Download or read book Fire Underground written by David Dekok and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How a modern-day mine disaster has turned a Pennsylvania community into a ghost town * For much of its history, Centralia, Pennsylvania, had a population of around 2,000. By 1981, this had dwindled to just over 1,000—not unusual for a onetime mining town. But as of 2007, Centralia had the unwelcome distinction of being the state’s tiniest municipality, with a population of nine. The reason: an underground fire that began in 1962 has decimated the town with smoke and toxic gases, and has since made history. Fire Underground is the completely updated classic account of the fire that has been raging under Centralia for decades. David DeKok tells the story of how the fire actually began and how government officials failed to take effective action. By 1981 the fire was spewing deadly gases into homes. A twelve-year-old boy dropped into a steaming hole as a congressman toured nearby. DeKok describes how the people of Centralia banded together to finally win relocation funds—and he reveals what has happened to the few remaining residents as the fiftieth anniversary of the fire’s beginning nears.
Download or read book The Real Disaster Is Above Ground written by J. Stephen Kroll-Smith and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-07-11 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1950s Centralia was a small town, like many others in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. But since the 1960s, it has been consumed, outwardly and inwardly by a fire that has inexorably spread in the abandoned mines beneath it. The earth smokes, subsides, and breathes poisonous gases. No less destructive has been the spread of dissension and enmity among the townspeople. The Real Disaster Above Ground tells the story of the fire and the tragic failure of all efforts to counter it. This study of the Centralia fire represents the most thorough canvass of the documentary materials and the community that has appeared. The authors report on the futile efforts of residents to reach a common understanding of an underground threat that was not readily visible and invited multiple interpretations. They trace the hazard management strategies of government agencies that, ironically, all too often created additional threats to the welfare of Centralians. They report on the birth and demise of community organizations, each with its own solution to the problem and its diehard partisans. The final solution, now being put into effect, is to abandon the town and relocate its people. Centralia's environmental disaster, the authors argue, is not a local or isolated phenomenon. It warns of the danger lurking in our own technology when safeguards fail and disaster management policy is not in place to respond to failure, as the examples of Chernobyl and Bhopal have clearly demonstrated. The lessons in this study of the fate of a small town in Pennsylvania are indeed sobering. They should be pondered by a variety of social scientists and planners, by all those dealing with the behavior of people under stress and those responsible for the welfare of the public.
Download or read book Death Underground written by Robert E. Hartley and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Re-examines two of the most devastating coal mine disasters in the United States since 1928 in a historical analysis that explains the causes of the accidents, identifies who was to blame, and details the emotional impact the disasters had on survivors, family members, and their communities. Simultaneous.
Download or read book The Day the Earth Caved In written by Joan Quigley and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2009-04-14 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning on Valentine’s Day, 1981, when twelve-year-old Todd Domboski plunged through the earth in his grandmother’s backyard in Centralia, Pennsylvania, The Day the Earth Caved In is an unprecedented and riveting account of the nation’s worst mine fire. In astonishing detail, award-winning journalist Joan Quigley, the granddaughter of Centralia miners, ushers readers into the dramatic world of the underground blaze. Drawing on interviews with key participants and exclusive new research, Quigley paints unforgettable portraits of Centralia and its residents, from Tom Larkin, the short-order cook and ex-hippie who rallied the activists, to Helen Womer, the bank teller who galvanized the opposition, denying the fire’s existence even as toxic fumes invaded her home. Like Jonathan Harr’s A Civil Action, The Day the Earth Caved In is a seminal investigation of individual rights, corporate privilege, and governmental indifference to the powerless.
Download or read book Unseen Danger written by David DeKok and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of the Centralia mine fire; a government's indecisiveness and a town's struggle for survival.
Download or read book Slow Burn written by Renée Jacobs and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A pictorial chronicle of the Centralia, Pennsylvania, mine fire disaster in 1962, which led, decades later, to the destruction of the town. Includes interviews and historical background"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Death Underground written by Robert E Hartley and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2006-07-24 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Death Underground: The Centralia and West Frankfort Mine Disasters examines two of the most devastating coal mine disasters in United States history since 1928. In two southern Illinois towns only forty miles apart, explosions killed 111 men at the Centralia No. 5 mine in 1947 and 119 men at the New Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort in 1951. Robert E. Hartley and David Kenney explain the causes of the accidents, identify who was to blame, and detail the emotional impact the disasters had on the survivors, their families, and their communities. Politics at the highest level of Illinois government played a critical role in the conditions that led to the accidents. Hartley and Kenney address how safety was compromised when inspection reports were widely ignored by state mining officials and mine company supervisors. Highlighted is the role of Driscoll Scanlan, a state inspector at Centralia, who warned of an impending disaster but whose political enemies shifted the blame to him, ruining his career. Hartley and Kenney also detail the New Orient No. 2 mine explosion, the attempts at rescue, and the resulting political spin circulated by labor, management, and the state bureaucracy. They outline the investigation, the subsequent hearings, and the efforts in Congress to legislate greater mine safety. Hartley and Kenney include interviews with the survivors, a summary of the investigative records, and an analysis of the causes of both mine accidents. They place responsibility for the disasters on individual mine owners, labor unions, and state officials, providing new interpretations not previously presented in the literature. Augmented by twenty-nine illustrations, the volume also covers the history, culture, and ethnic pluralism of coal mining in Illinois and the United States.
Download or read book Lost Coal Country of Northeastern Pennsylvania written by Lorena Beniquez and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lost Coal Country of Northeastern Pennsylvania documents the region's disappearing anthracite history, which shaped the legacy of the United States of America and the industrial revolution. The coal mines, breakers, coal miners' homes, and railroads have all steadily disappeared. With only one coal breaker left in the entire state, it was time to record what would soon be lost. Unfortunately, one piece of history that persists is underground fires that ravage communities like Centralia. Blazing for over 50 years, the flames of Centralia will not be doused anytime soon. Images featured in the book include the St. Nicholas coal breaker, Huber coal breaker, Steamtown National Historic Site, Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour, Eckley Miners' Village, Centralia, and the Knox Mine disaster. A hybrid history book and travel guide, Lost Coal Country of Northeastern Pennsylvania is one final recounting of what is gone and what still remains.
Download or read book The Hollow Ground written by Natalie S. Harnett and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We walk on fire or air, so Daddy liked to say. Basement floors too hot to touch. Steaming green lawns in the dead of winter. Sinkholes, quick and sudden, plunging open at your feet. The underground mine fires ravaging Pennsylvania coal country have forced eleven-year-old Brigid Howley and her family to seek refuge with her estranged grandparents, the formidable Gram and the black lung stricken Gramp. Tragedy is no stranger to the Howleys, a proud Irish-American clan who takes strange pleasure in the "curse" laid upon them generations earlier by a priest who ran afoul of the Molly Maguires. The weight of this legacy rests heavily on a new generation, when Brigid, already struggling to keep her family together, makes a grisly discovery in a long-abandoned bootleg mine shaft. In the aftermath, decades-old secrets threaten to prove just as dangerous to the Howleys as the burning, hollow ground beneath their feet. Inspired by real-life events in Centralia and Carbondale, where devastating coal mine fires irrevocably changed the lives of residents, The Hollow Ground is an extraordinary debut with an atmospheric, voice-driven narrative and an indelible sense of place. Lovers of literary fiction will find in Harnett's young, determined protagonist a character as heartbreakingly captivating as any in contemporary literature.
Download or read book Excursions in Geology and History written by Frank James Pazzaglia and published by Geological Society of America. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Centralia Mine Disaster written by Julie Knutson and published by 21st Century Skills Library: U. This book was released on 2021 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human modification of the environment always carries a risk of accident and folly. Explore the causes and consequences of the Centralia, Pennsylvania mining disaster of 1947. Guided by compelling questions such as, "What led to this disaster?," "Who was impacted by it?," and "What changed in its aftermath?" the interdisciplinary content blends social studies and science. Ultimately, it pushes students to consider how humans can meet their need for resources in a safe, sustainable way. Books include table of contents, index, glossary, author biography, and timeline.
Download or read book The Shape of Content written by Ben Shahn and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1957 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A modern painter discusses meaning and form in contemporary painting and offers advice to aspiring artists."--
Download or read book Coal Run written by Tawni O'Dell and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005-06-07 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With her eagerly awaited second novel, Tawni O'Dell takes readers back to the coal-mining country of western Pennsylvania. Set in a town ravaged and haunted by a mine explosion that took the lives of 96 men, Coal Run explores the life of local deputy and erstwhile football legend, "The Great Ivan Z.," as he prepares for a former teammate's imminent release from prison. As the week unfolds and Ivan struggles to confront his demons, he reveals himself to be a man whose conscience is burdened by a long-held and shocking secret.
Download or read book Battleground 1948 written by Robert E Hartley and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2013-09-02 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The election year of 1948 remains to this day one of the most astonishing in U.S. political history. During this first general election after World War II, Americans looked to their governments for change. As the battle for the nation’s highest office came to a head in Illinois, the state was embroiled in its own partisan showdowns—elections that would prove critical in the course of state and national history. In Battleground 1948, Robert E. Hartley offers the first comprehensive chronicle of this historic election year and its consequences, which still resonate today. Focusing on the races that ushered Adlai Stevenson, Paul Douglas, and Harry Truman into office—the last by the slimmest of margins—Battleground 1948 details the pivotal events that played out in the state of Illinois, from the newspaper wars in Chicago to tragedy in the mine at Centralia. In addition to in-depth revelations on the saga of the American election machine in 1948, Hartley probes the dark underbelly of Illinois politics in the 1930s and 1940s to set the stage, spotlight key party players, and expose the behind-the-scenes influences of media, money, corruption, and crime. In doing so, he draws powerful parallels between the politics of the past and those of the present. Above all, Battleground 1948 tells the story of grassroots change writ large on the American political landscape—change that helped a nation move past an era of conflict and depression, and forever transformed Illinois and the U.S. government.
Download or read book The Face of Decline written by Thomas L. Dublin and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania once prospered. Today, very little mining or industry remains, although residents have made valiant efforts to restore the fabric of their communities. In The Face of Decline, the noted historians Thomas Dublin and Walter Licht offer a sweeping history of this area over the course of the twentieth century. Combining business, labor, social, political, and environmental history, Dublin and Licht delve into coal communities to explore grassroots ethnic life and labor activism, economic revitalization, and the varied impact of economic decline across generations of mining families. The Face of Decline also features the responses to economic crisis of organized capital and labor, local business elites, redevelopment agencies, and state and federal governments. Dublin and Licht draw on a remarkable range of sources: oral histories and survey questionnaires; documentary photographs; the records of coal companies, local governments, and industrial development corporations; federal censuses; and community newspapers. The authors examine the impact of enduring economic decline across a wide region but focus especially on a small group of mining communities in the region's Panther Valley, from Jim Thorpe through Lansford to Tamaqua. The authors also place the anthracite region within a broader conceptual framework, comparing anthracite's decline to parallel developments in European coal basins and Appalachia and to deindustrialization in the United States more generally.
Download or read book Dark Tide written by Stephen Puleo and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new 100th anniversary edition of the only adult book on one of the odder disasters in US history—and the greed, disregard for poor immigrants, and lack of safety standards that led to it. Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters were playing cards in Boston’s North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window—“Oh my God!” he shouted to the other men, “Run!” A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston’s waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn’t known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster.
Download or read book The Long Road to Recovery written by James K. Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers reaction to Minamata disease; Centralia mine fire; Seveso; Bhopal; Iran-Iraq war: Chernobyl; Exxon Valdez oil spill.
