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Naomi Parker Fraley, called inspiration for Rosie the Riveter, dies at 96

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LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — A woman identified by a scholar as the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter, the iconic female World War II factory worker, has died in Washington state over the weekend.

The New York Times reports that Naomi Parker Fraley died Saturday in Longview. She was 96.

Multiple women have been identified over the years as possible models for Rosie, but a Seton Hall University professor in 2016 focused on Fraley as the true inspiration.

James J. Kimble published his findings in the journal Rhetoric & Public Affairs, saying a photo of Fraley at work was the basis for a widely seen poster of a woman flexing with the caption, “We can do it!”

Fraley was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she went to work at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, among the first women to do war work there.

Inside country legend Alan Jackson’s triumphant finale concert

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The time has come for country music superstar Alan Jackson to hang up his signature Stetson hat. The genre traditionalist from Newnan, Georgia, whose career kicked off in the 1980s and exploded shortly thereafter in the oft-cited '90s country wave with heartfelt songs for the working man who'd rather be drinking, or fishing, or ideally both, has sold over 60 million records across his storied career. And on Saturday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, he brought his touring career to an end. The event titled “Last Call: One More for the Road — The Finale" was a triumphant swan song for the performer, a celebration of his life and career with some help from the artists he directly inspired. Nashville's all-stars came out in droves
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