Archives West Finding Aid

Series I is composed predominantly of letters to and from Charter's wife, Margaret, between 1950 and 1958. Their correspondence includes personal and family news, descriptions of Heslep's work on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission, and extensive correspondence dating from Heslep's observation of nuclear tests in Nevada (1952 and 1953) and the Marshall Islands (1956). Notably, Heslep provides detailed descriptions of activities surrounding the Tumbler-Snapper Charlie test, the Upshot-Knothole Annie test, and the Redwing Lacrosse and Cherokee tests--the first thermonuclear drop--including setup of broadcast relays, weather reports, the detonations of nuclear devices, and life at Camp Mercury and aboard the USS Mount McKinley. The series also includes several letters to the Heslep children, a telegram regarding a cancelled meeting with Harry S. Truman, correspondence granting clearance for Heslep to attend the Eniwetok-Bikini Atolls tests, and a letter to Captain H. G. Rickover describing plans for Heslep to author a book on nuclear submarines.

This series is comprised of speeches authored and given by Charter Heslep during his time at the Atomic Energy Commission. Topics include the defensive applications of radio and television, the role of the Atomic Energy Commission, the history of nuclear weapons in the United States, and the role of ghostwriting in the public sphere.

Series III is comprised of several items of ephemera collected by Heslep during his career. The series includes programs from nuclear energy-related events and a press kit from Atomos en Accion, an exhibition on nuclear science and technology held in Peru in 1961. The kit includes correspondence, an organizational chart, and promotional materials relating to Heslep's attendance as a representative of the Atomic Energy Commission. The series also contains a report by Charles L. Dunham on a nuclear energy symposium held in Argentina, an account of reporter Paul Harvey breaking into restricted military property, an article on Heslep from the Augusta Herald, articles written by Heslep on the televising of nuclear tests, several certificates of participation from Oak Ridge Laboratories, Operation Teapot, and Operation Redwing, and a news sheet printed on board the USS Mount McKinley.

Series IV is comprised of both color and black and white photographs relating to Heslep's work as a news reporter and member of the Atomic Energy Commission. The collection contains photographs of nuclear test preparations and explosions including images of Operation Trinity; Operation Tumbler-Snapper's Charlie test; Operation Upshot-Knothole's Annie, Nancy, Ruth, Dixie, Ray, and Grable tests; Operation Plumbbob's Priscilla and Fizeau tests; Operation Greenhouse; and Operation Redwing. The collection also includes photographs of test dummies and buildings, portions of the Nevada Test Site including "News Nob" and Camp Mercury, and photos of work aboard the USS Mount McKinley, an observer ship in the Pacific Proving Grounds during the Redwing tests.

The series also includes photos of Atomic Energy Commission events, meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory conference, Britain's first plutonium factory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, protests surrounding the Rosenberg espionage hearings, and other events and people relating to nuclear science and history. The series also contains numerous career photographs of Heslep in his position at the AEC, the Washington Daily News, and the Mutual Broadcasting Company as well as headshots and studio portraits.

This series is composed of two sound recordings, "Peaceful Use of the Atom" and "Atoms for Peace: 1946-1961".