Oak Ridge Today

Learn about secrecy, spies on Dec. 17

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

You can learn about secrecy, security, and spies during the Manhattan Project in World War II in Oak Ridge on Saturday, December 17.

This National Park Service program is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. December 17 at the Oak Ridge Turnpike gatehouse on the west end of town.

“The program is accessible to all visitors and will give insight to what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project with heightened security, need for secrecy, and worry of spies,” the NPS said in a newsletter.

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Early Oak Ridge to be discussed during NPS hike

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A photo by Ed Westcott of Cedar Hill Elementary School in Oak Ridge in 1945. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Energy/Westcott)

Early Oak Ridge, including its school system, shopping centers, and housing, will be discussed during a hike with National Park Service rangers on Saturday, December 10.

The hike is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. December 10 at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School.

“Along the hike, we’ll discuss the early school system of Oak Ridge, early shopping centers, and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works (a name for Oak Ridge during World War II),” the NPS said.

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Pre-World War II settlements to be discussed during Saturday hike

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Canning was a part of life in agricultural East Tennessee before World War II. (Photo credit: Tennessee Valley Authority)

During a hike on Saturday, the National Park Service will discuss settlements in the area before World War II and the drastic changes to the area during the war.

The hike is scheduled on North Boundary Greenway. It will start at the East Quarry Road Trailhead at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 26.

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Luminarias to feature peace messages

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Photo credit: National Park Service/B. Burghart

Luminarias with peace messages will be lit this year to remember and acknowledge the atomic bombings of Japan in August 1945, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park said.

A luminaria is a lantern with a candle inside a small paper bag.

The peace messages will be written by the public before events in August, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park said.

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Oak Ridge tennis court dance is Thursday

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Join National Park Service rangers in Oak Ridge for a tennis court dance this Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Energy/Ed Westcott)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will host a Tennis Court Dance in Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 21.

The dance is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Jackson Square tennis courts.

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DOE bus tours restart in Oak Ridge

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U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo from DOE)

U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tours began running again on July 11, and they are scheduled to continue through November.

“The program is a longtime staple in the community, helping educate residents and visitors about the site’s rich history and current missions,” DOE said in an EM Update newsletter published Tuesday. (EM stands for environmental management.)

The tour program started in 1996 and has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all 50 states, DOE said.

The three-and-a-half-hour tours allow visitors to see all three DOE sites on the Oak Ridge Reservation, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park.

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Hike with park ranger, learn history

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You can hike with a park ranger and learn about history on Cedar Hill Greenway this month.

“Grab your boots and jacket to join us on a hike through the Secret City,” a press release said. “Manhattan Project National Historical Park will be hosting a hike with a ranger along the Cedar Hill Greenway in Oak
Ridge.”

The hike will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 26. The 2.5-mile moderate hike will begin at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School.

“Park rangers will be discussing the early school system of Oak Ridge as well as the shopping centers and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works,” the press release said.

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Updated: K-25 Viewing Platform will be built

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Artist rendering of the new Viewing Platform, which will be located next to the recently constructed K-25 History Center overlooking the footprint of the K-25 Building. (Artist renderings by David Brown)

Note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Feb. 4.

Two federal agencies have agreed to build a K-25 Viewing Platform at the historic site in west Oak Ridge that was used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants during World War II and the Cold War. The design is expected to be complete in March and the building completed by the end of 2023.

The construction agreement for the viewing building at the former K-25 site was signed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The viewing platform will give visitors a view of the large 44-acre footprint of the former K-25 Building. K-25, which was the world’s largest building, was erected during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. The K-25 Building was demolished in 2013, and many other structures at the site have been removed as the federal government turns over property for private development.

The K-25 Building site itself is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That project commemorates the workers, equipment, and processes used during the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The K-25 Viewing Platform and associated exhibits are the final components of a multi-project agreement that the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management signed in 2012, clearing the way for demolition of the North Tower of the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building. The projects commemorate the history of the K-25 site, which has also been known as the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

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Manhattan Project Park will commemorate atomic bomb effects

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The International Friendship Bell is pictured above in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will ring the International Friendship Bell 76 times on Friday morning, August 6, to commemorate the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima 76 years ago.

The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. It was the first atomic bomb used in war and the first of two dropped on Japan near the end of World War II. Uranium for the first bomb, which was code-named “Little Boy,” was enriched in Oak Ridge. The bomb had about 140 pounds of uranium fuel and had an explosive force equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT, according to Atomic Heritage. Between 90,000 and 166,000 people are believed to have died from the 10-foot, 9,700-pound bomb in the four-month period following the explosion, Atomic Heritage said.

The National Park Service is calling the August 6 ceremony “Days of Peace and Remembrance.”

“During this silent event, we will be requesting visitors to come up and ring the bell,” a press release said. “Visitors will be able to write down their own hopes and messages of peace.”

The United States dropped a second atomic bomb, a plutonium-fueled weapon, on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, three days after the Hiroshima bombing. It had about 13.6 pounds of plutonium fuel and an explosive force equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT. About 80,000 Japanese died by the end of 1945 because of that bomb, which was called “Fat Man,” Atomic Heritage said.

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Manhattan Project: Hike, learn about early schools, shopping, housing

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You can learn about the early school system of Oak Ridge, early shopping centers, and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works during a National Park Service hike on Saturday.

The hike is along the Cedar Hill Greenway. It is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 17. It will be led by a National Park Service ranger.

The hike will begin at Cedar Hill Park, the former location of Cedar Hill Elementary School, a press release said.

“Along the hike, rangers will discuss the early school system of Oak Ridge, early shopping centers, and housing in the Clinton Engineer Works,” the release said. This will be a moderately difficult 2.5-mile hike.

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Manhattan Project: Paddle with a ranger, visit Freels Bend Cabin

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Paddle with a ranger on the Clinch River in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening, July 8, 2021. (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

You can paddle back in time to visit the historic Freels Bend Cabin and enjoy the beauty of the Clinch River this evening (Thursday, July 8) in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

Participants will learn more about the Manhattan Project as well as its impact on Oak Ridge and the surrounding areas, the press release said. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Oak Ridge was part of the project. Only a few pre-war structures remain in the city, including Freels Bend Cabin.

“Together, we will visit the cabin, which was built and then remodeled during the 1800s by the Freels family of Anderson County,” said the press release from the National Park Service. “It has maintained its historical significance all these years and now resides on Department of Energy property.”

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Manhattan Project Park has tennis court dance on June 25

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Oak Ridge Tennis Court Dance NPS
This undated photo shows a tennis court dance in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will commemorate the tennis court dances that occurred in Jackson Square more than 75 years ago with a dance on Friday, June 25.

The dance is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. June 25 in the Jackson Square tennis courts. It has been organized by the National Park Service and Explore Oak Ridge.

“All ages are welcome to attend, and everyone is encouraged to participate,” a press release said. “This free event will feature swing dancing music from the 1940s World War II era as well as hits from every decade since then, including current music, so that all age groups will find something to tap their toes to. Music was chosen with the help of local Oak Ridge High School students and will make you want to get on the dance floor.”

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