When Colleen Black’s brother was drafted into the Army in 1942, she and her family decided to move to Oak Ridge to contribute to the war effort and bring her brother home.
Black’s family joined 13,000 other workers at the construction camp in “Happy Valley,” where the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant was being built. Black worked in the leak-testing department, ensuring the efficiency of pipes used during experimental testing.
After the war, Black remained in Oak Ridge, where she married her husband and raised her children. She enjoyed sharing her Manhattan Project stories and was one of the women author Denise Kiernan profiled in her bestselling The Girls of Atomic City.
Black passed away on March 19, 2015 at the age of 89. For more about her life, click here.