The Girls of Atomic City (56 page)

Authors: Denise Kiernan

Tags: #Non-Fiction, #Science, #War, #Biography, #History

BOOK: The Girls of Atomic City

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Information regarding integration of Clinton High School from Green McAdoo Cultural Center, Clinton, TN, and “See it Now: Clinton and the Law,” narrated and produced by Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly, CBS Television, 1957.

Vote on Oak Ridge incorporation and transfer of power from Robinson’s “Oak Ridge Story” and “The Atom Town Wants to Be Free,” by John Bird,
Saturday Evening Post
, vol. 231, March 21, 1959.

Serial magazine quotes from personal papers of Jane Puckett.

Uranium mining information from “Abandoned Uranium Mines: An ‘Overwhelming Problem’ in the Navajo Nation,” by Francie Diep,
Scientific American,
December 30, 2010; “Moab,” by Margaret S. Bearnson, from
Utah History Encyclopedia
(University of Utah Press, 1994).

Information regarding David Greenglass and the Rosenbergs from “The Atom Spy Case” and Roberts (previously cited). Information regarding George Koval: “George Koval: Atomic Spy Unmasked,” by Michael Walsh,
Smithsonian Magazine
, May 2009.

Atomic Cocktail information from Boyer (previously cited). “Duck and Cover,” in public domain, by Archer Productions, 1950. “Our Friend the Atom,” Walt Disney Productions, 1957. November 1953 address by Eisenhower to the United Nations from Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.

Information regarding Soviet detonation at Novaya Zemlya from “1961: World Condemns Russia’s Nuclear Test,”
BBC: On This Day 1950–2005,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/30/newsid_3666000/3666785.stm
, last accessed 8-28-2012. Regarding President Kennedy and the test ban, from John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

ORACLE as the most advanced computer in the world from
Voices
, p. 361 (previously cited). Kennedy assassination research from ORNL:
The First 50 Years
(previously cited). Kisetsu Yamada information from author interviews and correspondence with Colleen Black. Information on the International Friendship Bell from author visits to site, interviews, and “2008 Historically Speaking International Friendship Bell,” by Ray Smith; Robert Brooks’s lawsuit for peace bell from United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 222 F.3d 259: Robert Brooks, Plaintiff-appellant, v. City of Oak Ridge, Defendant-appellee, Argued: March 16, 2000, Decided and Filed: July 21, 2000. Also “Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell—Part 1 of casting ceremony,” by D. Ray Smith,
Oak Ridger,
July 8, 2008.

Epilogue

Information regarding the
Enola Gay
exhibit controversy: “From The Enola Gay Controversy: History, Memory, and the Politics of Presentation,” by Michael J. Hogan, ed.,
Hiroshima in History and Memory
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Information on Manhattan Project National Park from author interviews and from “Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act,” Atomic Heritage Foundation, June 21, 2012.

Information regarding proposed Manhattan National Parks sites from Atomic Heritage Foundation
http://www.atomicheritage.org/index.php/component/content/article/40-preservation-tab-/518-doi-transmits-recommendations.html
, last accessed 8-28-2012.

Details regarding K-25 preservation from “Community celebrates K-25 historic preservation agreement,” by John Huotari,
Oak Ridge Today,
Aug. 10, 2012.

List of Author Interviews

Interviews were conducted between 2009 and 2012. This list is not comprehensive; repeated subsequent visits resulted in countless conversations of a less formal, yet often informative, nature.

Celia Klemski, Colleen Black, Dorothy Wilkinson, Helen Brown, Virginia Coleman, Toni Schmitt, Jane Puckett, Kattie Strickland, Rosemary Lane, Helen Jernigan, Rosemarie Waggener, Marty Rom, Elaine Buker, Lois Mallett, Betty and Harlan Whitehead, Dorothy Spoon, Martha Nichols, Anne Voelker, Helen Schwenn, Ardis and George Leichsenring, Jeanie Wilcox, Earline Banic, Carolyn Stelzman, Madge Newton, Dee Longendorfer, Lilian Johns Ross, Helen and Red Lynch, Bobbie Martin, Louise Walker, Liane Russell, Joanne Gailar, Georgia Marie Cloer Bailey, Louise Warmley, Mira Kimmelman, D. Ray Smith, William J. Wilcox Jr., William Tewes, Steven Stow, John Lane, Paul Wilkinson, Connie Bolling, Valeria Steele Roberson, Kathy Schmitt Gomez, Nannette Bissonnet, Martin McBride, Anne McBride, Rose Weaver, Ed Westcott (with D. Ray Smith and Don Hunnicutt), Jim Ramsey, Fred Strohl.

Vi Warren’s columns from
Oak Ridge Journal
as cited in text.

Thanks

During the seven years since I first came across this project, an astounding number of people offered their time, insights, and expertise. They have not only been helpful, but have given me, whether they realized it or not, motivation and inspiration when I needed it most. Every one of them deserves a heartfelt thank-you.

My tireless agent, Yfat Reiss Gendell, hung in there with me as this idea endured various incarnations and false starts, and did not stop until it found a good home. Her loyalty, intelligence, and compassion are a rare mix in this business. I also thank Yfat’s assistants, present and past, Erica Walker and Cecilia Campbell-Westlind, and the rest of the team at Foundry Literary + Media, including Yfat’s partner, Peter McGuigan, David Patterson, and Stephanie Abou.

I am indebted to my remarkable editor, Michelle Howry. Her enthusiasm for this project, combined with her dedication, tenacity, and thoughtfulness, have made this book much better than it would have been had I been left to my own devices. I am well aware that I hit the editorial jackpot when my proposal landed on her desk. She is part of an exceptional team at Touchstone that includes her assistant, Kiele Raymond; publisher Stacy Creamer; editorial director Sally Kim; associate publisher David Falk; the marketing and publicity team of Marcia Burch, Justina Batchelor, and Meredith Vilarello; also Josh Karpf and his production and copyediting squad, including copy editor Toby Yuen, and proofreaders Tricia Tamburr and Judy Myers and compositor Meghan Day Healey; cover designers Cherlynne Li and Ervin Serrano; and interior designer Ruth Lee-Mui. Molly Puldon wrote the wonderful Reading Group Guide. I feel very fortunate to have had all of you helping out along the way.

There are a number of organizations and people that I have tapped as resources throughout the researching and writing of this book. I truly enjoyed the brief time I spent with Cindy Kelly at the Atomic Heritage Foundation. She is the driving force behind the nationwide preservation efforts of the Manhattan Project sites. Several organizations helped with oral histories, including Courtney Esposito at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and Brandon Barton, Stella Zhu, and especially Alva Moore Stevenson with the Center for Oral History Research at the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA. Also thanks to librarian Geneva Holiday at the Davis Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for locating critical Joan Hinton resources; and Ted McCafferty, Cleveland Public Library, who located resources pertaining to Evelyn Handcock Ferguson. Several branches of the National Archives and Records Administration have been instrumental in helping me navigate the overwhelming sea of documents and photos that this irreplaceable national treasure offers every American citizen. At College Park, Maryland, Edward McCarter and Nick Natanson assisted me as I waded through the thousands of Ed Westcott photos that are preserved there. Susan Clifton, Douglas Swanson, and Dennis Braden at Archives I in Washington, DC, have provided advance support for this book, offering valuable advice for outreach and lectures. David Satterfield at NARA’s personnel records office helped me locate World War II service records. I must give many thanks to National Archives public affairs specialist Miriam Kleiman, who has been a sort of National Archives tour guide and first responder, always managing to introduce me to the right people at the right time, and pointing me in the right direction.

The National Archives at Atlanta is the primary home to the Atomic Energy Commission records and much more; this facility has played a key role in the researching of this book. Everyone at that facility went out of their way to help me find what I was looking for, including Guy Hall, John Whitehurst, Kevin Baker, Maureen Hill, and Catherine Farmer. A very special thank-you goes out to Joel Walker. Joel’s contagious excitement about the Atomic Energy Commission collection made my work not only easier but also much more enjoyable. He is a tremendous asset to both the National Archives and the legacy of the Manhattan Project.

I would like to give the biggest of thank-yous to the city of Oak Ridge. Countless individuals there have taken time to talk and visit with me, suggest potential interviewees, or simply offer friendly advice and encouragement. I have enjoyed attending several events hosted by the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The Oak Ridge Public Library has a wonderful “Oak Ridge Room,” and Teresa Fortney and especially Anne Marie Hamilton-Brehm have assisted me there. There are two museums in particular to which I would like to give credit: the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, where I was assisted by Margaret Allard, and the American Museum of Science and Energy, where I have had the good fortune of getting to know Deputy Director Ken Mayes.

Many individuals in the Oak Ridge community provided time, information, and contacts. Many others submitted to interviews, and though they may not have been highlighted in the book, they were nonetheless invaluable. For their time and energy I thank Rose Weaver, Martin and Anne McBride, Henry Perry, Ethel Steinhauer, Emily and Don Hunnicut, Rosemarie Waggener, Marty Rom, Elaine Buker, Lois Mallett, Betty and Harlan Whitehead, Dorothy Spoon, Martha Nichols, Anne Voelker, Helen Schwenn, Ardis and George Leichsenring, Earline Banic, Carolyn Stelzman, Madge Newton, Dee Longendorfer, Lilian Johns Ross, Helen and Red Lynch, Bobbie Martin, Louise Walker, Joanne Gailar, Georgia Marie Cloer Bailey, Louise Warmley, Steven Stow, John Lane, Paul Wilkinson, Connie Bolling, Nannette Bissonet, Jim and John Klemski, Jim Ramsey, Fred Strohl, Valeria Steele Roberson, Liane Russell, Mira Kimmelman, Helen Jernigan, Kathy Schmitt Gomez, Suzanne and Peter Angelini, and Beverly and HalliBurton Puckett.

I have a special place in my heart for certain “Men of Atomic City”: Bill Tewes has provided wonderful stories not only about Oak Ridge, but also concerning the experiences of women there during the war, thanks to his willingness to share remembrances of his wife, Audrey. Without Ed Westcott’s photos, I very likely would never have begun looking into Oak Ridge’s World War II history. He is an irreplaceable window into this world. I always light up at the indefatigable Bill Wilcox, whose dedication to preserving history and living a meaningful life is truly inspiring. His wife, Jeanie, never fails to have a joke and a smile for me. And dear Ray Smith has introduced me to countless contacts, provided numerous resources, and keeps me in the loop about everything going on in and around Oak Ridge. He is a one-man historical society, and I have enjoyed getting to know him and his lovely wife, Fanny. Ray Smith and Bill Wilcox are unique, selfless and driven, working for a cause with little recognition. I adore them.

This book would not exist in any meaningful way, shape, or form without the generosity of time and spirit offered up so freely and joyfully by the women featured in this book: Colleen Black, Rosemary Lane, Dot Wilkinson, Helen Brown, Kattie Strickland, Jane Puckett, Celia Klemski, Toni Schmitt, and Virginia Coleman. Knowing them has enriched my life and work in ways I am still discovering.

There is nothing more important than the support of family and friends throughout the long process of writing a book, and I have been ridiculously fortunate in this arena. My local bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina, Malaprop’s, is an author’s best friend. Emoke B’Racz and Linda Barrett Knopp have created and nurtured a lasting and valuable institution—a true haven for those who love books. Alsace Walentine in particular has helped me with events, signings, publicity, and so much more. George Fleming kept my spirits up. Buncombe County Library’s Lyme Kedic helped track down the untrackable in the book world. Drake Witham was not only a valuable set of eyes, but also boots on the ground in Los Angeles when I needed them. I can’t say enough about the luminous spirit and rigorous mind of Kathryn Temple, whose assistance kept me sane.

And finally, this book would never have been possible without the support, patience, sharp eyes, and kind heart of my husband, Joseph D’Agnese.

Thank you.

Index