Meg Sondey, American business and Welding history researcher "The Shipyard Agent is a riveting account of women who stepped in during wartime to fill the country's greatest need: building ships. They were agents of change, proving that women had the will and the stamina to do a man's job in this noisy, exhausting, hard physical realm, and their work would influence future generations. This is a well-researched, engaging book, with stories of the author's own ancestor." --Heidi M. Thomas, award-winning author of Cowgirl Up: A History of Rodeo Women
