Rosalind P. Walter (née Palmer; June 25, 1924 – March 4, 2020) was an American philanthropist and humanities advocate who was best known for her late 20th and early 21st century support for
public television
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
programming across the United States. She also contributed to the improvement of educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth and the protection of wildlife and open space areas.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, she inspired the creation of "
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...
", a song about civilian women employed in the war industry which was penned by
Redd Evans
Redd is a Turkish rock band established in 1996 by tenor opera singer Doğan Duru and guitarist Berke Hatipoğlu under the name ''Ten''. They used to play at bars until they set up their own studio in 2004. Their first album, titled ''"50/50" ...
and
John Jacob Loeb John Jacob Loeb (1910 – 2 March 1970) was an American composer. He wrote music and lyrics for many popular songs, such as "Rosie the Riveter" (1942), " Seems Like Old Times" (1945), "Masquerade", "Reflections in the Water", "Sweetie Pie", "Boo Hoo ...
and popularized by
Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.
Early years
James Kern Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily ...
and
The Four Vagabonds The Four Vagabonds was an American male vocal group. Active for twenty years (1933–1953), they form a bridge between vocal quartet jive of the 1930s and the rhythm and blues vocal groups that thrived after World War II.
The Vagabonds
The Four ...
.
"Known by the nickname Roz," according to executives of WNET, New York's public television station, Walter "cared deeply about the quality and educational value of public television and understood the importance of reaching the broadest possible audience."
Early life
Rosalind Palmer was born on June 25, 1924, in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York, a daughter of the late Winthrop (Bushnell) Palmer, chair and professor of literature and fine arts at
Long Island University, and Carleton Humphreys Palmer,
["Rosie the Riveter," Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club.] president of
E. R. Squibb and Sons, a Brooklyn, New York-based pharmaceutical company which was founded in 1892 and is now a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
[McPartland, "Rosie the Riveter's tough image morphs to fit the times."]
Raised in New York City, she was educated at Connecticut's
Ethel Walker School
The Ethel Walker School, also commonly referred to as “Walker’s”, is a private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 6 through 12 plus postgraduate located in Simsbury, Connecticut.
History
Founded in 191 ...
.
In 1940, she lived in Manhattan with her parents and older siblings, Lowell and Winthrop.
During the 1950s, she relocated with her family to
Centre Island in
Nassau County New York.
["Rosie the Riveter," Grenville Boys and Girls Club".]
World War II
Following her graduation from high school, Rosalind Palmer became one of many young women to secure jobs in the war industry during World War II. "The powerful female image of
Rosie (the Riveter) was developed under the auspices of the War Production Board to inspire patriotic behavior," according to heritage writer Ginny McPartland, who reported in 2013 that the idea to give "the female war worker the name of 'Rosie' probably started with a newspaper story about Rosalind P. Walter, an aircraft factory worker in New York." Hired for the night shift,
Palmer was, in fact, employed as "a riveter on Corsair fighter planes", according to ''The New York Times''. Additional sources have noted that she worked on F4U marine gull-winged fighter airplanes, and that she "broke records for speed on the production line, advocating for equal pay for her female co-workers.
In 1942, she inspired Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb to write the song, "Rosie the Riveter", which was then recorded by Kay Kyser and The Four Vagabonds.
In 1943, ''The Roanoke Times'' reprinted an article from a New York newspaper, which had described Palmer as follows: "We really have a Rosie the Riveter, who is Rosalind Palmer, 19, a dark-tressed society doll, who had just finished a year of hard work as a night-shift welder at the Sikorsky aircraft plant at Bridgeport, Conn." Adding that she was renting a room that summer in Fairfield, which enabled her to commute "25 miles to her job," she said she had been teamed with "a crackerjack welder" who helped her to become confident and competent in her work on fighter planes and would "'keep at this job until the war is over."
Post-war life and philanthropy
Following war's end, Rosalind Palmer wed Henry S. Thompson, a lieutenant with the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
. They were married at the
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on June 22, 1946, and became the parents of son Henry. They divorced in 1954.
In 1956, Rosalind (Palmer) Thompson wed
Henry Glendon Walter, Jr. (1910–2000) in Manhattan. A friend of the Palmer family who was employed by the law firm of Fulton, Walter & Halley in 1945, Henry G. Walter, Jr. later went on to become president (1962) and chairman and chief executive (1970) of
International Flavors and Fragrances
International Flavors & Fragrances is an American corporation that produces flavors, fragrances, and cosmetic actives, which it markets globally. It is headquartered in New York City and has creative, sales, and manufacturing facilities in 44 di ...
, a position he held until his retirement in 1985.
Throughout their marriage, they were jointly and independently active in a range of philanthropic activities, including serving as trustees for the
American Museum of Natural History and Long Island University, which awarded her an honorary degree in 1983, and noted in 2000 that "Hank and Roz have been first citizens and benefactors of this University in every respect."
In 1951, she established the Walter Foundation, which is known today as
The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation. Based in New York City, this private non-operating foundation was designated as a
501(c)(3) organization by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in May 1953.
Best known for underwriting public television programming in the United States, she supported the PBS series, ''Great Performances'', and such documentary films as: Blakeway Productions' ''Shakespeare Uncovered'', Ken Burns' ''
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History'', Ric Burns' ''The Pilgrims'', and Susan Lacy's Emmy Award-winning ''
American Masters
''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...
'' series for WNET.
In recognition of her history of giving,
WNET
WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
appointed Rosalind P. Walter to its board of directors in 1989. Interviewed by ''The New York Times'' in 1994, station president Bill Baker observed, "She is one of those wonderful people that every nonprofit has to have.... We get a lot of people who come up to the altar with great suggestions and then we have to scamper for the funds. But she is usually the closing dollars that get a program over the hump." By the time that WNET leaders delivered the organization's Annual Report for 2007–2008, she had donated at least $5,000,000 to that public television station.
She also provided support to ''PBS NewsHour'', served in various leadership capacities for the
Paley Center for Media
The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...
and established a journalism scholarship at Long Island University.
Walter's mother, Winthrop Palmer, died in 1988, and her husband, Henry Glendon Walter, Jr., died at the age of 90 on November 11, 2000, at New York Hospital.
A
Centre Island, New York
Centre Island is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. Its population was 410 as of the 2010 census.
Geography
Despite its name, it is actually a peninsula. According to ...
home that had once been owned by Walter was purchased by the American singer-songwriter, composer and pianist
Billy Joel.
USTA, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, wellness, and public education
A member of the board of overseers for the Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club and lifetime supporter of its annual fund, Rosalind P. Walter was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2016. She was also a member of the National Committee for Inner City Drug Prevention.
A Life Trustee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, she was also appointed by the
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...
to the board of its USTA Serves program, and provided the funding for the first college scholarships awarded under that initiative. Named in her honor in 2011, that program now annually grants funding "to one male and one female high-academic achieving student of good character who is entering a four-year college or university program" and who "share Walter's belief in always putting forth one's best effort and giving back to one's community to make it a better place." Each student selected is "eligible to receive $2,500 per year for a total of up to $10,000 to cover costs of tuition, room and board and educational materials."
Wildlife preservation and land conservation
A member of the board of trustees of the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary, she contributed to efforts by the North Shore Land Alliance in 2014 to purchase the 28-acre Humes property in Mill Neck, New York, in order to preserve the meadow, freshwater woodlands, woodland, and nine structures located there.
In 2016, the North Shore Land Alliance listed "Mrs. Henry G. Walter Jr./The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation" on its registry of individuals and organizations who had donated to the Alliance in 2015 at the "$25,000 to $49,999" level.
Death
Walter died in her home in Manhattan on March 4, 2020.
See also
*
Philanthropy in the United States
Philanthropy in the United States has long played a major role, from the Puritans of early Massachusetts who founded Harvard College down to the present day. Since the late 19th century, philanthropy has been a major source of income for religion, ...
References
External links
*
* Harvey, Sheridan.
Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II" in "Journeys & Crossings." Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, retrieved online July 19, 2018.
Long Island University Trustee Rosalind P. Walterwith Jeffrey Kane, LIU vice president for academic affairs; Jon Frasier, senior associate dean, LIU's School of Visual and Performing Arts, et al. (photograph), in ''Post Press'', Vol. 16, No. 2, p. 8. Brookville, New York: Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, Spring 2007.
Rosalind P. Walter with journalist Charlie Rose, documentarian Ric Burns, et al. (various event photographs). Getty Images, retrieved online July 19, 2018.
* by The Four Vagabonds (general World War II video compilation using the song as a soundtrack)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Rosalind P.
1924 births
2020 deaths
American women civilians in World War II
American women philanthropists
People from Brooklyn
People from Centre Island, New York
Philanthropists from New York (state)