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Celebration of Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary started Friday

Posted at 11:34 am September 15, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORHPA city 75th Birthday Celeb Flyer 2

A reminder: The 14-month celebration of Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary starts today (Friday, September 15).

Today’s celebration will feature guest speaker Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City” and “The Last Castle,” at 6 p.m. at the Historic Grove Theater. There will be a book signing, and Kiernan’s book will be available for sale.

Ed Westcott, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II, will be the honored guest from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Family members Don and Emily Hunnicutt will present a slide show of Westcott photos with a question-and-answer session.

“You will never grow tired of Ed’s photographs, which tell the enormous Oak Ridge Manhattan Project story,” according to the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, which is presenting the celebration.

The celebration starts with historical displays at 2 p.m. There will be a wide variety of artifacts, posters, and displays for you to enjoy, the ORHPA said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 75th anniversary, 75th Anniversary Committee, A Pin, atomic bomb, Clinton Engineer Works, D. Ray Smith, Denise Kiernana, Don and Emily Hunnicutt, Ed Westcott, Fat Man, Fire Prevention Parade and Community Festival, Friends of the Grove, Graphite Reactor, Hanford, Historic Grove Theater, International Friendship Bell, K-25, Leslie Groves, Little Boy, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Police Department, ORHPA, plutonium, Site X, The Girls of Atomic City, U.S. Department of Energy, Warren Gooch, World War II, X-10, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

Oak Ridge to announce plans for 75th anniversary celebration on Thursday

Posted at 11:42 am August 29, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured above is early construction in 1942 on the K-25 plant with one of the original homes in the city that became Oak Ridge. (Photo by Ed Westcott courtesy U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office)

Pictured above is early construction in 1942 on the K-25 plant in the left background with one of the original homes in the city that became Oak Ridge in the right foreground. (Photo by Ed Westcott courtesy U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office)

 

The City of Oak Ridge has formed a committee to help coordinate and circulate information about the city’s 75th Anniversary, which begins in September. Mayor Warren Gooch will lead a news conference on Thursday, August 31, where the city will announce plans for a year-long celebration of this milestone anniversary.

Several events are already on the calendar to help kick off the City’s 75th year. The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association will present a lecture on September 15 titled “The Legacy of Place” by guest speaker Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City” and “The Last Castle.” The Oak Ridge Fire Department plans to host “Then and Now,” a 1940s-era Fire Prevention Parade along Oak Ridge Turnpike on October 7.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex will celebrate the anniversaries of their respective beginnings as well. The festivities will continue through the end of 2018. Additional events will be announced as they are confirmed, a press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: 75th anniversary, City of Oak Ridge, Denise Kiernan, Fire Prevention Parade, Mayor’s 75th Anniversary Committee, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The Girls of Atomic City, Warren Gooch, Y-12 National Security Complex

Opinion: Alexander discusses ETTP demolition, development; Oak Ridge cleanup work

Posted at 9:21 am September 1, 2016
By Lamar Alexander Leave a Comment

Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

By Lamar Alexander

This week marked the end of an era. The last of the five uranium enrichment buildings in Oak Ridge has been cleaned up, making land available for new companies and new jobs coming to East Tennessee.

Tennessee should be extremely proud of the men and women who have worked for more than a decade to complete the demolition and cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

The story of how these buildings first came to be built is by now a familiar one. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Senator Kenneth McKellar, the Tennessean who chaired the Appropriations Committee, to hide $2 billion for a secret project to win World War II. McKellar replied, “Mr. President, I have just one question: Where in Tennessee do you want me to hide it?”

They hid it in Oak Ridge, on 2,200 acres along the Clinch River, where they quietly built K-25, the largest building in the world, to enrich uranium through gaseous diffusion—a complicated and now mostly obsolete process. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Carbon Fiber Technology Facility, City of Oak Ridge, cleanup projects, Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, demolition, Denise Kiernan, East Tennessee Technology Park, Franklin D. Roosevelt, gaseous diffusion, K-25, Kenneth McKellar, Lamar Alexander, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Corridor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, The Girls of Atomic City, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium enrichment, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

Panel discussion to feature author, Y-12 Manhattan Project workers

Posted at 12:43 pm September 16, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Denise Kiernan

Denise Kiernan

Best-selling author Denise Kiernan will host a panel discussion with women employed at Oak Ridge during the top-secret Manhattan Project of World War II.

The panel discussion will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 23, at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Admission is free.

Kiernan is the award-winning author of “The Girls of Atomic City,” a New York Times best-seller that tells the story of the women who worked at Oak Ridge during the war years.

Some of these women, known as “Calutron Girls,” adjusted dials that controlled the workings of the 1,152 calutrons used to separate isotopes of U-235 from naturally occurring uranium, a press release said. The work fueled “Little Boy,” the first nuclear bomb used in warfare. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Entertainment, Front Page News, Meetings and Events, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Writing, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation, Calutron Girls, Denise Kiernan, DoubleTree, Hazel Franklin, Little Boy, Manhattan Project, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Peggy Stuart, Ray Smith, Ruth Huddleston, The Girls of Atomic City, U.S. Department of Energy, World War II

Wanted: ‘Calutron Girls’

Posted at 10:35 pm February 16, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Y-12 Calutron Girls

The famous “Calutron Girls” photograph by Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott that prompted Denise Kiernan to write the best-seller “The Girls of Atomic City.”

 

Submitted

Wanted! “Calutron Girls” who worked at Y-12 during the Manhattan Project.

The Japanese Public Broadcasting Corporation wants to produce a documentary film to commemorate the end of World War II. Their program director representative has contacted Y-12 National Security Complex Historian D. Ray Smith and wants to interview some women who worked on the calutrons at Y-12. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, East Tennessee Technology Park, Entertainment, Front Page News, Movies, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: atomic bomb, Calutron Girls, Colleen Black, Denise Kiernan, documentary, Hiroshima, Japanese Public Broadcasting Corporation, K-25, Manhattan Project, Ray Smith, The Girls of Atomic City, World War II, Y-12

Lunch-4-Literacy on Tuesday features Denise Kiernan, raises grant money

Posted at 12:34 am March 14, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Denise Kiernan

Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City,” is the featured speaker at the 2014 Lunch-4-Literacy luncheon.

A Tuesday luncheon will feature Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City,” and it will raise money for literacy grants.

Lunch–4-Literacy has been organized by Altrusa International of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. It starts at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Oak Ridge High School.

“The purpose of the joint effort is to provide grants to help improve literacy in Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties,” a press release said. “Each year, the grants are awarded to selected recipients. In 2013, $23,532.99 was awarded.”

Tickets are $40 each, and they are available from Altrusa and Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club members or they can be purchased at The Ferrell Shop at Jackson Square and Mr. K’s used book store next to Big Kmart in Oak Ridge. Tickets will also be available at the door. All tickets include a catered lunch. All proceeds from the event go to support local literacy programs, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clubs, Community, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: Altrusa International of Oak Ridge, Denise Kiernan, literacy grants, Lunch-4-Literacy, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Oak Ridge High School, The Girls of Atomic City

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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