After lunch here at our RV, we went to the Visitor Center and Nature Preserve on the grounds of what was Fernald's National Lead Company. It was the early 1950's when many farms were bought or chopped up to build the infrastructure. Their product was uranium and they worked in conjunction with Oak Ridge in Tennessee.
For every pound of uranium, they produced 2.5 pounds of waste. They had a tiger by the tail and it took them many decades to realize/admit this. The information was very forthcoming about the leaking barrels, cracked cement containers, the burying, etc.
And of course they were tauting their expensive clean up and restoration. It is a beautiful nature preserve now but having lived in this area at that time, I know they neglected to mention some things.
Many employees died of cancer (my brother included), residents within a 5 mile radius received annual health screenings for years to watch for residual effects (my sister's family included). Fort Scott, a camp my children attended, was closed down because of its proximity. A subdivision now sits on that property. I can only assume it was built after the soil was cleaned up. It was interesting but made me sad at the same time.
After dinner, we bid Jim and Marilyn a fond farewell. We plan to see them during March or April when they workamp at the San Jacinto monument and Battleship Texas.
By Thursday Karen's washer was fixed and we spent the afternoon with her. Ted ran an errand for Karen and brought back some White Castles for lunch. One more taste treat taken care of. Amy stopped by to give Karen a manicure so we had a nice visit with her.
We spent a leisurely day at the RV on Friday sitting by the lake. Ted was listening to the radio and I was reading a book. Around 4 o'clock we started getting ready for the wedding.
It was a nice affair with an island theme. Everyone received an orange lei and the wedding cake had a waterfall. There were 30-40 of my family there and with an open bar, things cranked up in a hurry.
My great nephew had fun all night getting into pictures with everyone. He said he worries about me if he doesn't see me on Facebook but insists he always knows where I am.
1 comment:
GREAT Picture!!!
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