A special Newton High School alum turned 99 this month!

 

Connie (Cuellar) Palacioz is a bit of a Wichita-area celebrity. She has autographed thousands of photos, cards and other aviation memorabilia and is a celebrated presence at the B-29 Doc Hangar, Education and Visitors Center.

 

She was one of many women who stepped in to fill the void building planes when men were drafted or volunteered for World War II. The planes they built, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, helped the U.S. and its allies win the war. 

 

The plane was used to drop bombs, including the atomic bombs on Japan, which surrendered a week later, marking the end of the deadliest war in history. 

 

Connie and her team built 1,644 B-29 Superfortress planes during World War II.

 

Connie and women like her have been famously represented by the iconic image of Rosie the Riveter, which was an illustration of a woman flexing her arm and the slogan "We Can Do It” on their photos or posters. The inspirational posters were meant to help boost workplace morale. 

 

While “Rosie” isn’t a real person, Connie says the outfit Rosie wears is historically accurate with what Connie wore to work.

 

“I was just doing my job,” Connie said.

 

On May 4, 2022, Connie was named the inaugural member of the Women in Aviation - Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame at 97 years of age.  

 

Connie’s time riveting the nose of the airplane was one of the many times in her life that she overcame stereotypes and adversity. 

 

Her story begins in Newton where she lives to the day. 

 

 

Connie went to Newton High School when it used to be located at what is now the Santa Fe ⅚ Center building. 

 

Connie recalls some instances of racism, including getting called to the principal’s office to retake a test and a teacher urging her to break up an interracial couple she was friends with, Connie recalls.

 

Outside of school, Connie enjoyed living and visiting restaurants, stores, and local hangouts for

teenagers in downtown Newton. 

 

At one confectionary business that sold sodas and snacks, she was served because despite being of Mexican heritage, Connie’s skin was fair enough to appear white. It wasn’t until she spoke that the business owner realized Connie was Mexican and subjected her to discrimination by telling her she could not come to the business any longer.

 

Connie’s daughter, Tish (Palacioz) Nielsen, thinks that the unfair treatment Connie faced over the years ultimately made Connie a person of great strength and she developed pride for her hometown and country over the years.

 

But it wasn’t all bad memories in Newton. 

 

Connie remembers a loving NHS teacher, Ms. Theodora Grove, who encouraged Connie to stay the course: to not give up and to stay in school. This teacher supported Connie and told her to be strong, stand up for what she believed and what was right, and to be herself.

 

“She was so good to me,” Connie recalls.

 

 

After graduating high school, Connie ironed shirts for the US Navy for 25 cents an hour at a laundromat. One day, she and a friend inquired about a raise and were told no.

 

Being rebellious, Connie and her friend pressed the shirts very, very slowly and the uniforms piled up. When the boss asked why they were working so slow, she told her, “We are only worth 25 cents.”

 

Eventually, the boss gave her a raise but asked her to keep it quiet so Connie and her friend, Linda, worked very hard and ironed the uniforms more quickly.

 

Over the radio, Connie heard about Boeing hiring due to the war and shortage of men working as they were drafted for the war. At age 18, she applied for a job at Boeing and had to go to school for riveting and drilling. The school was located to the North of the

Broadview Hotel (now the Drury Inn) which sits along the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita.

 

After two weeks in school, she chose riveting to be her trade. She was told she could go work at the plant since she had learned the trade so well. 

 

When the war ended, men came back to the United States and took back their jobs in 1945.

 

Workers like Connie were then forced to find work elsewhere.

 

For Connie, that meant getting married in 1946, going to hairdresser school and moving to Emporia. 

 

Following their time in Emporia, Connie and her family moved back to Newton where she had four children, all of which went through Newton schools and graduated from Newton High School.

 

 

Across the country, “Doc” was rescued from the Mojave Desert in 2000. Connie helped as part of a volunteer restoration team whose goal was to return Doc to flight…something that came to fruition in 2016.

 

From 2000 to 2014, Connie drove from Newton to Wichita three times a week to volunteer for the B-29 Doc Superfortress during the restoration at the Spirit campus. 

 

Her primary motivation for volunteering was to reconnect with friends from her riveting days. 

 

She specifically wanted to find her Bucker, Gerry Warden. Gerry was an African American woman that no one would work with at Boeing because she was a minority, but Connie said she would be glad to work with Gerry. 

 

They became a great pair and enjoyed working with each other. After the war ended, Connie corresponded with Gerry but in 1948 or so, her letters were returned. She never heard from Gerry again.

 

Connie has since become somewhat of a local celebrity, given the chance to attend air shows all over the United States and dress up in riveting clothes for interviews and public relations campaigns. 

 

She has been honored multiple times at Spirit and Boeing over the years for her service to the war effort, which may have gone unrecognized at the time of the war. 

 

Now with the help from family, 99-year-old Connie continues to volunteer at the Doc museum. She considers her “Doc” educational center co-workers, volunteers and guests to be her second family. 

 

Recently, Connie connected with NHS business teacher Jessica Crabtree who was visiting the museum as part of a business conference. 

 

Connie still has her class reunion t-shirt, but hasn’t had a class reunion in many years. She recalls making the burritos for her NHS reunions back when they were still held for her class. 

 

We are proud that you are a Railer, Connie!