History

Wallace: Nuclear Weapons Testing

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By TERRY WALLACE
Colorado
(Former LANL Director)

On December 18, 1970, a nuclear weapons test was conducted in an underground shaft at the Nevada Test Site. The test, code-named Baneberry, was detonated at a depth of about 900 feet. Baneberry was a relatively small weapons test and was conducted at Yucca Flats (a large playa) in alluvial soil derived from surrounding deposits of volcanic tuff. Within the alluvium, there were intermittent seams of montmorillonite clay that were saturated with water. The drill hole was filled with a concrete plug and sorted materials; the procedure for plugging Read More

Celebrate Ross Ramsey’s Birthday By Donating To Educational Scholarship Fund

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To celebrate Ross Ramsey’s 114th birthday, the community is encouraged to donate to the Ross and Lola Ramsey Scholarship Fund. Courtesy photo

COMMUNITY News:

Ross Ramsey’s 114th birthday, Oct. 27, 1911, is being celebrated. The public is invited to join the celebration by contributing $114 to the Ross and Lola Ramsey Scholarship Fund. Since its establishment in 2023 when Los Alamos High School created the Ramsey Stage at the Smith Auditorium, the scholarship fund has supported four students as they pursue a college degree at the college of their choosing.

Any Los Alamos High School Read More

Posts From The Road: Texas Roadside Oddities

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Outlaw Gas Station: During the prohibition era, many establishments secretly began to appear with one product in mind, moonshine. Often these businesses appeared to be legitimate establishments such as a gas station or other common business but moonshine sales were king. This gas station may have sold more moonshine than gas back in the day. The old station is in Glen Rose, Texas. The structure was constructed with stone, bricks, and petrified wood. Petrified wood was plentiful in the area and widely used in buildings in the area. After the prohibition era ended, the business but the shell of Read More

Fr. Glenn: Saints…and Sinners

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Happy November everyone! Hard to believe we’re nearing the end of 2025 already. Ah, precious time. It’s like the words of that country song about the centenarian: “Don’t blink…A hundred years goes faster than you think.”

Yep, the time goes fast, and before you know it, we all inevitably look at the end of earthly life. Society tends to look at that end as tragic, but we Christians … not so much. As God is the master of life, we should not seek, and certainly never hasten, the end of life, but our greatest hope lies after this life with a future life with Him. As St. Paul so famously Read More

NMMSH Launch Pad Lecture: Storms, Science & Surveyor – The Story Of Apollo 12

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NMMSH News:

The New Mexico Museum of Space History’s (NMMSH) monthly Launch Pad Lecture features the story of NASA’s Apollo 12 mission, where lightning struck seconds after launch, but teamwork turned potential failure into one of the most precise lunar landings.

Presented by Marie De Leon, Senior Instructional Coordinator at the New Mexico Museum of Space History, starting at 9 a.m., Friday, Nov. 7.

  • Where: New Horizons Dome Theater, New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo.
  • Details: Admission is free, and coffee and donuts will be provided. The presentation will explore Apollo
Read More

Lewis’s Woodpecker Spotted Above Quemazon

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This Lewis’s Woodpecker was spotted Monday near Pipeline Road above Quemazon. Uniquely colored, Lewis’s Woodpeckers are seldom seen but found in Los Alamos County all year long. Their metallic green wings and backs, watermelon-red chests, and blood-red faces set them apart from all other woodpeckers. They are named in honor of explorer Meriwether Lewis. Watch for these birds in the burn scars in the high country. Photo by Jonathan Dowell, Ph.D.
Read More

Free Training Offered For Volunteers Interested In Los Alamos History

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LAHS News:

The Los Alamos Historical Society (LAHS) and its History Museum are seeking new volunteers for a variety of positions. A training will be held for new volunteers from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, in the Nambe Room on the second floor of Fuller Lodge. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required, and anyone high-school age and older is encouraged to attend. Please register by Nov. 2 by emailing volunteer@losalamoshistory.org.

Training will involve a modified walking tour, information from Archives and Collections, and specific training on visitor engagement and customer Read More

Neeper: About Those Medical Measurements Pertaining To Political Choices

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By DONALD NEEPER
Los Alamos resident 1968-2014

John Bartlit’s column of Oct. 26 (link) reviewed medical measurements which showed that political choices are set more by brain history than by logical choice. The measurements could support the idea that the desire for group acceptance is an inherited feature that enhanced the survival of early Homo sapiens.

In my recent book on our societal polarization, I reviewed numerical models based on the shifting internal rules of behavior that we each carry. The models, published in 2021, predicted irreversible polarization in America.

On a continental Read More

New Mexico Nuclear Policy Group To Host Public Screenings, Discussions Of Kathryn Bigelow’s New Film, ‘A House Of Dynamite’ Including Oct. 29 At SALA

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Scene from ‘A House of Dynamite’ showing at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Los Alamos SALA Event Center. Courtesy photo 

Los Alamos Study Group News:

Political leaders, nuclear weapons workers, and citizens urged to think carefully about the realities portrayed in the film, including the limitations of nuclear deterrence and the temptation of national suicide

Albuquerque – The Los Alamos Study Group, a think-and “action tank” which has been deeply involved in nuclear policy issues over the past 36 years, will be hosting public screenings followed by discussions of Kathryn Bigelow’s new film, “A House Read More

Historical Society November Lecture: Rachel Robbins

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HISTORICAL SOCIETY News:

The Los Alamos Historical Society announces its November free lecture, 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11,
in the Pajarito Room of historic Fuller Lodge.

The evening will feature author Rachel Robbins, whose historical fiction book, The Sound of a Thousand Stars, is loosely based on the life of her grandparents, who worked in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project.

Copies of her book are available now in the Museum Shop and will also be available for purchase at the event.

Robbins received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a tenured assistant professor Read More