Story (09-30-2004)

A look at the history of the "Ad Building" — Part 3

By D. Ray Smith — Have you ever wondered why there were so many skunks around the Ad Building? I know there may have been many reasons, but one reason may have been that the cat food placed there for many years may have attracted them.

There are many stories associated with cats, skunks, and other critters around the Ad Building who love free food. You might recall that "Princess" was the most famous cat — and the dearest animal friend of one person intent on feeding the cats. I have been told that Princess may have been vaccinated for rabies or even visited a vet to be spayed; however, I'm not going to inquire as to how that was accomplished!

Unfortunately, as the story goes, Princess met her death through electrocution and the person who had been feeding her inquired if someone would take Princess to the vet for a proper burial. The not-too-sympathetic response from the person asked was "which half do you want to take?" Needless to say, that did not set well.

A top manager quickly helped the responder better appreciate the sentiment associated with Princess. The final result being a "fine Christian burial" provided by double bagging the remains and taking her to the Y-12 landfill certified for disposal of dead animals. (I doubt that to this day anyone has had the courage to tell the person feeding the cats what actually happened at the burial of Princess!)

The concern for the well-being of the cats was so pervasive as to cause a certain lawyer who wore a black Brooks Brothers' suit to be asked to leave a meeting with a DOE customer because he smelled of skunk odor. It seems that upon arriving very early for work one morning he noticed a cage with an animal of some kind in it in the courtyard. Not being able to see what was in the cage, but thinking it might be a cat or cats, he called a young lady who worked in the building asking "Do you know what is in that trap?"

She responded, "Judging from the smell of it, it must be a lawyer." The lawyer did not appreciate that and with some strong language hung up on the young lady. He attempted to call someone else only to get the same young lady. Needless to say, he was furious by then so he slammed the phone in her ear and marched out in the courtyard to see if the cats had been trapped.

When he attempted to see what was in the cage, the skunk did what skunks do and the lawyer had to go to multiple dry cleaners before he found one who would attempt to clean his suit! (Is there a moral here?)

One last bit of unusual history about the Ad Building concerns the unique electrical wiring arrangement that allowed the coffee pot in the executive wing to remain on even when normal building power was removed. You might think the reason was to keep the coffee pot on at all times, but the reason given was because there was a power line that ran from the PSS office to that building to power some special purpose equipment and the coffee pot was inadvertently tied into that line.

As with any building where people work, over the years stories were generated in the Ad Building. However, the sentiment expressed by Shirley Goins (in Part 2) when she extolled the virtues of the "wonderful people" she worked with there, can also be said about other people in other buildings. Y-12's history is so much more than the "bricks and mortar" or "wood and nails" of the buildings we occupy.

Y-12's history is the people who have worked here and the amazing things that have been accomplished year after year here in Bear Creek Valley where, close to 100 years ago, John Hendrix (The Prophet of Oak Ridge) is said to have foretold that "Bear Creek Valley some day will be filled with great buildings and factories and they will help toward winning the greatest war that will ever be." (The Oak Ridge Story, by George O. Robinson.)

Y-12 is more than a place and more than mere historical fact. Y-12, in the truest sense, is a vision brought to reality — not just the vision of John Hendrix. It is the vision of workers, like you and me, that makes Y-12 special. We — the employees who care so deeply for our nation, our freedom, and our dedication to our work — can be proud of what we do at Y-12 and can take great pride in Y-12's history!