Willie Atencio: What were the circumstances that you came to the Española area?
Elberta Lowdermilk Honstein: Well, the very first thing was my father, Elbert Lowdermilk, got the contract to build the first road to Los Alamos in 1943. That’s how I came. In ’43 I would maybe have been 15 years old. We spent the summers with my father. I was still in school in Denver. That’s how I got to New Mexico.
Nathaniel Weisenberg: My name is Nate Weisenberg. I am here with the Atomic Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. It is Tuesday, May 22, 2018, and I am here with Philip S. Anderson. My first question for you is if you could please tell me your name and spell it.
Philip S. Anderson: My name is Philip S. Anderson, P-h-i-l-i-p, middle initial S, A-n-d-e-r-s-o-n.
Weisenberg: Why don’t we sort of start at the beginning. Can you tell me when and where you were born?
Philip S. Anderson, Jr. lived in Oak Ridge from his second-grade year through his junior year of high school. His father, an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was responsible for housing at Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project; his mother was active in the Oak Ridge community. In this interview, Anderson remembers his childhood in Oak Ridge, describing the level of secrecy in the city and hikes with his friends. He also recounts his reaction to the bombing of Hiroshima and his fond memories of being a Boy Scout in Oak Ridge.
Cindy Kelly: Okay. I’m Cindy Kelly. It is Thursday, April 26, 2018. If you could say and spell your name?
Patricia Postma: Right. I go by Pat, but it’s P-a-t-r-i-c-i-a P-o-s-t-m-a.
Kelly: Great. So tell me, how do you fit into Oak Ridge?
Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly. It is May 15, 2018, and I’m at the University of California, Berkeley. I have with me Trisha Pritikin, and I first want to ask her to say her name and spell it.
Trisha Pritikin: Okay. Trisha Pritikin is T-r-i-s-h-a, Pritikin is P-r-i-t-i-k-i-n.
Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly. This is May 14, 2018, and I’m in Mountain View, California. I have with me Eric, otherwise known as Astro, Teller. My first question is for him to tell us his name and spell it.
Astro Teller: Astro Teller. I’m the Captain of Moonshots at X. Astro, A-s-t-r-o, last name Teller, T-e-l-l-e-r.
Kelly: Well, we just have to start with—what is Captain of Moonshots?
Nathaniel Weisenberg: My name is Nate Weisenberg with the Atomic Heritage Foundation. It is Friday, December 22, 2017, and we’re here in Washington, D.C. with Mr. Gordon Garrett. And my first question for you is if you could please tell me your name and spell it.
Gordon Garrett: My name is Gordon Garrett. That’s G-o-r-d-o-n G-a-r-r-e-t-t.
Weisenberg: Let’s begin at the beginning. Can you tell me when and where you were born?
Garrett: I was born in Johnson City, Tennessee. March 13, 1937.
Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly, Atomic Heritage Foundation. It is Tuesday, October 17, 2017. I am in Santa Fe with Mary Brennan. My first question for Mary is to say her full name and spell it.
Mary Brennan: I’m Mary Brennan, that’s B-R-E-N-N-A-N.
Kelly: Great, do you have a middle name?
Brennan: I use Godschalx, G-O-D-S-C-H-A-L-X. Mary Godschalx Brennan.
Mary Brennan lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She and her husband, Curtiss, moved next door to Dorothy McKibbin, “the Gatekeeper to Los Alamos.” In this interview, Mary discusses her memories of Dorothy, how Dorothy ended up in New Mexico, and Dorothy’s relationship to J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project. In addition, she explains the specificities of the house and how it was a social destination for members of the project.
Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly. This is the Atomic Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. It is Wednesday, February 28th, 2018. I have with me a special guest, Clifton Truman Daniel, who is here in Washington, D.C. I wanted to ask him to say his full name and spell it.
Clifton Truman Daniel: Okay. Clifton Truman Daniel. C-L-I-F-T-O-N T-R-U-M-A-N D-A-N-I-E-L.
Kelly: That middle name rings a bell. Truman. Now, would you be related to the president?
