With the approach of the 70th anniversaries of the Trinity test and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Manhattan Project has been a popular news topic. There were several interesting articles published in June concerning the Manhattan Project and its legacy.
The blog Atlas Obscura featured Dorothy McKibbin in “Dorothy McKibbin: The Manhattan Project’s Secret Weapon.” The article explored how McKibbin came to live in and love New Mexico, her unique role as the “Gatekeeper to Los Alamos,” and her friendship with the scientists. AHF Program Director Alexandra Levy is quoted in the article: “Hers was the first friendly face that they saw, and many of the people who remember McKibbin talked about how polite she was, how friendly she was, how she helped put them at ease after their long trip.”
Photographer Jim Lo Scalzo traveled around the country capturing “the ghosts of America’s atomic arsenal” for the photo collection Next Exit: Armageddon for Vice News. From pre-Manhattan Project sites such as the Hanford High School, to Manhattan Project properties around the country, to Cold War nuclear establishments including missile silos and control rooms, Scalzo and Vice News have put together a powerful collection of America’s nuclear legacy.
A popular Spanish magazine, Dones Digitales, interviewed AHF President Cindy Kelly for an article on women in the Manhattan Project. Kelly explains in the article, “Women played a vital role in the Manhattan Project. For many of them, working on the project was a life-changing experience that ultimately influenced their later career.” Click here for the English version of the article.