Oak Ridge Today

Manhattan Project public program: Ride with a ranger, learn about Oak Ridge history on Saturday

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Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

You can join a park ranger for a bicycle ride and learn more about the history of Oak Ridge on Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday morning, May 13, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

 

You can join a park ranger for a bicycle ride and learn more about the history of Oak Ridge on Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday morning.

The free program is presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. It will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at Elza Gate Park, former entry point to the “Secret City,” and continue down Melton Lake Greenway.

“Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Not clear yet where National Park Service will go when AMSE closes

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former-sears-roebuck-co-oak-ridge-jan-2-2017-web

An agreement signed Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, by the U.S. Department of Energy and City of Oak Ridge calls for the American Museum of Science and Energy missions to be relocated within about one year to 18,000 square feet of space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears Roebuck store next to JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge. It’s not yet clear if the National Park Service, which has shared space with AMSE, will also move into this building. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s not clear yet where the National Park Service will go when the American Museum of Science and Energy building closes at the end of the year, but a federal official said the Park Service will stay in Oak Ridge.

It could relocate to a two-story building that once housed Sears Roebuck at Main Street Oak Ridge, the former Oak Ridge Mall. That’s where the U.S. Department of Energy’s public education and outreach missions, now housed at the American Museum of Science and Energy, are moving.

But the National Park Service hadn’t committed to moving there as of April 17, said Niki Nicholas, site manager of the Oak Ridge unit of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The NPS needs more information, Nicholas said in response to questions after a Monday afternoon presentation to AAUW, or American Association of University Women. (A reader had told Oak Ridge Today of an April 17 letter reportedly sent from the Manhattan Project National Historical Park to federal officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which manages AMSE.)

Nicholas said the National Park Service has several options in Oak Ridge, including Main Street Oak Ridge. But she declined to elaborate on the precise number of options, where they might be, or what organizations or businesses might be co-located in those buildings. [Read more…]

Bike with a Ranger on the North Boundary Greenway on Saturday

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Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

 

You can join a National Park Service park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years.

It’s a free program by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and it will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29. The program will begin at the Turnpike Gatehouse and travel down Quarry Trail, a press release said

“Along the ride, we will explore the former communities that were here before the Manhattan Project,” the press release said. “Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area.”

The Turnpike Gatehouse is located at 2900 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. Tennessee state law requires that bicycle operators under 16 years of age must wear a helmet, and child passengers under 40 pounds or 40 inches must be seated and secured in a child restraining seat or bicycle trailer, the press release said. [Read more…]

NPS, DOE release document to help guide planning, management at Manhattan Project Park

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Manhattan Project National Historical Park Foundation Document Cover February 2017

After a year of work and open houses in three cities, federal officials have released a document that will be used to guide planning and management at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The National Park Service and U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday that the planning and management document, known as the Final Foundation Document, has been released. It’s available online.

The Foundation Document is the result of public input and joint planning by DOE and the NPS. In February 2016, the two federal agencies held workshops in Oak Ridge, as well as in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington. Hanford and Los Alamos are also part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

The open houses in the three communities, which had Manhattan Project research and production centers during World War II, gathered input from “stakeholders and interested parties” related to the important resources, stories, and opportunities for the park. The National Park Service has posted a summary of the open house comments, grouped into 11 areas, which you can see below. [Read more…]

Get update on Manhattan Project National Park on Thursday

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Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson

 

You can hear an update on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a Thursday evening meeting.

The meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 9, at the Midtown Community Center’s Wildcat Den at 102 Robertsville Road. It’s open to the public.

Robert Johnson will present an update on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge. He will discuss the status of the park and announce upcoming events, a press release said.

Here are some links to website pages on the park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico: [Read more…]

Coors, the beer brewer, honored for Manhattan Project work on Y-12 ceramic insulators

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From left to right standing are Colin Colverson, Oak Ridge Site Representative and Office of General Counsel; Padraic Benson, historian, Office of Legacy Management; Tracy Atkins, Principal Representative Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Office of Legacy Management; and Thomas Pauling, Acting Director, Office of Legacy Management. Seated in front is Bill Coors. (Photo courtesy DOE Office of Legacy Management)

 

William Kistler “Bill” Coors is best known for the beer brewed in the Rocky Mountains, but he was honored by federal officials this month for his historic work building ceramic insulators that were used in Oak Ridge to help build the world’s first atomic bombs.

On December 2, Coors received the Energy Secretary’s Appreciation Award in Golden, Colorado, which is west of Denver and at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

The award was presented by U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Acting Director Thomas Pauling. It recognizes Coors’ historic role in providing critical insulators to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Manhattan Engineer District, also known as the Manhattan Project, during World War II, a press release said. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during the war—before Germany could.

The ceramic insulators were used in uranium enrichment operations at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, which was built as part of the Manhattan Project. [Read more…]

First year: More than 80,000 visit three Manhattan Project Park sites in 2016

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The late Bill Wilcox by the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. (Courtesy of Friends of the International Friendship Bell via Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Dec. 8.

More than 80,000 people have visited the three sites of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, according to a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

In Oak Ridge, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park has a volunteer or ranger at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge when the museum is open. The park also has activities. For example, there is a program on secrecy, security, and spies at the Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse in west Oak Ridge on Saturday, December 17. And the park, in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, will be featuring a Parks in Focus photography exhibit during the month of December. The photography exhibit is located in the Imagination Gallery at the museum located at 461 West Outer Drive.

Also, a virtual tour of the K-25 Building can be found at the new K-25 Virtual Museum website. And from March to November, admission to AMSE includes a three-hour bus tour of the Oak Ridge Reservation, including the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, New Bethel Church at ORNL, the visitor overlook at the East Tennessee Technology Park (former home to the K-25 gaseous diffusion building), and Y-12 New Hope History Center. [Read more…]

DOE, National Park Service mark first year of Manhattan Project Park

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By U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Park Service have made considerable progress in their inaugural year managing the national park commemorating the Manhattan Project, according to DOE.

“Everyone involved with the park from DOE, the National Park Service, and our community partners has put a lot of work into the Manhattan Project National Historical Park over the past year and it shows,” DOE Office of Legacy Management Acting Director Thomas Pauling said in a November 30 newsletter called “EM Update.” “The Office of Legacy Management is excited to join the team, and we’re looking forward to contributing to its continuing success.”

Established on November 10, 2015, the park consists of facilities at three sites—Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico—that played key roles in the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The park tells the story of the people, events, science, and engineering that led to the creation of the atomic bomb, which helped end World War II. [Read more…]

Tonight: Cook to discuss his book, ‘Ignored Heroes of World War II’

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Richard Cook

Richard Cook

Oak Ridge resident Richard Cook will discuss his book, “Ignored Heroes of World War II: The Manhattan Project Workers of Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” during a meeting this evening (Thursday, November 10).

It’s a public and membership meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. It’s scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road.

The book is an oral history, a press release said. Cook has lived in Oak Ridge since 2000, and his wife was born and raised in Oak Ridge. He wrote a newspaper column for The Oak Ridger from 2003-2005. He has written more than 100 columns, which have appeared in The Oak Ridger, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, and on The Tennessean website, the press release said. His book has been profiled locally on WBIR, WATE, and PBS. [Read more…]

Park Service, DOE seek comment on foundation document for new Manhattan Project park

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Manhattan Project National Historical Park Opens Nov. 12, 2015

The iconic “War Ends” photo is recreated in part on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, with a “Park Opens” photo that celebrates the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. (U.S. Department of Energy photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

The National Park Service and U.S. Department of Energy are asking the public to review and comment on a draft foundation document for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The park includes Oak Ridge, and it was established in November 2015.

The foundation document is designed to affirm the park’s core mission and significance, its key resources and values, and the interpretive themes that tell its stories, a press release said.

Formally established last November at DOE locations in three states, the park marks the history of the mid-20th Century people, science, and events that led to creation of the atomic bomb in the top-secret effort known as the Manhattan Project.

Foundation documents are guidance tools individualized for each of the National Park Service’s 413 units to direct basic park planning and management, the press release said. [Read more…]

Secrecy, security, spies program at Turnpike Gatehouse on Saturday

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The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

 

A Manhattan Project National Historical Park program in west Oak Ridge on Saturday will give visitors some insight into what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project with all the security, the need for secrecy, and the worrying about spies.

The program is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, September 10, at the Turnpike Gatehouse. It’s free and open to the public. Parking is limited, so please try to carpool if possible. The gatehouse is also at a trail head for the North Boundary Greenway, and visitors can go for a self-guided hike after the program.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park was established in November 2015. It includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II, before Germany could. Oak Ridge was a production site for the project, and at the time, it was a secret city not shown on maps. [Read more…]

Kirby named superintendent of Manhattan Project National Historical Park

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Kris Kirby

Kris Kirby (NPS photo)

Kris Kirby, a 20-year career employee of the National Park Service, has been selected as superintendent of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The announcement was made in Denver on Thursday by Intermountain Regional Director Sue Masica.

Kirby will assume her new duties October 16, 2016.

Kirby currently serves as the chief of business and revenue management at Yosemite National Park in California. Prior to her assignment there, she served as chief of commercial services at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and previously worked in concessions management at Glacier National Park, a press release said.

“Kris has spent her career fostering relationships inside and outside the service,” Masica said in the press release. “Those skills are an excellent match for this park and its many partners.” [Read more…]