09/29/2025
What an interesting article on our little town. Los Alamos is filled with history and beauty around every corner.
Wartime Los Alamos was an unusual community and a challenging place to live. There was never enough housing, the commissary was never big enough, and it was surrounded by barbed-wire fences. Everyone worked very hard and only had one day off a week. However, almost everyone was young, energetic, and made the best of the situation, often by being very good neighbors.
Many of the married scientists and their families lived in newly built four-unit apartments. Often new families coming in had friends already in town who would help them get settled. The newcomers would find milk and groceries in their fridge, and new neighbors and old friends there to greet them. The ladies would host a tea to introduce all around, but being Los Alamos, the men would go directly to their labs and not be seen until dinner or later. The apartments had very thin walls, and sometimes babysitting for a neighbor just consisted of staying at home and listening through the walls. Dinner parties might involve cooking in several kitchens, such as the Thanksgiving that required three turkeys, cooked in three homesâ small electric ovens. Possibly the most elaborate event was a smorgasbord supper arranged by one of the wives who was of Swedish descent. There were fifty-five dishes, most made ahead in her home with help from various neighbors, and some sent by family in Minnesota. Guests were invited for staggered hours, and no one thought anything of sitting on the floor if all the chairs were occupied. Helpers in the kitchen replenished the dishes and kept the baby occupied. Many families regularly invited GIs, WACs, and SEDs to join them for home-cooked meals as a relief from the army food.
Of course, âliving in each otherâs pocketsâ did sometimes have disadvantages. A famous one was physicist Edward Tellerâs habit of playing his piano when he was thinking. Unfortunately, this was often in the middle of the night, in his apartment, surrounded by three sets of neighbors who really needed to sleep.
Image Caption: A four-unit apartment building in wartime Los Alamos.
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Los Alamos Historical Society