Jack Case’s granddaughter Michelle Hurst points out to her mother Linda Fellers and uncle Patrick Case that the artist who created the bust of her grandfather “pretty well nailed it on the likeness.” The family loaned a number of Case’s personal articles, including the bust given to him as a birthday present by a friend’s wife who was a ceramics artist. Other Y-12 historical artifacts of Case’s were included in the Jack Case Center lobby display as a way of educating visitors and residents about the building’s namesake. (Photos courtesy CNS)
Family members of former Y-12 Plant Manager Jack Case (1967-1982) recently stopped by the Jack Case Center to check out a new display of a few of his items, some donated by them and others brought out of the Y-12 historical archives. Brothers Larry and Patrick, along with sister Linda Fellers, donated the artifacts and some valuable historic information about their father to help the keepers of Y-12’s history share the legacy of the building’s namesake.
“Most people that work at Y-12 today don’t remember my dad,” said Patrick Case, the youngest of the siblings. “If I worked in this building, I’d want to know who in the world Jack Case is. This display is not only a great tribute to him, but it’s a good way for people coming in and out of this building to quickly get a sense of why they named a building after him.”
Artifacts of Case’s include his retirement certificate, his pen set, and his umbrella from his office in the old administration building 9704-2, and a bust of Case that was a birthday present from the wife of a longtime co-worker.
“Jack and seven other men came down from Alton, Illinois, in 1943 to work at Y-12 because of their skills as craftsmen,” said Y-12 Historian Ray Smith. “Vivian Austin was the wife of Russell ‘Dude’ Austin, one of the eight from Illinois, and she was good friends with Jack’s wife Hazel. She also was a ceramics artist. The bust she made of Jack is ceramic and glazed to look like it’s bronze.”
The bust, as well as a copy of the family’s portrait of Case, is displayed in the lobby area of the Jack Case Center. Smith and Jennifer Dixon of Environmental Compliance completed the exhibit by creating a looping video that tells the story of the machinist from Illinois who rose through the ranks to become plant manager. Case is credited with bringing the technology to precision machine uranium parts to Y-12 and thus reviving the site’s significance to America’s nuclear defense mission.
If you can’t make it by the lobby, you can check out the history of the man and his architectural namesake at http://www.y12.doe.gov/sites/default/files/history/pdf/info_materials/JackCaseBooklet.pdf.
Brothers Larry, left, and Patrick Case recently visited Y-12’s Jack Case Center with sister Linda Fellers to check out the new exhibit of their father’s personal effects, including his retirement plaque, a bust of Case, and a copy of an oil portrait loaned by the family, which can be seen behind the siblings. Jack Case was the longest-running Y-12 plant manager from 1967 to 1982, and his efforts to further the mission of Y-12 factors him heavily in the site’s history and warranted him becoming the building’s namesake.
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