1946

1946. . This was the world’s first fully peacetime year since 1938. Cities everywhere began struggling to change things back to normal; Oak Ridge was different – we had never been normal. Things here were also in a state of flux because the success of the K-25 diffusion process meant the closing down of Y-12’s process with huge layoffs. Construction was also largely finished, so the town population dropped from 75,000 to nearly 36,000. One sign of approaching normalcy was folks complaining about high prices; both a hamburger and a baby sitter for an hour cost 25 cents. The year’s big debate over military vs. civilian control of the nuclear program was settled in favor of the civilian Atomic Energy Commission. The Army here thought one good step to normalcy could be an elected Town Council, and 53 candidates promptly offered their names for the 12 seats. At that new Council’s first session 300 citizens complained about phone service, cafeteria food, laundry service, home maintenance, and other topics. New civic clubs, like other towns had, were organized, and eight churches began talking about constructing their own buildings.

Erected in Honor of the Union Carbide Corporation Companies That Operated Government Facilities in Oak Ridge from 1945 to 1984 by Union Carbide Retirees and By the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, June 2005.