George T. May III and His Family's Donation.

By Kaity Burke

Did you see the article about us in the Daily Post? 

We had some very special guests in our archives on March 24th. Some of the remaining family of George T. May III (nicknamed Tertius) visited our archives with a donation. For decades, the family has kept Tertius’ items from his years at the Los Alamos Ranch School. 

George Thomas May III was born in 1903. According to his niece, “Terk was a sickly child who suffered from severe asthma and spent much of his childhood in Illinois as an invalid”. Because there were not many effective treatments for those suffering with asthma, many were sent away from home to Western states that had cleaner air. Terk was sent to Los Alamos in 1919 at the age of 15. A letter from A. J. Connell, who was the director of the Los Alamos Ranch School, dated October 7th, 1919 states that “He has not had any asthma since the little attack I told you of when he first came here, His weight is now 85 pounds, a gain of 9 pounds since his arrival June 16th. He also shows 1.2 inch gain in height. He shows slight gains in practically all measurements and much in endurance.” Several accommodations were given to Terk during his time in Los Alamos, and there is only one known mention of Terk needing medical assistance from somewhere offsite of the Los Alamos Ranch. 

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