Dr. Oscar Peterson and the Vermont Civil Defense Division
By Danielle Harris-Burnett
Dr. Oscar S. Peterson Jr. believed that nuclear radiation played an important role in the future, in its capacity to extend the lives of his patients, as well as its ability to cause irreparable harm. His work specializing in radiation therapy at the University of Vermont led to an invitation to serve as Vermont’s Radiological Consultant to the Civil Defense Division of the Vermont Department of Public Safety.
Born on May 31st, 1912 in in Brooklyn, New York, Peterson arrived in Vermont sometime in the 1920s, and studied at UVM’s Medical College, interning at Burlington’s Mary Fletcher Hospital, where he specialized in radiology. From there, he interned at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston from 1941 to 1942, and at the Massachusetts State Cancer Hospital in Pondville, MA between 1942 and 1944. From there, he returned to Burlington and set up his own medical practice and created UVM's radiation therapy program.
Oscar Peterson Jr., his three daughters and his wife, Jeneva Peterson on their farm in Williston. Image: VHS.
Peterson was working at a time when nuclear technology and radiation held both a promising and frightening impact on the world. The energy released by the splitting of the atom promised a future of cheap energy, while at the same time, the specter of nuclear war hung over the world in the form of the Cold War. Through his work with the Civil Defense Division, Dr. Peterson emphasized the importance of nuclear safety. The division created training manuals to educate the public about radiation and its effects on the human body, and through his work with the Civil Defense Division, he traveled to Nevada to observe the effects of a nuclear bomb.
His work included the use of Geiger counters to assess radiation levels. These devices use a gas-filled tube to detect ionizing radiation: when radiation passes through the tube, it allows current to move in pulses from positive to negative electrodes, producing a distinctive clicking noise that alerts the user to the level of radiation nearby.
Item 2004.35.1a: a yellow Geiger counter and instruction manual, used by Peterson. Image: VHS.
Peterson was well-liked within his field and within the Burlington community, where he served for decades on his local school board and on the board of the Vermont Historical Society. He died on September 3rd, 1988, and in 2004, his family donated to VHS papers from throughout his life and career (including from his time at Vermont’s Civil Defense Division) as well as equipment and instruments such as Geiger counters, instruments, and other items related to his work.
One of his Geiger counters is now on display at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier (pictured above), while another can be seen in the Research & Exhibition Gallery at the Vermont History Center in Barre.
