Life in the Secret Cities

Ray Stein: Okay. Ray Stein, S-T-E-I-N. I came from Erie, Pennsylvania originally. Are we started now?  Cindy Kelly: Yes, we started. Tell me your story. Stein: Okay. I had originally tried to join the Navy. I was at Penn State at the time. I tried to join the Navy, which—they rejected me—didn’t have enough teeth, […]

John Shacter: John Shacter, S-H-A-C-T-E-R.  Interviewer: And your age? Shacter: My age? Eighty-four. Eighty-four and a half, going on 85! Interviewer: And how did you end up in Oak Ridge, in the Secret City? Shacter: Well, I’m going to make it fast, but I was born in Austria, spoke no English when I got here […]

Carolyn Stelzman: Carolyn Stelzman and from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Interviewer: And have you always lived here in Oak Ridge? Stelzman: No. I came from Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Interviewer: And do you just want to tell your story of how you came here to Oak Ridge? And what you did? Stelzman: Okay. Well, in May of 1944, […]

Pat Krikorian: I’m Katherine Patterson Krikorian, better known as “Pat” locally. I was born in Oxford, Mississippi in October 1921, and I joined the militarily primarily because we were a very patriotic family and I had three brothers and one sister who were involved at the time. Later on my mother thought she was losing […]

[Interviewed by Cindy Kelly and Tom Zannes.] Tell us your name. Hultgren: Roger A. Hultgren, R-O-G-E-R, A was Aaron, double A-R-O-N, and Hultgren, H-U-L-T-G-R-E-N. How did you get to be part of the Manhattan Project?  Hultgren: Well, there’s many avenues. I was born in 1920 and my mother went to the University of Minnesota. She […]

Yvonne Delamater: We are interviewing Berlyn Brixner and thanks so much for coming. Briefly tell me when and where you were born and something about your education and training. Berlyn Brixner: I was born in El Paso, Texas in May 21, 1911. I went to school, most of my school, there. After high school I went to […]

Anne McKusick: That’s A-N-N-E, M-C capital K-U-S-I-C-K. Cindy Kelly: Okay Anne, can you tell us where you were born and a little bit about— McKusick: Yes, I was born in Rochester, New York. My father was a physicist and was at Eastman Kodak Company. He had many young men working for him who eventually ended […]

Cindy Kelly: The first thing we have to do is ask you your name and to say it and then spell it.  Monika (camerawoman): We’re ready to go.  Kelly: So tell me your name and spell it, please.  Watson Warriner: My name is Watson C. Warriner, Senior. And I happen to be ninety-four years old. […]

Lilli Hornig: I’m Lilli Hornig and that’s spelled L-I-L-L-I; H-O-R-N-I-G. Cindy Kelly: Terrific. Now we have to start at the next question, is—can you give us your birth day? Hornig: I can; it’s March 22, 1921. I was born in what is now the Czech Republic; a little town about—probably about fifty miles north and […]

Alexandra Levy: All right, we are here on December 28, 2012 with Max Gittler. Please say your name and spell it. Max Gittler: Max Gittler, M-a-x G-i-t-t-l-e-r. Levy: Where are you from? Gittler: New York, New York City, the Bronx. Levy: So how did you become involved in the Manhattan Project? Gittler: I was going to […]