• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




UT-Battelle donates $150,000 for new Friendship Bell pavilion

Posted at 12:29 pm November 20, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

ut-battelle-donates-to-international-friendship-bell

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, center, presented a check to Pat Postma, right, and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee, during a ceremony at Oak Ridge Associated Universities’ Pollard Auditorium on Thursday, Nov 17, 2016. (Photo by ORNL)

 

UT-Battelle has announced a $150,000 gift toward construction of a new Peace Pavilion to house the International Friendship Bell located in Oak Ridge’s Alvin K. Bissell Park.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason presented a check to Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee, during a Thursday evening ceremony at Oak Ridge Associated Universities’ Pollard Auditorium.

The check presentation was the start of a public campaign to raise $750,000 for the project. A total of $416,000 has either already been raised or pledged.

“The International Friendship Bell is an important symbol of the heritage and future of Oak Ridge,” Mason said. “UT-Battelle is proud to support the construction of a new Peace Pavilion that will make the bell a focal point for the city and for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park.”

The International Friendship Bell, which was installed at A.K. Bissell Park in 1996, is 8,000 pounds of bronze cast with images that symbolize the peace and friendship shared by Japan and Oak Ridge. The new Peace Pavilion will enlarge the public gathering area around the bell.

Advertisement

With the recent establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes several sites in Oak Ridge, the International Friendship Bell and Peace Pavilion is expected to be among the significant tour stops for visitors interested in the city’s history.

The idea of the Japanese-style bell originated with Oak Ridge residents Ram and Shigeko Uppuluri from India and Japan, respectively, as a symbol of unity between the United States and Japan and to serve as a monument to the post-war reconciliation and peace between the two nations.

The bronze bell is nearly seven feet tall and five feet wide, designed by an Oak Ridge artist and cast by a family foundry in Kyoto, Japan.

In the words of the late Alvin Weinberg, former ORNL director, noted nuclear physicist and advocate for the bell, “I hope it will become a shrine for the many visitors who, by their pilgrimage to the Friendship Bell, will be participating in the sanctification of Hiroshima and the permanence of the tradition of nonuse.”

Oak Ridge was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II to help make the world’s first nuclear weapons. Uranium enriched in Oak Ridge fueled the first atomic bomb used in wartime; it was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. Japan surrendered shortly after a second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

More information about the International Friendship Bell and the fundraising campaign is available at http://friendshipbell.com/.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

More information will be added as it becomes available.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alan Tatum, Alvin K. Bissell Park, Alvin Weinberg, Friendship Bell, International Friendship Bell, International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee, Japan, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pat Postma, Peace Pavilion, Pollard Auditorium, Ram and Shigeko Uppuluri, Thom Mason, United States, UT-Battelle

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Community News

Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday

A city official will give an update on the proposed development of downtown Oak Ridge during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday. The presentation will be led by Wayne Blasius, director of the Oak Ridge Planning and … [Read More...]

Experience world cultures at Children’s Museum International Festival

Flamenco, Irish, and Greek dancers will be among entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, February 26, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. A special guest from Ireland, musician and singer Fionan Casey, … [Read More...]

Expungements to be discussed March 1

A partner in a Knoxville law firm will discuss conviction expungement during a virtual talk sponsored by an Oak Ridge organization March 1. The information about expungement will be presented by Wade V. Davies, … [Read More...]

Breakfast with Legislators on Feb. 28

The first Breakfast with the Legislators this year is scheduled for Monday morning, February 28. The breakfast will be virtual, and it scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. It has been organized by the League of Women … [Read More...]

Supreme Court justice to discuss WWII POWs

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will discuss the compelling stories of five American soldiers captured and held as prisoners of war by the Germans during World War II during a lunchtime meeting next week, a … [Read More...]

More Community

More U.S. Department of Energy News

DOE, UCOR to highlight ETTP transformation, opportunities

The U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor UCOR will highlight the transformation of the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and discuss the economic opportunities there during a virtual event on … [Read More...]

CROET president tells Oak Ridge story on national podcast

Teresa Frady, president of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, is the Spotlight Interview guest on this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, which covers U.S. Department of … [Read More...]

Workers devise strategies to clean up high-risk contaminated lab at ORNL

Innovation has been required as federal cleanup crews work to deactivate and demolish the final portion of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The structure is known as the … [Read More...]

Controlled burns scheduled on Oak Ridge Reservation

Controlled burns are scheduled on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation. "The public should expect to see some smoke from this activity," a press release said. "However, smoke in this and other areas in … [Read More...]

Scientist-entrepreneur to talk about regenerative medicine, potential COVID treatment

A former molecular geneticist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss regenerative medicine and a potential treatment for severe COVID-19 disease patients and those who struggle with "long haul" symptoms. The talk … [Read More...]

More DOE

Recent Posts

  • Rocky Top woman pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life
  • REAC/TS welcomes new team members: John Crapo, Josh Hayes and David Quillen
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program seeks early career and senior scientists for prestigious fellowships at its locations across the U.S.
  • ORAU names Brandon Criswell associate general counsel
  • Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday
  • TVA has virtual open house for Clinch River Nuclear Site
  • Science and supercomputers at ORNL topic of Mar. 8 talk
  • First Presbyterian offers free meals & groceries on Mar. 10
  • Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats
  • ORHS Masquers presents ‘Into the Woods’

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2022 Oak Ridge Today