Discover
In 1962, a trash fire ignited a seam of anthracite coal beneath Centralia, Pennsylvania, a once-thriving mining town of over 3,000 people. By the mid-1980s, giant plumes of smoke and deadly carbon monoxide gases billowed from fissures in the ground, the local highway cracked and collapsed, trees were bleached white and petrified, as the fire continued to rage unchecked. It wasn't until a young boy nearly died after falling into a smoldering mine subsidence that the government was pressed into action. After estimating the cost of extinguishing the fire at over half a billion dollars, the government instead opted to raze the town and relocate its residents.
Today, 11 die-hards remain.
Filmed over a period of four years with interviews ranging from former residents to Congressmen, The Town That Was is an intimate portrait of John Lokitis, the youngest remaining Centralian, and his quixotic fight to keep alive a hometown that has literally disintegrated under his feet. His unbowed determination and steadfast refusal to acknowledge defeat reveal a man, a town, a region, and a way of life abandoned and forgotten.
Original Release
01/30/2007
US Release
01/30/2007
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
John Lokitis | Self |
John Coddington | Self (Archive Footage) |
David DeKok | Self |
Todd Domboski | Self |
Colleen Dzwonzyck | Self |
Bob Gadinski | Self |
Deanna M. Helm | Self |
Deryl Johnson | Self |
Tom Larkin | Self |
Ed Lawler | Self |
Directors
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
John Lokitis | Self |
John Coddington | Self (Archive Footage) |
David DeKok | Self |
Todd Domboski | Self |
Colleen Dzwonzyck | Self |
Bob Gadinski | Self |
Deanna M. Helm | Self |
Deryl Johnson | Self |
Tom Larkin | Self |
Ed Lawler | Self |
George Lokitis | Self (Archive Footage) |
Mary Ellen Lokitis | Self |
Ben Marsh | Self |
Lamar Mervine | Self |
Fritz Michael | Self |
John Murtha | Self |
Tom Rathbun | Self |
Howard Smith | Self |
Dick Thornburgh | Self (Archive Footage) |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Les Perkel | Executive Producer |
Elayne Prince | Executive Producer |
Chris Perkel | Producer |
Melinka Thompson-Godoy | Producer |