Amanda Kline: Central Pennsylvania: Route 61

The road I take to get to and from school is interesting, ugly, and at the same time beautiful in its own ways. One end of Route 61 loses its identity in the downtown of Reading in Southeast Pennsylvania when it continues on but becomes known as Centre Avenue. The road twists and turns and continues north and suddenly becomes Routes 11 and 15 Central Pennsylvania. I wanted to photograph what I remember most about each community or what was distinguishable about it. Then I realized that like the road itself, some of the towns lost their identity as well. There was nothing special that stood out in many of the towns.

Centralia literally lost its identity. Located about 12 miles outside of Shamokin, Centralia is no longer on the map due to the 47 year-old coal mine fire beneath the town which still burns to this day. As a result the government claimed eminent domain and paid its former residents to move out of the area, and the town is all but abandoned save for the few families who refused to move. The United States Postal Service has even revoked the town’s zip code in an effort to evacuate the residents.  The noxious gases from the fires can be deadly and the ground has the potential to sink in at any moment. There are strip and open-pit mines that are still open today in the area.  Centralia is romantic because of its mystery, a place of allure especially to those not familiar with the area. I focused much of my work on Centralia because it serves as a model for the rest of the regions in central Pennsylvania. It demonstrates the power of the passage of time and the effects of human impact upon the earth. Mining coal, which is heavy in the area, is especially damaging. The earth is scarred from this intrusion, and I find it depressing. While the mining industry has definitely become less predominant, it still has a force in Central Pennsylvania and continues today. It is almost as if the land literally died along with the slow death of the industry, and the people inhabiting it might be the next to go. Even though the mines are disappearing, some people and their faith are still there and are still a force.

With this project I am beginning to understand how the earth in Central Pennsylvania has changed and the unsettling notion that it is as a result of human interference. This project is about the death of the earth and the loss of its sacredness. But beauty can still shine through with a glimmer of hope.