Atomic Heritage Foundation

Cindy Kelly: This is Wednesday, February 13, 2013. I’m Cindy Kelly, and we have with us Alex Wellerstein. Alex, could you say your name and spell it, please? Alex Wellerstein: Alex Wellerstein, W-E-L-L-E-R-S-T-E-I-N, and it’s just Alex, nothing fancy. Kelly: Great. Thank you, Alex. Alex, give us a little background as to your education and […]

Cindy Kelly: Today is December 3, 2013. I’m Cindy Kelly, President of the Atomic Heritage Foundation. With me, I have Lester Tenney. I’m going to start by asking Lester to say your name and spell it please. Lester Tenney: Lester Tenney, L-E-S-T-E-R, Tenney, T-E-N-N-E-Y. Maybe you could start by telling us where you were born […]

George Allen: Alright. This is in Alexandria, Louisiana at the city park. My name is George Allen. G-E-O-R-G-E, A-L-L-E-N. Interviewer: Alright and where was your place and date of birth? Allen: I was born right in Alexandria on September the 10th, 1925. Interviewer: Okay. How did you first become involved with the Army Air Force? Allen: […]

Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly from the Atomic Heritage Foundation. It is Friday, April 11, 2014, and I have with me William Lanouette who is going to be talking about Leo Szilard. Why don’t you start by actually saying your full name and spelling it?  Bill Lanouette: I’m William Lanouette, L-A-N-O-U-E-T-T-E.  Kelly: Tell us about […]

[Many thanks to Bill Curtis for recording and donating this interview to the Atomic Heritage Foundation.] Mary Lou Curtis: When I got out of college, it was 1932 and a big Depression was on. Miami University, where I graduated from, only placed one teacher that year because jobs were so hard to find. I didn’t […]

William Lowe:  I was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma in the year 1920. Within a few years, my parents had moved to Westfield, New Jersey, where I grew up. But upon reaching 18, I went to college at Purdue University. It was 700 miles from home. By train, it took a day.  I would say that […]

[Interviewed by Cynthia Kelly, Tom Zannes, and Thomas E. Marceau.] Russell Jim: My name is Russell Jim, R-U-S-S-E-L-L, J-I-M. Can you tell us what the land at Hanford has meant to the Yakama people? Jim: Most definitely. The Hanford area was our wintering ground, the Palm Springs of the area. And the winters were milder […]

[Interviewed by Cynthia Kelly and Tom Zannes.] K.W. Greager: Name is K.W. Greager, I go by Wally. Greager is spelled G-R-E-A-G-E-R, slightly different than the earlier Greager. Tell us about when you started with Hanford. Greager: I started working at Hanford after college in late 1951 on a rotational training program. I spent four years […]

Robert Holmberg: I’m Robert W. Holmberg, H-O-L-M-B-E-R-G, Bob Holmberg. And I like to tell people I’ve never had an honest job. I’ve worked for the Manhattan Project or its predecessors all my life. I’m an Iowan by birth; Fort Dodge, Iowa. As a little boy I was interested in chemistry. I went to college and […]

[Interviewed by Cynthia Kelly and Tom Zannes.] Hank Kosmata: My name is Hank Kosmata, K-O-S-M-A-T-A. I was a chemical engineer student at the University of Utah. In our senior year, at that time the American Society of Chemical Engineers had what they called a “senior problem” that they gave to all the chemical engineering students […]