Ed Westcott, famous Manhattan Project Photographer, and my dear friend, would have been 100 years old on January 20, 2022, had he lived. He passed away at age 97 on March 29, 2019. I miss him. It was common for me to drop by his house with prints of a [...]
The Secret in Scarboro: The Oak Ridge 85 One year before the Clinton 12, two years before the Little Rock Nine and five years before Ruby Bridges, there was the Oak Ridge 85. On Sept. 6, 1955, 85 Black students from the historic Scarboro community integrated Oak Ridge High [...]
Written by: Ray Smith, Oak Ridge City Historian The Oak Ridge 85 or the Scarboro 85, depending on your preference, has recently come to prominence as a result of the efforts primarily of Rose Weaver, John Spratling and Martin McBride as well as several others who have contributed. It [...]
Today, February 3, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Oak Ridge’s renowned family owned pizza restaurant, Big Ed’s. Big Ed's has been a fixture of the Oak Ridge community since 1970 when Ed Neusel, his wife Ginger, and their three sons converted the old Service Drug Store to where Big [...]
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park was established in 2015 and spans between 3 different states that were instrumental in helping end World War II. Exploring a National Park can be confusing, especially since the sites are scattered throughout the town and some are located on Department of Energy land. [...]
Oak Ridge is mourning the loss of internationally recognized researcher Dr. Liane “Lee” Branch Russell. Lee passed away on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the age of 95. Funeral arrangements are being planned at Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home. Fleeing Nazi-controlled Austria as a child, Lee eventually came to America [...]
Oak Ridgers have heavy hearts today, as the news of the passing of Ed Westcott made the headlines. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Westcott passed peacefully around 7 a.m. on Friday, March 29, 2019. Westcott turned 97 years old on January 20, and he had an incredible life being [...]
(As published in The Oak Ridger’s Historically Speaking column on March 1, 2019) Jim Dodson, says, “As an Oak Ridge City Councilman, I see the American Museum of Science and Energy as a great asset to our community. I would like to encourage everyone to come out on March 19 [...]
Guest Post By: Ray Smith, Oak Ridge Historian The story of the Manhattan Project would be lost to history without the work of Oak Ridge’s own renowned photographer Ed Westcott. Our city has gained international recognition for its work in the top-secret assignment — and continues to solve some [...]
During the Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge, TN was home to some of America’s finest scientific minds. While these brilliant physicists were developing the world’s first nuclear weapons, innovators of a different sort were also getting their start in the Secret City. Believe it or not, Colonel Sanders of KFC, Dave [...]