He spreads the Oak Ridge story ... even on a cruise

Michael Butler
·2 min read
Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.

When Ray Smith travels, he takes the Oak Ridge story with him wherever he goes.

This was evident once again when the Oak Ridge historian — and "Historically Speaking" columnist for The Oak Ridger — recently took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat. The voyage came at the end of a multi-day vacation trip, which included travel to Louisiana Bayou on the “City of New Orleans” train.

It was a trip he and his late wife of 57 years, Fanny, had planned months ago before she passed away in February. Ray went ahead with the trip after concluding it was what Fanny would have wanted.

To no one’s surprise, no sooner was he on board the American Heritage that he started to make friends. When they found out he was the Secret City’s official historian, talk soon turned to setting up an informal presentation for his fellow voyagers. Soon after, a near-capacity audience of 170 gathered in one of ship’s social rooms to hear the story of Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.

“As always,” Smith said, “I had my thumb drive of Ed Westcott photos, so I could easily give a PowerPoint presentation.”

“Most had never heard of Oak Ridge,” he added, “but one remembered from a time when he came to Y-12 with a group of State Department officials, and I gave them a tour of Y-12.”

Smith said the talk was well received with the high level of interest evidenced by questions the group asked. How many people lived in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project? How large were the World War II atomic bombs, and how do they compare to today’s nuclear weapons? Did the scientific planning for the Manhattan Project happen in Oak Ridge or elsewhere?

Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.

There were also questions about what is happening in Oak Ridge today. Smith told the group about a wide range of work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory like the Frontier supercomputer, nuclear medicine and basic science. He discussed the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) under construction at Y-12 and the new demonstration reactor planned for construction by Kairos Power at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.

Many would call the trip up the Mississippi a busman’s holiday — a vacation that involves doing the same thing you do at work. But, for Ray Smith, it was more than that as this passionate advocate for the city he loves once more shared the story of Oak Ridge with many who had never heard it.

Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge historian D. Ray Smith took a cruise up the Mississippi River on the American Heritage Riverboat and gave a informal presentation on the history of Oak Ridge.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: He spreads the Oak Ridge story ... even on a cruise