centralia pa-still burning-see new video

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by judd2401

It's still fascinating looking at all the old hotels, resorts and the abandoned 8 lane interstate that passes overhead when in Centralia. The inferno weakened the main pillar supports so they had to close it. I hear the Holiday Inn is still open and crowded most weekends, the new resort there with mud springs being heated by the fire beneath has been a real hit!

I was just up there a few weeks ago for a web hosting convention. It's truly amazing - have you seen the AMR water gardens in front of the Hyatt? The artful displays of the water coupled with the rich, invigorating smell of sulfur really let you know you're alive. I'm really disappointed that we never heard back from that guy.

It's amazing how many mine slopes and shafts are completely exposed in Centralia alone, to say nothing of the surrounding region. We found three on our last visit. Reported them to DCNR / BAMR, but nothing has happened. From what I understand, capping a mine is a long, drawn-out process that usually involves landowners who think "gubmint tryin' steal mah coal". On top of that, there are thousands of uncapped / open mines and only so many employees (and tax dollars) to deal with them. To say nothing of the countless uncharted openings due to subsidence, pirate mining, or long-lost workings.

[Dawne]

Judd and Downtown,

You guys crack me up! I also wish we'd heard back from that guy!

[couldntthinkofaclevername]

Originally Posted by Ihraraz

Not all cops are evil but NDAA just passed, as I said government will do as it wants and cops will go along because its a paycheck. Not everything the Occupy people did is right, but yeah we are ignorant kids we don't have leaders to show us how to do stuff proper so we are learning as we go. If you want to change that then do something other then complain about how things are being handled, At least the occupiers are doing something to try to change the system.
And I realize the cops do not have a easy job at occupy but you are making it like they are justified in everything they did, and if that is how you think I am sorry for you. But then macing people who are sitting down or throwing a smoke bomb into a group that was trying to help someone up that fell I can totally see why people would think that's justified ......You know why there have been no real deaths because if there were the people would go ballistic and the government knows this from its long experience of dealing with us.

Nothing the Occupy people did was right, because it was a non-movement that was not even remotely based in reality or fact.

Sorry, but they're not doing anything except whining and trying to draw attention to themselves. There is no "we" here. There's the actual working class and lower classes and then there's people like you who want to pretend. We don't get to pretend though. We have real problems. Nobody's complaining here; just calling out people and their behavior for what it is and what they are.

You can be sorry for me all you like but at the end of the day, I'm putting myself through school after growing up in a Philly area rowhome in a working class neighborhood and not going to as good of schools as kids with more money. What about all of you?

Again, there is no "us". This isn't a generational thing; it's a class thing. You all don't know your place.

You acted like animals, just like you do any time you can get away with it, and you constantly provoked the cops. You know nothing about police brutality or real discrimination. Talk to the people from the working class neighborhoods sometime and find out what real police brutality and discrimination is. If it were working class people behaving the way you all did, it would be deemed a riot and they would probably be shot, not just tear-gasses or shot with rubber bullets.

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

From what I understand, capping a mine is a long, drawn-out process that usually involves landowners who think "gubmint tryin' steal mah coal".

Is it really necessary to mock people who either were or are descended from working class miners?

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by couldntthinkofaclevername

Is it really necessary to mock people who either were or are descended from working class miners?

Why do you assume "working class miners" the moment you see someone making fun of the crazy conspiratorial denialists who think the Centralia mine fire is fake? More importantly, why are you crapping up this thread with completely off-topic nonsense about the occupy movement?

Not only am I a descendant of working-class miners, but my grandfather and great-grandfather were both instrumental in the early days of the UMW in southeast PA. I'm the first generation in my family to be born completely independent of the coal mining cycle, and I'm grateful the for the opportunities that has afforded me. Pick your fights carefully.

[couldntthinkofaclevername]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

Why do you assume "working class miners" the moment you see someone making fun of the crazy conspiratorial denialists who think the Centralia mine fire is fake? More importantly, why are you crapping up this thread with completely off-topic nonsense about the occupy movement?

Not only am I a descendant of working-class miners, but my grandfather and great-grandfather were both instrumental in the early days of the UMW in southeast PA. I'm the first generation in my family to be born completely independent of the coal mining cycle, and I'm grateful the for the opportunities that has afforded me. Pick your fights carefully.

First of all, I'm not assuming anything, and you also never specified that it was about people who think the fire is a fake. I didn't know any of those people even existed, only that there are people who think the government wants them out of there so they can take their coal. Secondly, I'm not saying a single ounce of nonsense, whether you like what I have to say or not. The person I was responding to is, and I wanted to make it very clear that he or she did not know what he or she was talking about. It's also most definitely not even remotely a movement.

Excuse me? What, are you trying to warn me or something? I asked you if it was really necessary to mock people like that. That's not picking a fight; it's correcting somebody on their behavior. You can be sure of one thing though, that you don't even remotely intimidate me, so I'm not going to even acknowledge any "warning" you try to give me.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by couldntthinkofaclevername

First of all, I'm not assuming anything

Of course not. Accusing me of making fun of working-class miners totally wasn't you assuming anything, especially since you said you have no idea what we're talking about in the first place.

I didn't know any of those people even existed

Then you just learned a valuable lesson about how being snarky when you have no idea what you're talking about can make you come across. Next time, try asking "what do you mean" or "I don't understand this". You might get better results than by jumping on someone.

Go read the forum rules and stop derailing a thread about Centralia with your off-topic political debate. Nobody wants to see yet another thread crapped up into yet another a political free-for-all. That's why there's an entire forum devoted to nothing but political discussion and debate.

you don't even remotely intimidate me

Yes, we're all very impressed at how tough you are. Congratulations - you've won the Internet Tough Guy Award! One thousand Internets for you!

[DowntownHarrisburg]

For the sake of trying to return this thread to Centralia, I drove through town this past weekend and noticed the old washhouse on Byrnesville Road was recently demolished. There's nothing there but a guilty-looking front-end loader. This building is no more.

centralia pa - Google Maps

According to some of the older geological surveys I've seen, there should be an old slope / drift somewhere in that vicinity. Perhaps to the Germantown colliery? That closed around 1960, and would have been about the right era for that building. My guess is this would have been either the Merriam or Locust Run shaft. I know the Locust Mountain anticlinal is right around there.

I wonder how much time the old washhouse to the northeast has. That one's got a clearly visible slope nearby, though it's been filled for a long time.

[DixieJo]

Centralia in the news:

Court denies Centralia property owners looking to keep their homes | PennLive.com

The property owners are claiming the fire is over, the air quality is better, and they want the condemnation lifted. The Court says, "uhm, no."

I can totally understand the property owners wanting their lives back. From my visits up to Centralia, I can see the evidence of what used to be a beautiful, lively city. My grandparents lived in what used to be heavy coal mining region of western Maryland, now essentially a ghost town even without a fire underground. So I can empathize with the residents' desires to get their town back, somehow.

But from my hikes up and through Centralia, the air still smells of sulphur, there is bright orange water runoff, steam/smoke coming up from the ground in areas, and rocks too hot to handle.

It's easy to ignore, I'm sure, if a person really wanted to. And while I'm all for people being allowed to put themselves in harm's way however they see fit, I cant help but side with the government on this one at the moment. I'm glad I can still go up and risk hellfire death for a good picture, but I am aware of the risks. Someone refusing to acknowledge there is a risk is a danger to themselves and whoever they bring along with them.

[judd2401]

The new Outlook Point resort is running specials in Centralia because of the early Spring, the mud springs are bubbling like mad and the sulfur content is up and very good for your complexion if you can get past the smell.