Margaret Craig and the Atomic City talk at Loray Mill

Gastonia resident Margaret Craig will share  her experience working in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, nicknamed “Atomic City” for its role as a site for the development of the atomic bomb. Mrs. Craig was a 17 year old student at Gardner Webb Junior College when she was recruited to work at Atomic City. “A recruiter came to the school and asked if any young women were interested in working for the government” recalls Mrs. Craig. “They didn’t tell us where we were going or what our jobs would be.” After the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan in 1945, the women were informed that their very specific tasks had helped create the atomic bomb. Mrs. Craig was one of around 80,000 workers at Oak Ridge, a town that the US government built in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains, practically overnight. It was one of three sites that worked to create the atomic bomb.

The talk will be at Loray Mill at 6pm on Thursday, May 17.  This is a free event, but a suggested donation of $5 to the Kessell History Center would be appreciated.

Preservation North Carolina’s Alfred C. Kessell History Center is proud to offer this program as part of a series focusing on the 1940s, leading up to “Sentimental Journey: A Salute to the 1940s” cocktail party and dance fundraiser on November 10, 2018.

If you plan to attend, please email Amanda Edwards at aedwards@presnc.org or call 980-266-9923.