‘Rosie the Riveter the Musical’ opens in Bend with real-life inspiration in tow

‘Rosie the Riveter the Musical’ opens in Bend with real-life inspiration in tow

On a recent blue sky day in Bend, a 102-year-old woman sat in the courtyard of her senior living facility, flipping through photo albums stuffed with yellowed pictures, postcards, and memories. “My full name is I. Riley Helmstetter,” she said as a means of introduction. “I’m not going to tell you what my first name is because I never liked it,” she added, laughing. One set of pictures in her album shows her fresh out of high school in 1943. She’…