Lesha Bryant followed her father, Willie James Bryant, into a career at SRS, where both currently work. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

The Nuclear Family

Plant employees follow in parents footsteps

Web posted Thursday, November 23, 2000

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By Alisa DeMao

Growing up, W.J. Bryant wasn't quite sure what his dad did - but he knew it had to be pretty exciting.

After all, Dan Bryant worked at the ``bomb plant.''

``I remember when I was a kid, coming up, in school the teacher would ask what our parents did,'' Mr. Bryant said. ``And I would say, `Oh, it's a secret, I can't tell ...

``I didn't know what the secret was,'' he added with a laugh. ``But I thought it had to be exciting.''

Dan Bryant's construction job at Savannah River Plant helped him raise seven children, and it started a family tradition that would see several children, including son Willie James, take jobs at the plant. W.J. Bryant's daughter, Lesha Bryant, carried that tradition into a third generation when she started working at Savannah River Site 11 years ago.

``I didn't see myself having a career at SRS,'' said Ms. Bryant, 30, a senior properties specialist who worked her way up from a typist position. ``I thought I'd be a college student somewhere else, but not here. But I have no regrets.''

Like two generations of children, including her father before her, Ms. Bryant watched her dad disappear behind the barriers of the plant and a Cold War veil of secrecy every day and wondered what he was doing in there.

``I used to watch him walk in and wonder what he did,'' she said, taking on the hushed tones of an awed child. ``I used to wonder, `What goes on in there?' Now I drive through the same gate every day.''

Retired SRS worker Tony Ferrara and his daughter Suzy Grant, a current employee, hold a painting Mrs. Grant's sister, Nancy, painted of SRS scenes for Mr. Ferrara's retirement in 1993. The pair is one of a number of families whose Savannah River Site connections span a generation or more. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

For Suzy Grant, starting work in public relations when Westinghouse took over the plant in 1989 meant finally being able to talk about the site's missions and work to her dad, Tony Ferrara, who retired in 1993 after 41 years at the plant.

``I think Mom gets frustrated because we get together and start talking in this separate zone,'' Ms. Grant said with a laugh. ``My husband works out there, too, so there's this triangle of SRS talk at the table, and other people's eyes start to glaze over.''

Ms. Grant - who calls Mr. Ferrara her ``ace in the hole'' for his ability to explain anything about the plant she's confused on - translates not only the ``alphabet soup'' of nuclear terminology to other family members, but also some of her father's behavior. She's the one who explains that Mr. Ferrara wears gloves and goggles while mowing the lawn - precautions other family members see as overkill - because of the ``safety culture'' that's been ingrained at the plant.

``We knew they worked at the Savannah River Plant, but we didn't know what they did. I remember once, I said, `Dad, you can tell me!' and he said `Isotope separations,''' she said with a laugh. ``Which means nothing to a sixth-grader, you know? They had the first family day out there in 1974, but you still couldn't really figure out what was going on. It was like, `Computer, cement ... cool, Dad. When's lunch?' It wasn't until I started working for the plant that I really understood what Dad was doing.''

When Mr. Ferrara came to the Aiken area to work at the new plant, he never intended to stay long enough to raise a family. Five years, he told his wife - five years and they were traveling back North, where he had attended the University of Connecticut. He certainly never meant to stay long enough to raise five children and retire in the area.

For Mr. Bryant, going to work at SRS - where he worked his way up from janitor to employee counselor in Human Resources, earning two college degrees on the way - was eerily like returning home. His family was one of those relocated from they area when the plant was built.

``As soon as you cross the railroad track, it's kind of an eerie feeling,'' he said. ``When you go down there now, the streets are still there.''

Unlike his daughter, Mr. Bryant wasn't surprised at all that he ended up working at SRS, a job that helped him raise his own four children.

``It was close to home and it was one of the better places to work,'' he said. ``I always expected to work there. It was where I wanted to work. It was always my first priority.''

Reach Alisa DeMao at (706) 823-3223.

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