Dorothy McKibbin
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Dorothy McKibbin (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Scarritt; December 12, 1897 – December 17, 1985) worked on the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
during World War II. She ran the project's office at 109 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, through which staff moving to the
Los Alamos Laboratory The Los Alamos Laboratory, also known as Project Y, was a secret scientific laboratory established by the Manhattan Project and overseen by the University of California during World War II. It was operated in partnership with the United State ...
had to pass through to obtain security credentials and directions to their new workplace. She was known as the "first lady of Los Alamos", and was often the first point of contact for new arrivals. She retired when the Santa Fe office closed in 1963.


Early life

Dorothy Ann Scarritt was born in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, on December 12, 1897, the fourth of five children of William Chick Scarritt, a corporate lawyer, and his wife Frances Virginia (née Davis). Her grandfather was pastor Nathan Scarritt, and her great-grandfather was William Miles Chick. She had two older brothers, William Hendrix (known as Bill) and Arthur Davis (known as A.D.), and an older sister, Frances. A younger sister, Virginia, died in 1907. Dorothy was known as Dink to her family and close friends. The family believed strongly in the value of education. Scarritt attended The Barstow School, a small independent preparatory school in Kansas City, where she was editor of the school literary magazine, a member of the drama group, and played forward on the school basketball team. She graduated in 1915, and later that year entered
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
, a
liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...
in
Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...
. At the time it was the largest of the
Women's colleges in the United States Women's colleges in the United States are private Single-sex education, single-sex higher education in the United States, U.S. institutions of higher education that only admit female students. They are often Liberal arts colleges in the United St ...
. She considered majoring in English and history, ultimately settling on the latter. She was elected class president in her first year. She participated in the Smith College Association for Christian Work, and the Sociology and Current Events Clubs, and helped raise $25,000 for refugees from
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. She enjoyed tennis, swimming, hiking and mountain climbing, and played on a class basketball team, and for the All-Smith baseball team. After graduating from Smith in 1919, Scarritt travelled to Europe with her father in 1921, and then to Alaska, western Canada and
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
in 1923. In September 1923, she met Joseph Chambers McKibbin while visiting a Smith College friend in Dellwood, Minnesota. She toured
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, Nova Scotia and the
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in 1924, and in 1925 went with her father to Cuba, Panama, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Scarritt and Joseph McKibbin became engaged, but after she returned from South America in 1925 she was diagnosed with
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, a disease from which her sister Frances had died in 1919, and she broke off their engagement.


New Mexico

As there were no effective drugs to treat the contagious disease, tuberculosis patients were sent to sanatoria, where they either recovered or died. The sunshine and dry climate of the southwestern states was considered conducive to recovery, and several sanatoria were located there. The family chose Sunmount near
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, a sanatorium that was more like a resort than a hospital. Scarritt arrived with her mother in November 1925 to find that Sunmount had a waiting list for admissions. After some lobbying, she was admitted on December 9, 1925. She fell in love with both the landscape and the culture of New Mexico. After a year, she was pronounced cured, and left on December 22, 1927. Scarritt and Joseph renewed their engagement, and were married in the garden of her family's home in Kansas City on October 5, 1927. After a honeymoon in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, they moved to
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
, where Joseph worked in his father's fur business, McKibbin, Driscoll and Dorsey. They had a son, Kevin, who was born on December 6, 1930, but Joseph was diagnosed with
Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...
, and died on October 27, 1931. Now a single mother, McKibbin chose to return to Santa Fe. She loaded her possessions into a Ford Model A, and accompanied by Kevin and Joseph's sister Maggie, drove there. It was almost a month before they arrived on June 11, 1932. Between the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
and the
Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...
drought, jobs were hard to find, but McKibbin found employment as a bookkeeper for the Spanish and Indian Trading Company, a small firm that sold handicrafts and artworks. The owners, Norman McGee and Jim McMillan left the day-to-day running of the business in the hands of McKibbin, whom they paid 50c an hour. McKibbin gave up her job in May 1935 to spend more time with Kevin. Her father lost most of his money in the Great Depression, but he still had enough to help her buy a house. Instead of buying, McKibbin decided to build. On April 21, 1936, she purchased not far from Sunmount. She designed her house with
Katherine Stinson Katherine Stinson (February 14, 1891 – July 8, 1977) was an American aviation pioneer who, in 1912, became the fourth woman in the United States to earn the FAI pilot certificate. She set flying records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, a ...
, an aviator that she had met as a fellow patient at Sunmount. They based the design on that of 19th-century Spanish farmhouses and ranches in the area. The house was furnished with antique fittings acquired through the Spanish and Indian Trading Company. Land and construction costs totalled $10,000. Her father was a frequent visitor, overseeing various stages of construction. In 1937, Kevin was diagnosed with
endocarditis Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, o ...
, a potentially life-threatening disease. There was no treatment for it but bed rest, so he spent the entire 1937–38 school year in bed. Her father died from bronchial pneumonia on February 16, 1938. In 1938, she took Kevin to the
Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care Pediatrics, children's hospital in the East Hollywood, Los Angeles, East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue ...
, along with her mother and her aunt Nana. The doctors there told them that Kevin had been misdiagnosed, and actually had
tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...
. The tonsils were removed, and he left cured. When he started school again, McKibbin returned to her old job at the Spanish and Indian Trading Company.


Manhattan Project

After the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the owners of the Spanish and Indian Trading Company decided to switch to war-related opportunities, and in 1943 the company closed down, putting McKibbin out of a job. Then in March 1943, she was approached by three men from California seeking to establish a new office in Santa Fe, who offered to hire her as a secretary. She was particularly impressed by one of them. She later wrote: The man was
Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often ...
, a professor from the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
, establishing a new, secret laboratory for the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...
, the wartime effort to build an
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
. McKibbin became the first permanent employee of the Manhattan Project's Santa Fe office, which opened at 109 East Palace Avenue on March 27, 1943. The office had just five rooms, all purposely small so they could be easily heated in winter with small fireplaces. Joe Stephenson handled housing; Duane Muncy, the comptroller from the University of California was business manager; Dana Mitchell, a chemistry professor from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
was in charge of scientific supplies. Oppenheimer was in charge, assisted by his secretary, Priscilla Greene. When
Edward Condon Edward Uhler Condon (March 2, 1902 – March 26, 1974) was an American nuclear physicist, a pioneer in quantum mechanics, and a participant during World War II in the development of radar and, very briefly, of nuclear weapons as part of the Ma ...
and his secretary Isabel Bemis arrived from Berkeley, they had to be squeezed in. Greene bought a typewriter in Santa Fe with her own money. McKibbin's salary was $150 per month. Initially Stephenson paid it out of petty cash. She subsequently was made an employee of the University of California. At first, McKibbin was unsure what they wanted her to do. Her duties evolved over time. She became Oppenheimer's deputy in Santa Fe, and ran the housing office, which was nothing more than a front for the top secret laboratory under construction away. This became the
Los Alamos Laboratory The Los Alamos Laboratory, also known as Project Y, was a secret scientific laboratory established by the Manhattan Project and overseen by the University of California during World War II. It was operated in partnership with the United State ...
, but the name was never used in Santa Fe. It was simply "the Hill". She was acquainted with Los Alamos, being friends with the poet and author Peggy Pond Church, the daughter of Ashley Pond, the founder of the Los Alamos Ranch School there. To protect the secrecy of the Hill (and the entire Manhattan Project), new employees were never provided before their departure for New Mexico with its exact location or the security credentials they would need to gain access to the site. Instead, they were merely given a memorandum which blandly instructed them to report to the
United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
office at 109 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe. There, McKibbin would meet new arrivals, and issued them passes without which they would not get past the guards. She came to be known as "the gatekeeper to Los Alamos", and the "first lady of Los Alamos", Before she left work each night, she had to burn every scrap of paper produced during the day. McKibbin was on call 24 hours a day, and Oppenheimer would often phone her in the middle of the night. Frequently her house was overrun by guests. She later recalled that: By May 1943, there was a telephone line to Los Alamos, and enough facilities has been constructed to allow Oppenheimer and his staff to move there. He offered McKibbin a position at Los Alamos but she declined, and remained in Santa Fe, running the office at 109 East Palace. Her duties remained many and various. She looked after children and pets, guarded briefcases and secret papers. She was the one the residents of Los Alamos turned to when they needed a puppy, a goose for Oppenheimer's Christmas dinner, or a doctor who performed abortions. Laura Fermi recalled that: Marriages were performed at McKibbin's house. Greene married Robert Duffield in a ceremony there on September 5, 1943. McKibbin had a local judge conduct the ceremony, but due to the project's security, he was not allowed to know the surnames of the couple. It was the first of a series of weddings. Just three weeks later everyone assembled again for the wedding of Greene's bridesmaid, Marjorie Hall, to
Hugh Bradner Hugh Bradner (November 5, 1915 – May 5, 2008) was an American physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, University of California who is credited with inventing the neoprene wetsuit, which helped to revolutionize scuba diving and sur ...
. About thirty weddings were held there, including that of Peter Oppenheimer, Robert's son. In May 1944, Oppenheimer gave McKibbin another assignment. The numbers of staff at Los Alamos had greatly expanded, and the dormitories intended to house them were unfinished. Another eighty people were expected to arrive over the summer. The Army had taken over the Frijoles Canyon Lodge in the Bandelier National Monument and McKibbin was asked to prepare it to receive them. She had no experience running a hotel but left the Santa Fe office in the hands of an assistant for six weeks and took up residence at the Lodge in June 1944. With help from the Army and women she brought in she was able to prepare it for occupation in five days. When the expected numbers did not arrive, she turned it into a rest resort for Los Alamos scientists. Perhaps her most unusual assignment though, was scanning the skies for signs of Japanese
fire balloon An incendiary balloon (or balloon bomb) is a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas such as hot air, hydrogen, or helium, that has a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached. The balloon is carried by the prevailing winds to ...
s. On July 15, 1945, two couples arrived at 109 East Palace and asked McKibbin to join them for an evening picnic on Sandia Peak near Albuquerque. At 5:30 am the next morning, she watched the sky light up from the Trinity nuclear test.


Later life

After the war ended in August 1945, there were doubts as to whether the Los Alamos Laboratory would remain, not to mention the Santa Fe office. Now McKibbin was arranging people's departures. No one was sadder to see Oppenheimer depart on October 16, 1945. His successor, Norris Bradbury, agreed to take over the director's position for six months. He would remain for 25 years. He kept the laboratory open, and retained the Santa Fe office, with McKibbin as its head. On June 7, 1949, McKibbin was in Washington, D.C., for a Smith College reunion, and went to watch Oppenheimer appear before the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...
, sitting beside Anne Wilson Marks, who had succeeded Priscilla Greene as Oppenheimer's secretary at the Los Alamos Laboratory. In May 1950, Sylvia Crouch alleged that Oppenheimer had conducted secret communist meetings at his home in Berkeley in July 1941. McKibbin conducted a meticulous investigation that produced a detailed paper trail demonstrating that Oppenheimer was in Santa Fe at the time. In April and May 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted the
Oppenheimer security hearing Over four weeks in 1954, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) explored the background, actions, and associations of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American scientist who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II as part of t ...
, which resulted in the loss of Oppenheimer's security clearance. When
Edward Teller Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...
, who had testified against Oppenheimer, next appeared at Los Alamos, McKibbin gave him an icy reception. The Santa Fe office closed on June 28, 1963, and McKibbin retired. There was a brief ceremony conducted by Bradbury, who presented a memorial plaque. When Oppenheimer was awarded the Atomic Energy Commission's
Enrico Fermi Award The Enrico Fermi Award is a scientific award conferred by the President of the United States. It is awarded to honor scientists of international stature for their lifetime achievement in the development, use or production of energy. It was establ ...
in 1963, he invited McKibbin to join him at the White House reception. She intended to do so, but the
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
of President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, whom she had met when he toured Los Alamos on December 7, 1962, cast a pall over the event, and she decided not to attend. Oppenheimer received the award from the new President,
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
. McKibbin's eyesight began to fail in the 1950s. She had
cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...
operations in 1952, and thereafter needed to wear thick glasses. She died at her home in Santa Fe on December 17, 1985, aged 88, and was buried in the Santa Fe Memorial Gardens. Dorothy McKibbin Hall at the Los Alamos Historical Museum is named after her. The entrance to the hall is the actual gate that was at 109 East Palace.


Notes


References

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External links


1979 Audio Interview with Dorothy McKibbin by Martin Sherwin
Voices of the Manhattan Project
1965 Audio Interview with Dorothy McKibbin by Stephane Groueff
Voices of the Manhattan Project {{DEFAULTSORT:McKibbin, Dorothy 1897 births 1985 deaths People from Kansas City, Missouri People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Smith College alumni Manhattan Project people Women on the Manhattan Project