People of the Project
Choose a program highlighting the people who made Eastern Washington their home as they worked at a top secret
Manhattan Project Site during WWII known as the Hanford Engineer Works.
CURRENT PROGRAMS
Women of the War: The Hanford Girl
Leona: A Dynamic Woman in an Atomic Town
Alphabet People: Living in a Secret City
Hanford Holidays
Photo: US Dept. of Energy
WISH YOU WERE HERE
Choose tales from Washington, Oregon, or Idaho
told through narratives, photos, and vintage postcards.
Photo: Public Domain Postcard
Current: Postcards from the Park - Washington
Washington Stories from the Yellowstone Trail: A Good Road to Seattle (Available June 2024 )
People and Places - Oregon (Coming Soon)
Ridin' the Rails - Idaho (Coming Soon)
Photo: WA State Progress Commission
Postcards from the Park
WASHINGTON STATE
Beeswax britches, mysterious wake-up calls, bicycling the Cascades, and “wish you were here” messages chronicle visitors' travels to Washington’s state and national parks.
Stories emerge from the images, postmarks, and narratives on vintage postcards from the early 1900s and beyond. Share journeys from the Eastern WA Dry Falls and Sacajawea State Parks to Western WA Mt. Rainier and the Olympic National Forest including many sites in-between.
Discover a bit of history while you plan
your next adventure based on the
Postcards from the Park!
Wonderful presentation, very enjoyable
informative, and entertaining.
Jim K. Program Director
Women of the War: The Hanford Girl
It's WWII and women are going to work.
They ate in mess halls, lived in dorms, survived termination winds, and stuck together to boost morale.
Employed on a top secret government project women worked as telephone operators, nurses, and waitresses. Some also worked as lab technicians and, of course, as secretaries.
Hear their stories as they rose to the occasion - keeping their hair neat,
their nails clean, and their
typewriters dusted and well oiled!
Photo: Hanford Engineer Works, “Sage Sentinel October 20, 1944,” Hanford History Project, accessed November 18, 2023, http://www.hanfordhistory.com/items/show/752.
I was really impressed with how you were able to glean such good stories...
Nancy D. Historian
How fun was Leona! Very creative,
interesting and enjoyable.
Mary P. Educator
Leona:
A Dynamic Woman
in an Atomic Town
From crunchy pancake batter to plotting intervals between the buildup and decay of radioactivity
at the WWII Hanford Site B Reactor.
Leona's story is one of a
gifted scientist, wife, and mother during a
unique time and place in
world history.
Interwoven in-between her scientific endeavors are sagebrush sagas with stories of sandstorms and security breaches in a secret city during WWII.
Photo: US Dept of Energy
Alphabet People: Living In A Secret City
The WWII Manhattan Project Hanford site workforce lived in the village of Richland, WA in letter designated housing.
The Alphabet People
lived in
government-owned housing,
shopped in
government-designed shopping areas,
and were entertained
by government-sponsored events designed
to keep people happy in a place where
"Silence is Security" and
"Blabatours are Sabatours."
Images compiled from US Dept of Energy Collection
What a great storyteller you are! You really did a lot of research.
Connie E. Curator
Hanford Holidays
Photo: Teresa André
Santa can find you anywhere!
Even in a secret wartime construction camp in the desert of Eastern Washington where your address is a post office box shared with thousands of other people.
Come hear the tales of those who were home for the holidays at the Manhattan Project Hanford Engineer Works in Richland, WA during WWII.
Mess hall meals, the circus, church services...segregation, sand storms, and secrecy all combined to make wartime Hanford Holidays unique.
Very knowledgeable presenter - the references were appreciated for future study.
Survey Response - Community Education Program Participant