About us
Connie Musser Glass
How I Got Started
At 24 years old and eight months pregnant, I lost my father. Though I knew his health was failing during my pregnancy, the weight of that knowledge was heavy. My father lived in Virginia, and I was in Alabama. I still remember the last time I saw him. He was in a hospital room, tethered to a chair to keep him from falling, nearly blind and sometimes mentally disoriented. On that cold day, he touched the sleeve of my coat and commented on it. I explained that I had bought it in Wisconsin to keep warm while teaching first grade. That was our last conversation.
My father was an extraordinary man, and I wanted to find a way to keep his memory alive. He held prestigious positions as a chemist throughout his career, despite only having a high school diploma. He worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II in Oak Ridge, TN, where I was born. His work in atomic energy defined his career, and I was incredibly proud of him.
After Dad’s passing, my mother and brother moved to Ohio, while my family and I made the trip to visit them once a year.
In the 1980s, I discovered my father’s journals, which fascinated me. Seeing my interest, my mother shared more of his personal documents. I took many of these folders home to review, which gave me an opportunity to release some of the grief I had long held inside. I started writing my father’s story, envisioning that a publisher would eventually discover it and bring it to fame.
When I completed the biography of my father, complete with family pictures and excerpts from his journals, I printed several copies and advertised them on social media. While family and close friends bought it, it didn’t gain the fame I had imagined. Over time, I realized that the story of Oak Ridge and my father’s role in the Manhattan Project, though significant, wouldn’t catapult me to fame. Still, I persisted.
In 2017, a cousin, Jack Myers, contacted me with an exciting opportunity. Jack had spoken to a high school history teacher, Dominick, who invited people with firsthand knowledge of historical events to speak to his students. Jack mentioned that my father had been part of the Manhattan Project, and Dominick reached out to me. That spring, I traveled to Ohio to share my father’s story.
With Jack’s help, I was able to visit several high schools, including the one my father had attended years earlier. It was an incredible experience. The following year, I returned, and Dominick booked me at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library in Fremont, Ohio. The small auditorium, which seats 80, was packed with attendees, many of whom were my cousins and their families, but others from the community also joined. It was a truly memorable moment.
In 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, I was unable to travel. During this time at home, I realized that my hand-stapled book wasn’t going to reach a broad audience. I began to think about expanding my focus. The story of Oak Ridge had the potential to engage a wider audience than just my father’s personal story. When the movie Oppenheimer became a global hit, I saw it as an opportunity to develop a presentation about my hometown. I’ve now presented it twice, and it has allowed me to broaden the scope of my story.
Through this process, I’ve come to appreciate the significance of Oak Ridge’s history and the chance I’ve h ad to share it with others. I am grateful for the opportunity to tell my story.
