Venus Dean helps launch S.S. Nehalem

On January 5, 1944, Kaiser Shipyards on Swan Island launched its first ship of the year, the S.S. Nehalem. In acknowledgement of the many women who had joined the company's workforce, the company staffed the launch with women only. Venus Dean was a shipwright's helper for the Kaiser shipyards; she assisted the master shipwright--a master builder who constructs and repairs ships. For the Nehalem launch, she was assigned to the underside of the ship to watch over the placement of the wedges, which are hammered into place under the ship to lift it up above the ways (the timbers upon which a ship is built), and the removal of the dog-shores--struts that hold the ship in place before launch. Dean is on a phone, likely speaking to the people above so they would know when to break the champagne bottle.