The Town That Was

The archival film footage of its 1966 centennial celebration included in this documentary show that Centralia, PA was once a thriving community of 3,000 residents. Now only 11 town folk remain--officially squatters, since the state exercised eminent domain over the whole town in 1992. More than a quarter-century earlier—in 1962—an underground fire that began in the town landfill spread to a vein of anthracite coal…and has been burning ever since. Filmmakers Chris Perkel and Georgie Roland interview scientists and writers to explain what happened, and use archival footage to follow the changes in governmental policy over the decades: At first the state promised to extinguish the blaze, then moved to buy out residents. But the film's main concern is how the disaster divided the townspeople and fractured their sense of community. Former residents—who still gather for funerals—express their feelings of loss, but the most poignant figure is John Lokitis, who tenaciously remains in his grandfather's house and tries to maintain the parts of the town still standing—he even puts up some of the old Christmas decorations. (“You can't resurrect the past,” a former neighbor remarks at one point, but that's exactly what Lokitis is attempting.) A haunting reverie on impermanence and memory, DVD extras include an interview with state representative Robert E. Belfanti; more home movies from the centennial; a brief real estate tour of nearby Scranton; a rock music video; a photo gallery; and, most absorbing, an interview with Todd Domboski, the 12-year-old boy who was nearly swallowed up by the ground in 1981—the event that started the exodus from Centralia. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)