CENTRALIA - The stories of the current and former residents of Centralia affected by the mine fire and its impact will be part of a new documentary in the works.
A few houses still dot the landscape in Centralia, with most of the land filled with high grass, weeds and trees. The only other signs of what was once a typical anthracite coal region town in Columbia County is a municipal building, a few family dwellings with garages and sheds, a cemetery, a time capsule to be opened in 2016 and side streets that go to nowhere.
Bethlehem native Lys Sparrow, 35, came to Centralia earlier this year as a film student in broadcast journalism at The New York Film Academy to produce a short news story but found much more than she expected.
"I came to Centralia to do a 10-minute news clip but quickly realized there was a much bigger story to tell," Sparrow said. "Many people know about Centralia because of a technological disaster that happened in the '60s and still plagues the town today. I found the entire history about the city equally as fascinating, from a curse put upon the town by a priest dating back to the 19th century, to a group of Irish immigrants who were using terrorist acts in an attempt to control the commerce of the time, to a gruesome murder-suicide, or having the largest plane crash in aviation history before the 1950s, to name just a few of the happenings to befall Centralia."
Sparrow has been working for six months with cameraman Felix Anthony Jimenez on the 90-minute documentary entitled "ZIP CODE 00000: What Happened in Centralia?" She returned to the borough Nov. 22, and plans to return Saturday and Sunday for additional interviews.
"I have an open call to residents and ex-residents so I can talk with them and hear their stories," said Sparrow, who hopes to get permission to use the municipal building for that purpose.
"I did go to the church early on," Sparrow said, referring to Assumption BVM Ukrainian Catholic Church, which is located above Centralia in Conyngham Township. "I've been coming back for the last six months and interviewing people. I spoke with the pastor (the Very Rev. Archpriest Michael Hutsko) and I hope that I can do some interviews after the service on Sunday."
Some of the interviews include residents Luke Lapasky, Ed Sheganndki Jr. and Maria Ann Korick, who provided stories of their lives in Centralia and their eventual exodus.
After leaving the Lehigh Valley, Sparrow attended school in Connecticut, Minnesota and Colorado, and eventually settled in California, where she has lived almost 20 years. However, she has returned to the East Coast.
"I still have an apartment in Beverly Hills and I was subleasing in Manhattan, and then visiting with family," Sparrow said.
The mine fire began in 1962 when a deliberately-set trash fire ignited a coal seam in a stripping pit, and after many attempts to extinguish the blaze with no effect, the federal government decided to buy out the residents to evacuate the town. After a lengthy battle against state officials in federal court where the remaining residents fought eviction through eminent domain, a settlement was reached in U.S. District Court in late October that the last eight residents can remain in their homes as long as they live. The settlement also included a cash payout of $349,500.
"After I did my research, which I thought was just going to be about the coal fire and mining, I kept hearing all of these interesting thing that were just fascinating," Sparrow said. "I have about four interviews left and then I'll start on post-production."
Getting interviews with Centralia residents past and present has been a challenge, Sparrow said, something that she learned when she started the project.
"I think I was naive about the sensibilities of the people when I came here because I thought everyone was going to want to talk," she said. "I found they weren't interested. They had spoken about the situation many times before and a lot of them thought that the story was never portrayed the right way. What I say to them is that's why I'm here. I'd like to hear your perspective in the documentary. Whatever you say is what you say. I can't change that."
Sparrow said the story about Centralia is more than the mine fire.
"When I started researching, I found that Centralia is so fascinating, not just because of the mine fire, but also of the Molly Maguires," Sparrow said. "You say 'Molly Maguires' to people on the West Coast and they ask who are they. But if you've grown up on the East Coast, it's like embedded in you. Everybody knows who they are."
A major local contact who has assisted in the documentary process is David Briggs, Pattersonville, who is an official with the United Mine Workers of America in its Hazleton office. Sparrow said Briggs became a pivotal resource in locating experts to provide accurate information about historical events. Sparrow also interviewed Briggs for the project.
"I love stuff like this," said Briggs, 50, who was also in Centralia on Nov. 22. "I was at the union office in Hazleton when we got the call. I live only 10 miles from here and I know about coal mining and coal miner safety. I knew I could help here in getting certain contacts."
Briggs remembers Centralia as a child when he traveled through the town on his way to school.
"I used to go through here on a school bus," he said. "Coming from Ringtown to go to North Schuylkill, we always went this way. This was a nice laid-out town as compared to some other towns. I'm a road supervisor up where I live, but I can see how they planned and thought about it. Everything is square and there are no slanted roads. It was also a very busy town. I remember there was a motorcycle shop on the corner. I believe it was called the Speed Spot."
Briggs said that the documentary is being produced the right way.
"What she is doing is covering the whole town, not just the mine fire. I think she's doing a great job," Briggs said.
Sparrow received much input from Tom Dempsey, Girardville, who is a local historian and former Centralia postmaster, and David DeKok, Harrisburg, author of "Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire" and "Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire."
"I'm applying for a documentary film grant with the San Francisco Film Fund, and I will also apply for a grant in the new year from the Sundance Institute for post-production and sound," Sparrow said. "I'm also considering bringing some other producers on who would fund editors - one is in Miami and another is in Australia."
The documentary cost when completed with be less than $100,000.
Sparrow also interviewed and consulted with George A. Turner, Ph.D., emeritus history professor at Bloomsburg University; Stephen R. Couch, Ph.D., department chair of sociology and professor of sociology at Penn State University, Schuylkill Haven; Harold Aurand Jr., Ph.D., historian and author of "Coal in the Region" and teaches at Penn State University, Schuylkill Haven; Jennifer Mary Elick, Ph.D., associate professor of Earth and environmental science at Susquehanna University; Kenneth C. Wolensky, D.Ed., professional historian, author and biographer who teaches at Lebanon Valley College, Lebanon Valley, and president of the Pennsylvania Historical Association; Thomas E. White, M.A., folklore historian at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh; and Stu Richards, historian, retired aviation electronics technician and author.
"The idea for the title of the documentary, 'ZIP CODE 00000: What Happened in Centralia,' came after interviewing retired Centralia postmaster Tom Dempsey, who now volunteers at the Schuylkill Historical Society," Sparrow said. "Tom tells us that in 2002 with less than 10 people left in the area, the neighboring town of Ashland took over the postal duties of Centralia and post office revoked the town's ZIP code."
Sparrow's last documentary, "Running with Arnold," was theatrically released in 2007 and was narrated by Alec Baldwin. For "ZIP CODE 00000," Sparrow hopes to get a Pennsylvania-born celebrity to narrate the project. She is considering Kevin Bacon, Richard Gere or Bradley Cooper, all originally from Philadelphia.
After completing the Centralia documentary, her next project is a documentary in Hawaii at the last colony in the United States for those suffering with Hansen's Disease, usually called leprosy.
Looking to complete filming by the end of the year, Sparrow and Jimenez are making an open invitation for current residents and ex-residents of Centralia to share their stories.
Anyone interested in speaking with Sparrow about Centralia can contact her at lyssparrow@gmail.com or at the website, www.zipcode00000.com.
As for the future of Centralia, Sparrow said, "I think what's going to happen is that the people will just leave and that will be the end of the story."
For more information about the project, go to www.zipcode00000.com.