Atomic Cocktails

“In coming to work here, you’ll get your crack at...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:23:13 -0500

“In coming to work here, you’ll get your crack at The Axis.”

From the Tennessee Eastman employee handbook, Oak Ridge, TN. 1943.

From daggyland: You can hear my wife Denise Kiernan talking...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:22:59 -0500

You can hear my wife Denise Kiernan talking about her new book The Girls of Atomic City via this link from this interview which aired this morning on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Denise was interviewed along with two of the women she profiles in the book.

The article accompanying the audio link also includes a free chapter of the book.

* * *

denisekiernan: Love that one of my atomic “girls” made this...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:46:02 -0500

denisekiernan:

Love that one of my atomic “girls” made this promo for NPR’s Weekend Edition: Colleen Black, 88 years young. Tune in this Sunday, March 3, from 8 to 10 AM to hear more from Colleen, Celia Klemski, and me as we talk about the Manhattan Project and “The Girls of Atomic City.”

denisekiernan: So happy—and frankly stunned—to see The Girls of...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:23:00 -0500

"The Girls of Atomic City" in "O" magazine.

denisekiernan:

So happy—and frankly stunned—to see The Girls of Atomic City in the March issue of “O, The Oprah Magazine.” The mention is part of a nice list about how to spend International Women’s Day. Do any of you gals—or guys—have plans?

americanguide: ATOMIC SPACES, ATOMIC PLACES Today, if you drive...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:14:23 -0500

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

Photo: Tammy Mercure.

americanguide:

ATOMIC SPACES, ATOMIC PLACES

Today, if you drive through Oak Ridge, Tennessee, you can see some things that seem out of place. Old guard towers frame the city’s corners, certain exit roads are restricted access, and a large contemporary billboard reads “Y-12’s trash can be an enemy’s treasure!” with a stock photo woman haphazardly throwing wadded up paper over her shoulder.

Oak Ridge was formed by the government in 1942 as part of the Manhattan Project—made famous for the production of the atomic bomb. Surrounded by mountains and dubbed the Secret City, the rural area was kept hush-hush by residents. At its peak, 75,000 men and women lived in the city and few had any idea of what exactly was being produced.

For the most part, the workers were quarantined. A unique side effect was an abundance of leisure activities: from one of the nation’s largest outdoor swimming pools (still in operation) to swinging dance halls.

Photographer Ed Wescott, 91 years old and living in Oak Ridge, made one of the most intriguing photographic archives in US history. (A good number of his images can be seen here: http://photosofedwestcott.tumblr.com/.) Wescott documented the construction of the city and the people working and living there. His images are lyrical examples of American life—men jumping on trampolines and women at the hair salon—and in retrospect, they all have an underlying gravity.

The Y-12 National Security Complex and several other government facilities are still operating today. With proper photo identification, some paperwork, and $5, you can tour the old graphite reactors as well as several plants, and see the Y-12 museum.

After hearing about the important things made there, like precision parts for space travel, a fellow traveller on my tour inquired about the facility’s current projects. The museum guide replied that she was not privileged to know their status and promptly moved us to the next video.

The city keeps its history alive with the American Museum of Science and Energy, train excursions, tours, and the Secret City Festival. Held annually in June, the event boasts the largest and one of the only WWII reenactments in the South (many of the people I spoke with also participate in much more common Civil War reenactments.)

For further reading, I recommend Atomic Spaces: Living on the Manhattan Project by Peter Bacon Hales (on the non-fiction side) and Jefferson Bass’s Bones of Betrayal (for a fiction book). Jefferson Bass is actually two authors, one of whom is Dr. Bill Bass, creator of Tennessee’s own Body Farm (yet another fascinating Tennessee treasure).

* * *

Tammy Mercure is a State Guide to Tennessee. She was recently named one of the “100 under 100: The New Superstars of Southern Art” by Oxford American magazine.

Follow on Tumblr at tammymercure or on her website, TammyMercure.com. Support her work at TCB Press.

Receipt of “material” at Oak Ridge, from Manhattan...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:01:29 -0500

Receipt of “material” at Oak Ridge, from Manhattan Engineer District in New York.

Sketch of Chicago pile.

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:26:00 -0500

Sketch of Chicago pile.

Manhattan Project scientists remembered

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:37:23 -0500

Two Manhattan Project scientists, Paul Numerof and Donald Hornig, dies this past week.

Learn more about their lives here:

http://www.stljewishlight.com/obituaries/article_a7a57f36-6581-11e2-9d9e-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=13&articleid=20130124_11_A13_Donald758076

Happy 90th Birthday (a couple days early) to Bill Wilcox, Oak...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:14:00 -0500

Happy 90th Birthday (a couple days early) to Bill Wilcox, Oak Ridge historian and all around fantastic guy!

Here’s one of my favorite pictures of Bill, relaxing on the porch of a dorm during World War II.

Love that his penchant for bow-ties dates all the way back to the 1940s. Dapper, indeed.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet weighs in on sending news home. Love...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:01:14 -0500

The U.S. Pacific Fleet weighs in on sending news home.

Love letters…tried and true.

Thanks to retrowar for posting.

Donald Duck takes on Hitler.

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:00:53 -0500

Donald Duck takes on Hitler.

denisekiernan: Here I am talking about my latest book, The...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:27:54 -0500

denisekiernan:

Here I am talking about my latest book, The Girls of Atomic City. I love these old Ed Westcott photos. Thanks to Touchstone and Simon & Schuster for putting this together.

Oak Ridge workers hitting the lanes at one of the...

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:01:09 -0500

Oak Ridge workers hitting the lanes at one of the Reservation’s several bowling alleys.

A 1943 pay stub for a Y-12 statistician in Oak Ridge.

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:43:43 -0500

A 1943 pay stub for a Y-12 statistician in Oak Ridge.

Your Guide to Selecting the Best (or Is It Worst?) Ugly Christmas Sweater | Threaded

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:13:31 -0500

Your Guide to Selecting the Best (or Is It Worst?) Ugly Christmas Sweater | Threaded:

Every holiday season needs an ugly Christmas sweater party. Now, you never have to worry about not having anything to wear.

Denise Kiernan. That's me.: Manhattan Project National Park Round-Up

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:28:29 -0500

Denise Kiernan. That's me.: Manhattan Project National Park Round-Up:

denisekiernan:

“This is a major chapter of American and world history. We should preserve what’s left.”

—Cindy Kelly, Atomic Heritage Foundation

As the 112th Congress prepares to wrap up, supporters of an effort to preserve sites associated with the Manhattan Project—in Los Alamos, NM, Hanford, WA, and Oak…

Manhattan Project Round-Up

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:40:00 -0500

Manhattan Project Round-Up:

denisekiernan:

A lot of interesting and diverse articles about the Manhattan Project have popped up in my browser in the last week or so. Here are the ones that I think are the most interesting:

Manhattan Project Mystery

Cameron Reed at the American Physical Society has a new take on an old document: A…

Diagram of K-25 plan, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War...

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:01:31 -0400

Diagram of K-25 plan, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War II.

todaysdocument: An Act to Establish the National Archives and...

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:53:34 -0400

todaysdocument:

An Act to Establish the National Archives and Records Administration, 10/19/1984

Established in 1934, the National Archives did not become an independent agency until April 1, 1985, as authorized in this Act signed on October 19, 1984.

(So while it’s not our anniversary, consider this our “save-the-date” announcement. Coincidentally, it’s also American Archives Month!)

Happy second birthday of sorts to the National Archives.

librar-y: Washington, D.C., 1918. “Every Garden a...

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 12:21:18 -0400

librar-y:

Washington, D.C., 1918.

“Every Garden a Munition Plant…”