• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • 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


 










McDaniel completes Oak Ridge oral history project

Posted at 2:07 pm July 15, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Keith McDaniel interviews Oak Ridge Historian Ray Smith at the Oak Ridge History Museum for the Center for Oak Ridge Oral History. (Submitted photo)

Filmmaker Keith McDaniel has completed a nine-year project to document the oral histories of about 400 current and former Oak Ridge residents, including those connected to the Manhattan Project during World War II.

The life stories were used to build a digital collection for the Oak Ridge Public Library’s Center for Oak Ridge Oral History, or COROH. McDaniel was part of the group that made plans for the COROH and, following the city’s receipt of an annual grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, took the contract for the documentary work.

“A lot of original Oak Ridgers were dying and getting older,” McDaniel said in a press release from Carson-Newman University. “We felt it was really important to collect their memories, to collect their stories.”

The one-on-one filmed interviews gave those connected to the Manhattan Project, and later to the city at large, the opportunity to share their life stories, the press release said.

“Keith was one of two videographers that took on that responsibility,” Oak Ridge City Historian Ray Smith said. “I think he has done by far the majority of what we’ve accomplished. I would commend Keith on his dedication to helping capture the history of Oak Ridge through oral history, one of the most important methods we can use. He’s done it very well.”

Advertisement

The interviews are available at the Oak Ridge Library and online at oakridgetn.gov.

“I loved doing those interviews. I loved talking to those people,” McDaniel said. “Many of those people I interviewed early on are no longer with us. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to talk to them.”

Among the hundreds he interviewed were individuals such as Bill Wilcox, Helen Vodopick, Clyde Hopkins, Murray Rosenthal, and Lester Fox.

“This was really kind of an outreach of my documentary work,” McDaniel said. “I interviewed these people the same way I would for one of my films.”

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Oak Ridge had three large federal sites involved in the project: K-25 (now Heritage Center), X-10 (now Oak Ridge National Laboratory), and Y-12 (now Y-12 National Security Complex). The city has continued to be involved in scientific research and to work on nuclear weapons since the war.

McDaniel is a filmmaker, film festival director, and actor. He is the creator of the documentary films “The Clinton 12,” “Secret City: The Oak Ridge Story,” and others. He was recently honored by the East Tennessee Historical Society with a History in Media award and also by the Tennessee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution with a Media and Public Relations award, both of which were for his documentary work over the past 20 years.

Keith McDaniel is a 1988 Carson-Newman University alumnus, and he is now special projects manager/video producer and adjunct professor of film at Carson-Newman.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected]

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


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 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Front Page News, Government, History, History, Movies, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: atomic weapons, Carson Newman University, Center for Oak Ridge Oral History, film, Keith McDaniel, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge Public Library, oral histories, oral history, Ray Smith, U.S. Department of Energy, World War II

Advertisements



 

Join the club!

If you haven't already, please consider subscribing to Oak Ridge Today. You don't have to subscribe to read most of our stories, but your subscription does provide benefits, including access to premium content. And it will help us cover local news for you day and night, as best we can. 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:

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.

If you prefer to send a check, 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 Government News

Power outages planned in west Oak Ridge on Saturday

Power outages planned in west Oak Ridge on Saturday

Oak Ridge electrical infrastructure (Submitted photo) The Oak Ridge Electric Department is advising customers in far west Oak Ridge of two planned power outages set for Saturday, December 7. The first outage is … [Read More...]

City’s leaf pickup program under way

City’s leaf pickup program under way

The City of Oak Ridge's leaf pickup program for 2019 began on Monday, November 25. It is coordinated by Waste Connections of Tennessee. Collection efforts will follow the proposed schedule as closely as possible, a press … [Read More...]

Clinch Avenue needs repairs near bridge after heavy rains

Clinch Avenue needs repairs near bridge after heavy rains

Clinch Avenue in Clinton will require repairs after heavy rains on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, caused the road bed to fail in the northbound lanes just north of the Lewallen Bridge, according to the Clinton Police … [Read More...]

Reservations now open for ‘Breakfast with Santa’

Reservations now open for ‘Breakfast with Santa’

The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board is hosting a “Breakfast with Santa” on Saturday, December 7. The event will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge receives award for partnership that led to AMSE opening in new space

Oak Ridge receives award for partnership that led to AMSE opening in new space

The City of Oak Ridge was formally honored with a Community Partnership Award during a Celebration of Service to the Profession as part of ICMA’s Annual Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark … [Read More...]

More Government

More U.S. Department of Energy News

Updated: TerraPower, Isotek extracting cancer treatment materials from U-233 at ORNL

Updated: TerraPower, Isotek extracting cancer treatment materials from U-233 at ORNL

TerraPower, a company that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates helped launch in 2006, is working with Isotek Systems LLC, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, to extract rare isotopes from nuclear materials for cancer … [Read More...]

DOE still has top two supercomputers, including Summit at ORNL

DOE still has top two supercomputers, including Summit at ORNL

The Summit supercomputer, a 200-petaflop IBM system that is the world's most powerful, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy Katie Bethea/ORNL) The U.S. Department of Energy still has the … [Read More...]

For members: Companies have agreement to make nuclear fuel

For members: Companies have agreement to make nuclear fuel

The carbonization and heat treatment furnace used to produce TRISO fuel, a uranium fuel, at a pilot production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy X-energy) Note: This story was updated at 12:15 … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge receives award for partnership that led to AMSE opening in new space

Oak Ridge receives award for partnership that led to AMSE opening in new space

The City of Oak Ridge was formally honored with a Community Partnership Award during a Celebration of Service to the Profession as part of ICMA’s Annual Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Oak Ridge City Manager Mark … [Read More...]

Trump nominates Brouillette to be energy secretary

Trump nominates Brouillette to be energy secretary

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, who has been nominated to serve as energy secretary, traveled to Tennessee in August to tour the BWXT—Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, … [Read More...]

More DOE

More Entertainment News

O’Kegley, Santa to conduct Oak Ridge Chorus on Saturday

O’Kegley, Santa to conduct Oak Ridge Chorus on Saturday

The Oak Ridge Chorus is pictured in a concert above. (Submitted photo) The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association will continue the celebration of its 75th anniversary season by presenting the Oak Ridge Chorus in "GLORIA!" … [Read More...]

Christmas Tree Lighting is Friday in Oak Ridge

Christmas Tree Lighting is Friday in Oak Ridge

The Christmas Tree is pictured in a previous year in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge) The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department has updated plans for the annual Community … [Read More...]

Reminder: ORHS Masquers presents ‘Little Women’

Reminder: ORHS Masquers presents ‘Little Women’

A reminder: Oak Ridge High School Masquers is presenting "Little Women" at the high school this weekend. The first show was Thursday evening in the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at ORHS. The next two shows are … [Read More...]

Roane State art professor’s ceramics showcased in national magazine

Roane State art professor’s ceramics showcased in national magazine

This ad featuring some of the whimsical creations of Roane State Community College art professor Bryan Wilkerson was featured in a recent edition of "Ceramics Monthly." (Photo courtesy RSCC) A Roane State Community … [Read More...]

Community Band concert will honor veterans on Sunday

Community Band concert will honor veterans on Sunday

  The Oak Ridge Community Band is inviting the public and all area veterans to come to its “Veterans Salute" concert this Sunday afternoon, 3:30 p.m., at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center, a press release … [Read More...]

More Entertainment

Recent Posts

  • Obituary: Verner Anderson
  • Close to 100 Entries Registered for Parade
  • Karen’s Jewelers has open house today
  • Power outages planned in west Oak Ridge on Saturday
  • O’Kegley, Santa to conduct Oak Ridge Chorus on Saturday
  • Christmas Tree Lighting is Friday in Oak Ridge
  • Leadership Oak Ridge provides outdoor seating area at AMSE
  • Call center relocates to Oak Ridge
  • Celebrate—or take a break from—the holidays with Dine and Donate!
  • Winter Farmers’ Market opens Saturday

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2019 Oak Ridge Today