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By KALLIE FUNK
Los Alamos Historical Society Intern I was born and raised in Los Alamos. My mom was as well, so I have always thought I knew everything there was to know about Los Alamos and its history. However, after I accepted a research internship at the Los Alamos Historical Society earlier this year, I quickly discovered that was not the case. My research for the Historical Society has been concentrated on Los Alamos during the Cold War. That era makes up more than half of our community’s post–World War II history, and a great deal of the Los Alamos we know today developed during that time.
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By MIRIAM WALLSTROM
Los Alamos Historical Society Intern This summer I’ve had the unique opportunity to intern at the Los Alamos Historical Society, where I’ve been given a taste of what happens behind the scenes of this non-profit organization. Working for a non-profit requires flexibility and the ability to wear many hats, as I’ve learned from being assigned diverse tasks. One of my jobs was to be a docent in the Hans Bethe House, which holds the Harold Agnew Cold War Galleries. Originally built in 1931, the Bethe House has been home to Los Alamos Ranch School employees and scientists alike, the most famous of whom is Hans Bethe, who resided there during the end of the Manhattan Project from 1945-1946. By Heather McClenahan
Los Alamos Historical Society This week marks the 73rd anniversaries of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the end of World War II, the bloodiest conflict in human history. Reaction to the end of the war in Los Alamos, according to those who lived it, was mixed. Eleanor Jette described events in her classic book, Inside Box 1663: “About two o’clock, bedlam broke loose; word of the surrender request had reached the [army] barracks. GIs in trucks, jeeps, and on foot assembled in front of Theater Two, and a good part of the civilian population joined them. An impromptu parade started. Willy Higinbotham, playing his accordion, balanced precariously on the radiator of the leading jeep, and lids snatched from garbage cans clashed merrily. By Sharon Snyder
Los Alamos Historical Society For most people, our first personal connections to history are generally made in our hometowns as we are growing up. For those who count Los Alamos as their hometown, the experiences are unique and not easily understood by people anywhere else. With only the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a major employer, most Los Alamos High School graduates move on to other places for employment, but they miss sharing their unique memories of our very different town. I know about that. I moved away after graduating in 1965. Though I was living in Albuquerque and not so very far away, I enjoyed crossing paths occasionally with someone from the Hill and feeling a kinship with them. After five decades away, I moved back to Los Alamos, and I immediately knew that I was home. By Heather McClenahan
Los Alamos Historical Society The Los Alamos History Museum is excited to announce that its new exhibit, “Pierotti’s Clowns: Creating Community,” is on display now through December 2018 in the Los Alamos County Municipal Building at 1000 Central ave. Visit this exhibit to learn about the celebrated accomplishments of Pierotti’s Clowns and how this five-man, fast-pitch softball team shaped the development of Los Alamos with their athletic skill, charming antics and philanthropy. The exhibit is in the main lobby of the Municipal Building. By Stephanie Yeamans
Los Alamos Historical Society As the community of Los Alamos, a relatively young town in historic New Mexico, grows older, portions of its population are also aging. When retirees downsize or parents pass away, families often wonder what to do with old papers and objects from years gone by. The Los Alamos Historical Society often becomes the repository for those collections. As caretakers of our community history, the Historical Society has legal and ethical obligations for these donations. If you are considering a donation of papers, photographs, or artifacts to the Los Alamos Historical Society, the archives and collections staff would like to share with you some of the questions we ask and criteria we require for donations. By Heather McClenahan
Los Alamos Historical Society The martinis made by Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer are legendary. It’s no wonder, when his recipe calls for four ounces—four ounces!—of gin. According to Pat Sherr, wife of a Manhattan Project physicist, “He served the most delicious and coldest martinis.” Richard Rhodes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, wrote that Oppeniemer’s “usually empty stomach” was “assaulted by highly praised martinis and highly spiced food.” Colleagues reported that during the Manhattan Project, Oppie, as he was known, seemed to survive on coffee, martinis, and cigarettes. By HEATHER MCCLENAHAN
Los Alamos Historical Society “Los Alamos Notes Little Effect From Opening Its Gates” is a historic headline. It appeared in the May 6, 1957 edition of the of the Albuquerque Journal, with an article about how removing the security gates at the entrance of the once-secret city did not lead to a wave of crime and other problems. Los Alamos residents were shocked in February 1957 to learn that in less than one week, the gates that guarded the town since its inception would come down. The town had been a top-secret city during World War II and a “gated” community since, and most residents were used to keeping their doors unlocked and their bicycles left out and about. By Heather McClenahan
Los Alamos Historical Society A wrought iron gate, a smudged letter, and an old drum might rarely have intrinsic value. Rather, at least in the case of a museum, their value is in the stories behind them—what they represent—that gives them meaning. Such is the case at the Los Alamos History Museum. One of the charming sites in the Los Alamos Historic District is the Romero Cabin, a log structure originally built in 1913. The building has not always been in that location, though.
When it was first constructed, it was two mesas to the south on land that is now occupied by Los Alamos National Laboratory's Technical Area (TA) 55. According to a report by Ellen McGehee, historic properties manager at the lab, an expansion of facilities at TA 55 in the 1980s precipitated the cabin’s move. |
AboutThese articles are written by the Los Alamos Historical Society Staff. All articles were originally published by the Los Alamos Daily Post. Archives
September 2018
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