What is the name of the documentary that tells the story of the town Centralia, Pennsylvania?”
Centralia DVD available May 19 Those of you who have been eagerly awaiting release of the documentary about the Centralia mine fire, “The Town That Was,” directed by Chris Perkel and Georgie Roland, will finally be able to purchase copies come May 19. Amazon.com is taking pre-orders now, and from the sales ranking of the DVD–about 35,000 in late April, give or take a few–a fair number of pre-orders are being received. “The Town That Was” focuses both on the mine fire and how it started and on the efforts of the last few diehard residents of the town, notably John Lokitis, Jr., to keep Centralia alive. He comes across as a dedicated and amiable crank who got his attitude at home. Neither his parents nor his grandfather accepted relocation, although his uncle and aunt did. It is a sad film with no happy ending, but it tells the story well and is fair to all. Perkel and Lokitis, who live in Los Angeles but are from Pennsylvania, tracked dow
Since 1962, the once booming coal mining town of Centralia in northeastern Pennsylvania has been on fire. A routine trash fire spread to an underground seam of anthracite and could not be contained. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the fire still burns 300-400 feet beneath the ground. About 350 acres of land are affected, with the 1,400 degree heat routinely scorching grass and trees and buckling roadways. Most folks have fled. Only 11 are left, and among those, the 30-something John Lokitis is the youngest and most protective of his hometown. Even though hundreds of homes and businesses have been razed, Lokitis still hangs Christmas lights on Main Street and mows acres of lawn around the existing structures. Lokitis, who is also now the town mayor, is one of the people profiled in ”The Town That Was,” a documentary by Georgie Roland of Dunmore due out on DVD on Tuesday.
