Los Alamos Historical Society director to discuss Los Alamos, Manhattan Project on Tuesday

 

The executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society will discuss Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Heather McClenahan is the featured guest speaker at the May 2016 membership and public meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The meeting will star at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at the Midtown Community Center at 103 Robertsville Road.

Her presentation is titled “Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project: 1.5 Million Years of History in One Hour.”

“Make your plans now to attend and enjoy a personal insight into the tremendous history of Los Alamos, New Mexico,” a press release said.

Los Alamos was part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Today, it’s home to Los Alamos National Laboratory and part of the three-site Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which also includes Oak Ridge and Hanford, Washington.

McClenahan is a mother of three young adults and the executive director at the Los Alamos Historical Society, “which compete to see who or what can give her the most gray hair,” the press release said. A native New Mexican, McClenahan spent 14 years “in exile before returning to her beloved Land of Enchantment and her husband’s hometown of Los Alamos.”

She has degrees in journalism and political science from Drake University in Iowa and a master’s degree in U.S. history from the University of South Florida. She is passionate about sharing stories of Los Alamos, from the Ancestral Pueblo people to the homestead era, the Los Alamos Ranch School, and, of course, the Manhattan Project, the press release said.

Ray Smith is a contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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