Washington State Department of Ecology

10/16/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/16/2024 11:24

Let’s Talk About Merrymaking at Hanford

In this festive, end-of-year edition of Let's Talk About Hanford, we're reminiscing about holidays during the early days of the Hanford Site!

For this conversation, we're welcoming back Professor Robert Franklin, a returning guest featured in other segments covering Hanford's history. Franklin is the Assistant Director and Archivist of the Hanford History Project, Director of the Hanford Oral History Project, a certified archivist, and Assistant Professor of History at Washington State University Tri-Cities.

We'll be looking at the various holidays during Hanford's production years and taking a deep dive into what "Merrymaking" meant at the Hanford Site!

Join our Nuclear Waste Program communications team for a live Q&A session to answer your questions after the presentation.

Join the conversation

We will be streaming this discussion live via Zoom and Facebook Live on Nov. 13 at 6 p.m.

Join the Facebook Live event on our Hanford Facebook page or

Join us on Zoom:

  • Join the Zoom streamup to 15 minutes before the 6 p.m. start time.
  • Meeting ID: 813 8406 7450
  • Passcode: 781950
  • Join by phone (audio only):

Can't attend the Nov. 13 conversation? The event recording will be available on our Facebook page and the Ecology YouTube channel shortly after the stream ends.

You can submit your questions to us in advance of the live event. We'll make every effort to answer your questions during the live Q&A session.

What it's all about

We began Let's Talk About Hanford in March 2021, aiming to help you better understand all things related to the complex nuclear cleanup at Hanford.

Beginning in World War II, Hanford produced plutonium for decades, before shifting to a new mission in 1989, cleaning up the massive amounts of waste and contamination that production left behind.

These conversations are high-level and easy-to-understand presentations and conversations about Hanford topics, ranging from specific cleanup projects and the history of the site, to Hanford Reach habitat and the wildlife that calls it home.

We're gearing these virtual discussions toward those unfamiliar with Hanford, those who want a refresher, or to expand existing knowledge about Hanford. We'll start each event with a short presentation on that day's topic, followed by a live Q&A.

Have any questions or ideas for future conversations? Drop us a line! We hope to see you virtually during our next livestream!

Missed our prior Let's Talk About Hanford conversations? Check them out on YouTube.