Exhibit Looks At Legacy Of Hanford

Teresa Hall grieves the death of her mother. Jean Thompson marvels at the power of denial. Rex Buck still loves the land.

These voices and eight others are at the heart of “Yes, In My Back Yard,” a historical exhibit now on display at the Cheney Cowles Museum. Its theme: the

The stories of these 11 people, whose lives all have been touched directly by Hanford, are augmented by a historical timeline, which ranges from the birth of Hanford on Dec. 2, 1943, to dates in the next century - to 2043 and beyond - when cleanup of the facility likely will continue.

From an ever-playing video that adds dynamic visuals to the blackand-white testimonials that line the room’s walls, “Yes, In My Back Yard” encourages debate.

Fittingly, it is the voice of Thompson - a retired reference librarian at Columbia Basin College - that proves most chilling: “Most people in Richland that have ever worked at Hanford have never admitted that the government did anything wrong,” Thompson says. “And they don’t believe half of it, and they don’t believe they’re affected.”

The exhibit, which is curated by Helen Slade as part of the museum’s 50th anniversary of World War II’s end, was developed in response to the Smithsonian’s Enola Gay exhibit, which was censored and ultimately shut down because of protests.

It’s no surprise, then, that “Yes, In My Back Yard” - which runs through Dec. 3 - is “dedicated to story-tellers who believe selfexpression is central to resolving the impossible.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo