Yes, totally. I only learned a little about them back in high school when I was taking French. I would love to know more. I think it would be a perfect topic for October.
My favourite sentence in any Stephanie Harlowe episode: "to understand what happened at the end, we have to go back to the beginning". I absolutely love getting the background story.
I swear, if Stephanie was my history teacher in school I would have actually been interested and learned so much. She really knows how to tell a story!
Hi Stephanie! I have a masters in Environmental Biogeosciences and I have to say you did an absolutely amazing job describing all the geological processes related to coal formation in the video! I love your true crime content and this video was no different in terms of research and presentation! Congrats 👏🏼
We all need a break from true crime sometimes so I'm so happy Stephanie started this strange and unusual series as well as Georgia Marie's histories and mysteries. My faves! I do miss your cults series! You always did them justice.
@@primesspct2 yes… they threatened her though and she was too scared for the safety of her family to continue. That right there tells you how dangerous that cult is.
I live about 30 minutes away from Centralia. It is definitely not forgotten. Growing up it was always talked about and I've visited it many times. It's now a bit harder to visit as you can get arrested because the locals are tired of being harrased and it's generally not safe. I'd say most people who live within a 30 mile radius knows the history of that legendary town very well. May be forgotten to the rest of America but definitely not forgotten by Pennsylvania.
Seeing “Part 1” at the end of your titles always puts a smile on my face. I love your history series! Such a good break from true crime but still has everything us true crime lovers want from your videos. Thank you ♥️
I instead find her videos increasingly boring, the introductions are endless, the personal, biased notes so unnecessary and annoying.... I can't resist more than 10 minutes (and a couple of years ago I binged hours and hours of her videos, and I still do, on other channels). She's taking herself too seriously I think.
@@sarag.7156 well bless your heart sweetie. Is there someone holding a gun to your head and forcing you to watch?🙄 If not, you are free to unsubscribe and move along. I’m sure no one will miss you. Bye now.
@@sarag.7156 then I’m sorry, but why are you here? It’s always perplexing to me to see such comments like yours, why bother even clicking on the video and actually replying to a comment to just put someone else down? When I become disinterested in a creator I just stop watching their videos, and then I eventually unsubscribe if I never get back into their content. I have never felt the need to leave a comment like yours.
I thought I knew everything there was to be known about Centralia as a fan of both strange history and Silent Hill in the last two decades... but if Stephanie Harlowe is doing a multipart series on it, I'm quite sure I'm about to be schooled! So excited.
Just an FYI- Reading Railroad, like other things in PA named after the company, in PA is actually pronounced like “Red-ing,” like the color! Loving this series and can’t wait for the next part! 🚂
literally ran to the comments to make sure someone mentioned this lol, no shade to Stephanie but it drove me crazy hearing her pronounce it wrong every time lol
Damn girl, it's been a minute since you've done one of these! I'm super excited to listen. My daughter just went out on her first date tonight and I've got to escape the ridiculous thoughts in my mind. Not a true crime story to feed them...just a Strange and Unusual. 😁
She’ll be okay momma. I know it’s hard. I went through it myself and I survived and so did she, thank goodness. Try to relax and think good thoughts. Blessings to her and you. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
@@StephanieHarlowe it was great! She got home and had this ridiculous smile on her face and talked about the whole date for hours. He paid for their dinner, opened her door, and wasn't pervy...so, all in all great!
The thing about “just getting out” of an area unfit to live, aside from the sentimental reasons, which are, of course, valid, is that there is really no market for any of their property to be sold. Leaving would mean starting from scratch somewhere else, which is a lot to ask. If I remember right, it took the government over 20 years to step up and offer the townspeople money to leave, which miraculously, most of them accepted.
Former Central PA residents here. Centralia is northeast and not southeast of Philadelphia. Have to be careful out there. While there's almost no one left in Centralia, the surrounding towns are relatively poor and sundown towns. During the cold weather, it's eerie to see the smoke rising from the ground and graves in the town cemetery.
As a native Pennsylvanian I’ve heard of Centralia but this is fascinating. Also, I just wanted to say that monopoly is a dangerous game to play with friends! Especially when couples get involved! Those boards can fly & the pieces become tiny weapons trust me!!!
It sounds like I am making this up but apparently the British Royal family has a rule that says they cannot play Monolopoly because of how competitive they get.
@@teresacox2511Me too! My Grandmother used to try and placate me by saying the thimble was practical. I had no idea what practical meant as a child, so she usually threw in a piece of shortbread or on occasion Russian Toffee if she’d happened to have a batch at the ready to ‘sweeten the deal’ as they say. ❤ from Australia 🇦🇺
Yes, Steph, do more of these history/strange occurrences. Fascinating. I grew up on Long Island, and recall hearing this news in the 70s. Disgusting how destructive Man can be to the Earth.
Thanks Steph, it’s a relief to get some spooky mystery history!! These last few weeks have been so heavy with the trial of LD and LS.. don’t like spelling their names out. They don’t deserve it.
Thanks Stephanie 😊 I'm in Scotland so don't know much about American history but I do love history! This is crazy!! My grandad was a miner and he moved to the town I live in as it was a new town (75 years ago) for miners! I've been down a mine and it's just so dark and chlostrophobic! Miners had really bad work conditions 😢but he's still here at 87 and he's an amazing grandad and great grandad! He met my gran when he moved here as she lived in the mining village. My other grandparents met during world war 2, my granny was Ukrainian and my grandad was a soldier and they met in Germany, the Russians stopped them getting married and they had to get permission from our government and they eventually married. My granny's story is one full ot sadness, bravery and mostly inspiration! She lived until she was 93.. she never managed to reunite with her family sadly as she was afraid to go back and be called a traitor. I loved nothing more than cuddling her and hearing her stories, from being taken from her family, her grandad was killed in front of her, she was being sent to a camp but a German she ended up being taken in by a German lady who had no children and so granny helped look after her.. eventually she went to work for the British as a cook, so many incredible stories I won't get into here. Safe to say she is my hero ❤
We purchased a home in Georgia where the neighborhood had been built on mica mines. The mines were long since abandoned, but the old shafts still remained. We got a burn permit for yard debris one spring not realizing the shafts ran through our backyard. At the end of the day when we put out the fire, you could see the flames reaching six or 8 feet underground into those shafts. We were fortunate that Mica wasn’t the fuel source that coal is, and were able to extinguish those flames but it was certainly a scary moment.
That’s so scary!! Glad y’all were able to get the fire put out. You would think if you lived in a general area where there is or was some kind of my mine that’s some kind of a professional should have to come out and check things over to see if the burn location is a safe place to burn. I mean if they’re doing permits then they might as well do that anyways right? Seems like if they had done that then someone would have came out and told you guys oh maybe it’s not safe to use your yard for this. Hopefully that makes sense. It just Seems like if they took more precautions in areas where there are or have been known mines in the past things like what happened to you guys could be avoided.
@primesspct2 right?! As if having kids these days wasn't scary enough. I can understand needing various sorts of fuel but they should have a separate crew of workers that come in and clean up things to help attempt to replenish the earth. I live in Oregon and there is alot of logging and for a long time there has been a rule that they have to plant a certain number of trees for the amount they take. I can't remember the exact details but if you take from the earth you gotta do damage control.
As someone who has grown up with Appalachian family, I'd love to help you with the pronunciation. It's "Appa-Latch-an". You can remember it because if you don't say it right, "they'll throw an apple at cha". Great story as always Stephanie!
Was that area also named after a native American tribe or the first settlers from outside? Nice "memoire rhyme" (or "donkey-bridge as we would say in Germany lol)
What a great break from all the intense and emotional content of Coffee and Crime and Crime Weekly. Sometimes all the darkness in this world can get to be overwhelming. This piece of history is fascinating and your gift of researching and presentation is refreshing and amazing!! Thank you!
When I visited the US in 2010, I went to what's left of Centralia. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking. The Municipal building with a fire engine and ambulance was still there, ruins of ancient wash houses were there, kerbs from former residential streets as well. I met a municipal worker there who told me that people were worried about the cemetary falling into a sink hole. It was truly a remarkable visit and I'll never forget it.
Stephanie and Kendall+ her husband and all their channels are literally the only thing I can fall asleep too. I probably have over 100 hours of watch time just alone on your channel. Thank you for being the light in my horrible times ❤ thank you for always bringing us the best true crime. I love this video and look forward to the new series. I used to live in Pennsylvania and never even knew this!
Have you guys tried Raven Reads, and Raven’s reading room? All I need to get me ready for sleep is to hear Raven’s intro. I’ve made sure to only listen at bedtime so I can train myself, because I have a hard time sleeping.
As much as I like true crime, I don't understand how anyone can fall asleep listening to such atrocious stories , I don't mean this particular video, just true crime.
Fun fact: the Appalachian mountains are thought to be some of the oldest in the world at around 500 millions years old. For context, the Himalayas are just 40 million. This video reminded me of the podcast Old Gods of Appalachia, a horror anthology series. It's sooo good. I wonder if the creators were inspired by this place.
I grew up in the Appalachian mountains. We had no indoor plumbing or electricity for years. It was a hard life. But we sustained ourselves by growing our own food. We had 3 large gardens that us 7 kids worked in, and momma and daddy too. Momma canned the vegetables that we grew. She kept the cellar full for the winter. Daddy and the boys hunted for our meat and we had hogs that we slaughtered too and put the meat in the smoke house. We had chickens for eggs and meat and two nanny goats and a Billy goat, the nanny goats for milk. There were times when the weather wasn’t good and the gardens didn’t produce enough vegetables because the land didn’t yield as much and our plates weren’t as full. So those were the hard times. But momma always managed to put something on the table. But most of the time the cellar was full of canned vegetables and the smoke house was full of meat. Those were the good times. In summer we swam in the creek and we played in the mountains. In the winter we played in the snow, sometimes two feet deep. Or we stayed inside and read books that daddy would bring us from the different places he went on the train. He was a telephone linesman for the railroad. There were always new books coming in. Momma had a Singer sewing machine and she made most of our clothes. She made us girls dresses and the boys shirts out of feed sacks. It was really good material and it was free when you bought feed for the animals. Us girls learned to cook and sew and mend our own clothes and the boys clothes very young. She started teaching me to mend socks at age 5. By age 7, I could sew anything. I could cook just about anything by age 10. We heated our house with coal and momma cooked on a wood stove. We carried water from the bottom of the mountain from the spring house. Daddy finally dug us a well so we didn’t have to carry water so far. We took baths in a big wash tub, out on the front porch in the warm months and inside next to the coal stove in the cold months. And ya got a bath once a week whether ya needed it or not.🤣 Otherwise you washed up in a pan of water that was heated on the stove. Momma called it taking a little bird bath. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was an honest good hardworking way to grow up. We walked a little over a 1/2 mile to the bus stop, so we missed some school during the cold months. But we all managed to graduate high school and a few of us went on to college. Two of the boys went into the military and we all got good jobs and were hardworking honest good American citizens. No matter how rough you had it as a kid, if you work hard you can make it out of poverty or whatever your obstacles are in life.
@@teresacox2511 That was fascinating to read. Thank you for sharing. I was raised in the north Georgia mountains but it's seems people here are forgetting the old ways. I've been studying Appalachian history, folk lore and folk magic so I can pass it down to my daughter. There is magic in these mountains 🌄 The green can give, but it can also take it back if you abuse the land.
@Teresa Cox thanks for sharing. My great grandma grew up in south Louisiana along the bayou, where I still live today, and her life was quite similar to yours as a child! The stories sound almost exactly the same!
My great grandma was from the Appalachian mountains, I apparently have distant cousins out there. I’ve wanted to meet em ever since I found out but I live stated away :/
I’ve been here! About two years ago! It is no longer smoking on that part of the road. They built a road next to it, but my husband and I walked that very road! You can see the few houses that are still there and the blocks where the houses used to be. Five minutes down the road you can go into another mine that has a coal line that connects to the mines that caught fire. Also reading is pronounced “Redding”
I'm from PA. My grandparents used to drive us through Centrailia when we were kids. We always looked forward to going there because it looked like a ghost town. I'm 40ish now wo that was a long time ago but those trips stay vivid in my memories! I'm so happy you are doing a series on Centralia!
I saw this and my husband was like ohh remember when we were kids wonder if you can still drive through there. In our 40s as well so it’s been a long time for us too
I grew up in Philadelphia, PA, and Girard is well known all over Philly. Major street named after him, schools Girard College, and very nice areas like Girard Estates. Also, Reading is pronounced like I had read, or the color red. Also knew about Centralia, but now am learning more! Thanks Stephanie!
I love this series - it’s so sad and crazy but it is a reprive from the normal content. I loved hearing all about the history and learned so much about coal mining. I can’t wait for the next episode- thank you for continually putting out high quality research, written and performed content. No one come close to your work as far as quality. You’re an amazing artist. ❤
Both of my grand fathers were coal miners. My momma’s daddy died of what they called back then Tar-head or Gee-Tar head. It was basically cancer of the sinuses and head. It was directly caused by working in the mines. His oldest son who also worked in the mines, died of the same thing. His second son who also worked in the mines died of cancer of the kidneys, they never connected that to working in the mines. My daddy’s daddy was a coal miner and he died of cancer of the bones. During the last days of his life, he could just turn over in bed and break a bone. They said it was from working in the mines. We need coal for energy in this country and I’m glad that they are finding new and cleaner ways to extract it from the ground. I’m proud to be a coal miners grand daughter. I just wish they had lived long enough for me to meet them. Rest In Peace Grandpa Hylton, he came here from Ireland and also lived in Holland where his daddy was from. Grandma Hylton was a Cherokee Indian. Rest In Peace PawPaw Nunley, he came here from Germany and MawMaw Nunley came here from Ireland.
I am BEGGING you to consider doing a history series. Tell me about the Victorian Era, tell me about early America, tell me about the World Wars or any other wars, tell me about colonisation and trade routes and the British in India and the history of China and Japan and Vikings and Picts and Romans and Scots and Catholicism and Israel and the invention of chimneys and the evolution of transport and literally ANY topic that interests you. I so dearly love the way you start at the very beginning and tell me absolutely EVERYTHING that happens on the path along the way. I have ADHD and that makes it hard for me to learn on my own but the way you present and narrate is just perfect for me to listen to and understand and while I love your true crime content I am simply gagging for you to delve more into history. I realise that's a whole other more-than-fulltime job so I know its unlikely but I just wanted to express appreciation and give you the highest possible compliments and fervent support for if you decide to branch out more into topics like this one 💜
Absolutely love the strange and unusual episodes you do! I mean don't get me wrong, I recommend EVERYONE watch you and love every episode you've done, these just happen to be different enough to make me a bit obsessed ❤️❤️ thanks so much for the work, the details and amazing storytelling!
@@StephanieHarlowe sorry, just over here fan girling at the reply! 🤣 I do agree, it's definitely nice to have our brains working in a different direction every now and then. ❤️❤️ thanks for all you do!!
STEPHANIE!!!! Your conscious and scathing commentary on this story was so compelling. I have never agreed with a video more. Please never stop sharing your personal thoughts!
Everything about this video is SO interesting. I love your research, storytelling, and content in general. I think what sucks me in to your videos so much is that YOU are interested in these subjects, so the way you tell these stories makes it even more enthralling than someone else telling the story just to tell the story lol. ❤
I live about 20 miles away from Centralia and know one of the families that still live there. It’s so cool that you’re covering a story literally close to home! Sadly, they recently covered up the graffiti highway that drew so many people there. Also, I know we have weird names that are hard to pronounce…Reading is pronounced like “red”-ing. Like the color. I also heard you say Shell -something which I’m assuming you were trying to say Schuylkill. My area says the “schuyl-kill” like school. Some other areas say it like school-kull.
Thank you. I was trying to figure out a way to say something about pronunciation of Reading without sounding like an asshole. You did great. It usually doesn't bother me but for some reason I found myself cringing whenever she said the word. Lol. Maybe because she said it so many times in that 1 part of the story. I wonder how many other people say Reading Railroad when playing monopoly instead of Reding.
@@carolgannon2307 Us Pennsylvanians certainly have some weird words that half the time aren’t pronounced as they’re spelled, don’t we?! I figured a part two was going to be coming and, in the off chance it had to be pronounced again, I figured a local could help out!
Yes I was going to comment the same thing. I live about 1 hour and 30 min away but I’m more familiar with the pronunciation of “Schuylkill” and “Reading,” since moving to the area about two years ago.
I have done multiple videos and tours of Centralia based on my research and Q & A"s with multiple people in government, and David DeKok in 2017. I've followed the Centralia disaster since I was 6. Centralia is an amazing historic location. My heart goes out to all 9f the Centralians.
My family is from Mt Carmel I remember as a kid seeing the hill side glow at night and smoke/fog during the day. Very interesting place including the penis highway 😂 definitely a sight to see like wtf? Lmfao kids 🤣
I live in Central Pennsylvania in a small once coal mining town. Our house used to be a "company" house that the coal miner and their families lived in while working for the coal mining company. We have what are known as boney piles all around our rural area. Great history can be found in small coal mining towns. Loved this video Stephanie as always❤ thank you again for sharing your talent with us!!!
Your comment reminded me of that song Sixteen Tons. The verse goes… I load 16 tons and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don’t ya call me, cause I can’t go, I owe my soul to the company store. That song was about coal mining. Both of my grandfathers were coal miners and my daddy’s daddy died of cancer of the bone. They said it was caused by working in the mines. My momma’s daddy died of what they called back then, Tar Head. It was actually cancer of my sinuses and head, directly caused by working in the mines. His oldest son, my uncle, died of the same thing and he worked in the mines too. I’m glad they are finding new and cleaner ways to extract the coal from the ground. We need coal for energy in this country. Wind turbines and solar are not going to cut it.
My grandfather was born and raised in Mine Three, when I would write letters to my great grandmother her address was “ Mine Three “ literally . My grandkids think that’s so weird , lol
Central Pa 🙌🏻 My Pap also had a coal mining company and a back woods moonshining business.. He had a heart attack and died in his coal truck. Side note, Pa has some of the hardest to pronounce towns/rivers lol
@@kellisheetz8522 I could tell you’re From Central PA as soon as I read “Pap” 🤗. My wife grew up in Tower City and her “Pap” tells us all the great stories From that region. It’s hard living For the people up in that area, but they are great Americans and strong Families.
My husband’s grandparents immigrated to Centralia from Poland during WW2 and when they had to leave, his grandmother never really recovered. They had worked hard to own their home (something they never thought they could do) and so she was desperate to stay. They finally relocated but she was never really the same 😢
History is so important and I so enjoy listening to you bring us these stories. I just wish certain people would stop trying to erase it from us and our memories. Keep up the great work please!
Yes they think by erasing our history, the good, the bad and the ugly, and rewriting it the way they want it told, that the younger generations won’t know about it. But they fail to realize that us older people are verbally handing down the stories of how this country got started. So unless they kill us all and burn all the books, the truth will be told. You can’t erase history by tearing down a few statues.
@@lindseyhendrix2405 Yes! In the U.S. It makes me so angry that my children aren't learning history in school so I have taken it upon myself to teach it to them.
I love listening to your stories. You make it hard for me to turn it off and go to sleep! lol Thanks for all of your work bringing us such informative stories.
Yay! I love love love this series! So excited you found yet another creepy/fascinating case to share with us. Bc, really-this is just wild, and you would think more ppl would know about it, you know? Thank you,Qween 🖤🖤
I love how you deliver history in your series like this. That's saying something. You're such a good story teller that you can entertain someone with little to no interest in history with history.
I loved loved loved this video! You have such a gift for story telling, I can't say it enough. I really love the strange and unusual topics. I had no idea this situation ever happened/is still happening. I absolutely cannot wait for part 2!
Stephanie love this *Strange and Unusual* series you make about the history behind these unusual towns and occurrences. The depth that you go into 😱👏🏼 I’m so happy there’s a Part II coming. Thanks to you, we know the more in-depth story of Centralia, Pennsylvania.
Stephanie I love that ur covering this I'm such a history buff, and now after I'm done watching this with you I'm going to look up more on this, oh and I know EVERYTHING about the titanic and I mean EVERYTHING 😁🌺🌺
An intriguing slice of history whose repercussions are in evidence today. This topic has been ignored and I really appreciate you bringing it to light. Looking forward to part 2. Thanks so much Stephanie. Enjoy your weekend please.
I grew up like 30 minutes from Centrailia. A lot of kids in my school would take trips out to hike around on the weekends. I drove through it at night with my friend and her dad whenever we would go stargazing at cherry springs.
Always love this story!! If you're reading this and want to know more, Part-Time Explorer also has a documentary where he actively walks around the town, showing where old pictures line up to the modern overgrown streets.
I’m super excited for this series. I live in north eastern PA, my grandfather worked in the coal mines. I’ve looked for extensive deep dives into Centralia and couldn’t find much. I’ve already learned more from your first video than I have from all the others I found combined! Keep doing what you do! Love all of your channels and content ❤
So stoked to see you putting out content about Centralia! I was lucky enough to get to leave my mark with my best friends on the graffiti highway before it got covered. It was honestly such an amazing and chilling experiencing just being there, seeing the smoke coming up from the ground and knowing that this place that was home to so many people was absolutely destroyed because of a stupid decision.
Just an FYI, I was born in Reading PA and it's pronounced 'redding' in this instance. When driving through Centralia 20+ years ago we felt a crack occur as we were driving over it.
I can't say Stephanie missed her calling in life, because clearly she is exactly where she belongs, but kids in this country (myself included) might actually have enjoyed and learned something in their American History class with Ms. Harlowe had she become a history teacher. With such a gifted storyteller who is so passionate about learning you couldn't help but become excited about even the most mundane and boring topic. I live for these random videos and devour each one while simultaneously looking forward to what's next!
I would have loved her as a history teacher, but I think it's 100% better for he to be here where she can be everyone's history teacher instead of only the population of one school getting to only her educational history lessons 🤌
I have been there. We got to speak to one of the last residents of Centralia. The one cemetery was still there and looking beautiful. We walked on the graffiti highway. The vents we were near were very very hot. It was a great experience for us. We have great photos of it also. I would love to go back.
I grew up near there. You have no idea the level poverty. The homes were owned...imagine losing your home...no money to buy another, no money for anything. My great grandfather died from the coal mines.
We learned about this in elementary school in 3rd grade. I remember reading this. We each got packets and got to read about this on it, it included pictures of the fires.
I really enjoyed this and looking forward to part 2! Both my grandfathers worked the mines in western PA. One of them actually died in a mining accident when I was 10 yrs old. I remember as a kid at family get togethers the "elders" would talk about this. This is during the 60's. I was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio. I asked my dad why he moved away from PA, away from all our family. He told me this. His father ( who died in the mines when I was 10) told him to do what ever he could to stay out of the mines. People really have no idea how dangerous it really was. My grandfather's both had black lung. One grandmother received "Black Lung benefits" until she passed. I knew of this town and it's story, and I didn't at the same time. Thank you for the deep dive into this. I am learning a lot about my family at the same time.
That’s so interesting and sad about your grand father. Both of my grandfathers were coal miners too, in West Virginia. One died of what they called, Tar Head, which we learned later was actually cancer of the sinuses and head. It was directly caused by working in the mines. His oldest son died of the same thing, and he worked in the mines too. My other grandpa died of cancer of the bone. They said it was caused by working in the mines too. In the last months of his life, he could just turn over in bed and break bones. It’s incredibly sad what these people lived through. I’m glad they are finding new and cleaner ways to extract the coal from the ground. I’m also proud to be a coal miners grand daughter.
i grew up about 25 miles from Centralia, and it’s absolutely an eerie place. i’ve been there plenty of times. you can feel the trauma/darkness/presence as soon as you get there. by car, or on foot.
To me the idea of a man supporting his country and then being thrown in jail for being broke and then dying penniless without any social safety net is actually a good summary of America lol
Pretty much this exact sentence popped into my head and I'm glad I checked the comments before posting. I knew there was no way I was the only one who thought this lol. 😅
To me, the idea of working hard to have the govt take a huge chunk of my check away to support someone else is not only counterintuitive, it's criminal.
@@KSMP why should others get the fruits of someone else's labor? For someone to receive without work means another person labored without receiving. That's theft.
Yessss Stephanie!!!! I've been taking a long break from true crime and i love your strange & unsual content as well so I'm very excited to watch this ❤️ thank you for always creating amazing content
Derek can make jokes all he wants, i LOVE that you go so in depth in your cases. The history, the background, it makes a difference and you give it all!
My daughters fiancé is from PA and he travels almost 8hrs away to see my daughter here in the rural southeast Ky mountains, but he has told us some scary crazy stories from around his state and this was one of them. Thank you for telling us more about it. ❤
This is CRAZY. Oh my gawd - it's awful. Man made disaster of the highest order. Never heard of this before - I'm in Scotland - am I'm horrified!! Great episode and waiting on the next. Much love xxx
Sweet ❤ love this series! I can listen to Stephanie talk about anything she finds interesting. Her truly inquisitive mind and fantastic writing gets me everytime 😊
I'm glad to see this series back! I love how thorough your research is - whether it's true crime, history, or the strange and unusual - you always give it 110%.
Oh my gosh. I literally love you so much. I was thinking about the reading rainbow and singing the song before you did 😂 (listening to this episode while at work decorating cakes at Walmart ❤)
My father in law is 99 years old, he's a WW2 vet, my husband is his youngest of 6 kids, and our daughter is our youngest of 3. She's 16 and so her grandfather is a WW2 vet. He's still alive, lives alone, spry, drives, can see. His only big complaint is back pain, which I wish we could alleviate.
Just started the episode but I’m excited!! I live in Pittsburgh but my dads family is from and still lives in Mt. Carmel, PA just less than a 10 minutes drive from Centralia, with towns this small and community oriented means my family felt as if Centralia is their neighbors and in turn their family. My grandparents were alive during this tragedy, it is one of my favorite topics to talk to my gram about and pick her brain. We take a drive thorough the area almost every time we are visiting. Sadly spray paint highway has been covered with dirt to deter youths and sightseers from entering as there are still smoking and open veins from the fire below, a lot of the abandoned homes, churches and buildings are also vandalized and destroyed due to human activity and nature. It’s truly one of the saddest places I’ve been. Feels like entering a time machine or stepping into a vacuum, nothing modernized or updated. Permanently stuck in the 80s. a handful of strong willed people still live in their Centralia homes and fought to continue to live there until their deaths and then and only then their homes will be condemned due to eminent domain. Heartbreaking and fascinating. Love you Stephanie and can’t wait to continue the episode ❤
The foundry I work at uses this type of coal along with rock, and wood chips in our massive furnace. We make ferrosilicon alloy which is mostly derived of anthracite coal. All iron, steel, and aluminum has ferrosilicon in it. As well as silicon computer chips and solar panels.
Gurll You had me at 📚 READING 🌈 RAINBOW. God I wish u were my History Teacher! I would have learned so much and shared my knowledge / Gift with the World like Ms. Stephanie.
Oh man I’m so excited for this. I grew up near here in Schuylkill (school-kill 😂) county and graffiti road was a frequent visit until they filled it in a few years ago. Edit: Also had a good laugh because I currently live in Reading and for some reason it’s pronounced “Redding” but hearing you say Reading gave me a good chuckle because I’m sure anyone not from here would pronounce it the same!
I thought I was remembering wrong because I got family up in Lancaster area and I’m down in Delaware and was sitting here thinking am I wrong? I thought it was “Redding”. Thank you.
I’m from Philadelphia and traveled to the mountains for a family vacation. I have pictures with my son and my niece in front of the beware signs in Centralia. It was amazing and dead silent.
@@ConnieL1971 I had a friend in college who was in Philly looking for “schuylkill avenue” and asked a cop for directions. He said “I’m looking for ‘shoolykill’ avenue” and the cop was like what? Until he showed him the word on the map 😂
I clicked on this one for exactly this reason. I've been immersed in the Leticia Stauch trial for hours a day for weeks now and just needed a change. Stephanie is my go to in general. So grateful to have a new history video to relax to and escape the heavy true crime brain for a bit
I’ve always wondered if Silent Hill was based on a real place, thanks so much for making this video! Hopefully the nightmarish things from the movie are just imagination 😅😅
I was so excited to see this coming from you. A few years ago I worked as an editor for a trade publication focused on the drilling and mining industries. Normally our articles were about equipment, technique, or something else along those lines, but occasionally I was lucky to do pieces that were "different". Centralia was something I covered and it was so fascinating and so so tragic. Ofc I know your research is superior to mine and that's why I'm excited. 🖤 Ready to learn more and wish I could go revise! Edit: maybe check into the Mohole Project for this series. It was another piece I did for that magazine and is INSANELY fascinating.
I live in PA.. everyone says we are known for our potholes… when I visit other states even nearby . I can’t believe how they are cleaner and roads are so much better.. I can’t understand why … too much corruption I guess!! We need to change things still!! It is so sad how this happened!!!
Just in time when I needed a break from everything. I love this series. Stephanie, you truly are amazing at what you do. I highly appreciate all the research you do. I watch and listen to a lot of people, but you truly are the best! The only thing I could possibly ask from you is to write a book!!
I am a lifelong resident of Northeastern/central PA. (Right now I work in Harrisburg, and own a home there, but travel back to NEPA on the weekends and every other chance I get. I moved here out of necessity, so that I could do my job with the legislature, but would move back to Duryea, my hometown, next to Scranton, in a second if I could. And regarding the landscape, the entire region isn’t one continuous culm dump. Parts of NEPA are absolutely breathtaking for their natural beauty. It has beautiful forests, lovely lakes, stunning green mountains. It’s a beautiful place. 14:43
The government needs to give the people there the money for the value of they house so they can move somewhere safer if they are going to do anything about a fire that is literally poisoning people. That would have probably have been cheaper overall that all the fixes that didn’t actually fix anything they tried to do!!!
There is a Girard College in Philly named after him. It’s all boys school now that aim to help lower income students. They have a high graduation rate.
I so badly want Stephanie to cover the Paris Catacombs! She would do them so much justice!!!
Ok now I have to prestudy for it until Stephanie covers it :D
Yes, totally. I only learned a little about them back in high school when I was taking French. I would love to know more. I think it would be a perfect topic for October.
@@nikkiej.5875 I agree, even tho I don't want to wait till October to listen to Stephanie make a 6 video series about the French catacombs.♥
@@Alumnia91 Same. I think it also works for Strange and Unusual too.
Omg yes
My favourite sentence in any Stephanie Harlowe episode: "to understand what happened at the end, we have to go back to the beginning". I absolutely love getting the background story.
ME TOOOO!
IKR... ❤️
I like it when “it’s going to be a wild ride” ❤
I wonder if she took that from the intro to the tv show The Tudors?😅
Yessss! Same! I feel like we all recite the beginning of her videos every time 😂we love a thorough stephanie! We live for her!
I swear, if Stephanie was my history teacher in school I would have actually been interested and learned so much. She really knows how to tell a story!
I completely agree
Good comment!
💯
Very very true! Because of Stephanie I totally love history now and have rediscovered the beauty of it. Thank You Stephanie!
Yes! Same here.
Hi Stephanie! I have a masters in Environmental Biogeosciences and I have to say you did an absolutely amazing job describing all the geological processes related to coal formation in the video! I love your true crime content and this video was no different in terms of research and presentation! Congrats 👏🏼
We all need a break from true crime sometimes so I'm so happy Stephanie started this strange and unusual series as well as Georgia Marie's histories and mysteries. My faves! I do miss your cults series! You always did them justice.
Yes!!!! The two of them are my favorite for topics like this and their true crime coverage alike.
Doesn’t rob gavagan do a series called strange and unusual too?
You'd probably like Dark History with Bailey Sarian
@@primesspct2 me too! But I think they harassed her at crime con so she stopped.
@@primesspct2 yes… they threatened her though and she was too scared for the safety of her family to continue. That right there tells you how dangerous that cult is.
I live about 30 minutes away from Centralia. It is definitely not forgotten. Growing up it was always talked about and I've visited it many times. It's now a bit harder to visit as you can get arrested because the locals are tired of being harrased and it's generally not safe. I'd say most people who live within a 30 mile radius knows the history of that legendary town very well. May be forgotten to the rest of America but definitely not forgotten by Pennsylvania.
I live close as well. Maybe an hour or a little more. I have never been there but have seen many friend's pictures of the graffiti street.
Seeing “Part 1” at the end of your titles always puts a smile on my face. I love your history series! Such a good break from true crime but still has everything us true crime lovers want from your videos. Thank you ♥️
I also love to see part 1. ❤
Just the break I needed 🙂
I instead find her videos increasingly boring, the introductions are endless, the personal, biased notes so unnecessary and annoying.... I can't resist more than 10 minutes (and a couple of years ago I binged hours and hours of her videos, and I still do, on other channels). She's taking herself too seriously I think.
@@sarag.7156 well bless your heart sweetie. Is there someone holding a gun to your head and forcing you to watch?🙄 If not, you are free to unsubscribe and move along. I’m sure no one will miss you. Bye now.
@@sarag.7156 then I’m sorry, but why are you here? It’s always perplexing to me to see such comments like yours, why bother even clicking on the video and actually replying to a comment to just put someone else down? When I become disinterested in a creator I just stop watching their videos, and then I eventually unsubscribe if I never get back into their content. I have never felt the need to leave a comment like yours.
I thought I knew everything there was to be known about Centralia as a fan of both strange history and Silent Hill in the last two decades... but if Stephanie Harlowe is doing a multipart series on it, I'm quite sure I'm about to be schooled! So excited.
Same! I live 2 hours away I wanna go SO BAD I'm a HUGE silent hill fan ❤
Just an FYI- Reading Railroad, like other things in PA named after the company, in PA is actually pronounced like “Red-ing,” like the color! Loving this series and can’t wait for the next part! 🚂
I was going to mention this then I saw your comment. Ty
literally ran to the comments to make sure someone mentioned this lol, no shade to Stephanie but it drove me crazy hearing her pronounce it wrong every time lol
One of the first things my Mom told me when I came to live in PA from the south. 😂
We have our own language in PA lol
Also, Schuylkill is Skoo-kul.
Damn girl, it's been a minute since you've done one of these! I'm super excited to listen. My daughter just went out on her first date tonight and I've got to escape the ridiculous thoughts in my mind. Not a true crime story to feed them...just a Strange and Unusual. 😁
She’ll be okay momma. I know it’s hard. I went through it myself and I survived and so did she, thank goodness. Try to relax and think good thoughts. Blessings to her and you. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
@@teresacox2511 aww, thank you so much!
So how did the date go? 😉 Feeling a bit more confident in your parenting skills today, I bet (I hope)! 💖👍🏽✌🏽 from Pittsburgh
Aww congrats to her! How did it go, mom?
@@StephanieHarlowe it was great! She got home and had this ridiculous smile on her face and talked about the whole date for hours. He paid for their dinner, opened her door, and wasn't pervy...so, all in all great!
The thing about “just getting out” of an area unfit to live, aside from the sentimental reasons, which are, of course, valid, is that there is really no market for any of their property to be sold. Leaving would mean starting from scratch somewhere else, which is a lot to ask. If I remember right, it took the government over 20 years to step up and offer the townspeople money to leave, which miraculously, most of them accepted.
Former Central PA residents here. Centralia is northeast and not southeast of Philadelphia. Have to be careful out there. While there's almost no one left in Centralia, the surrounding towns are relatively poor and sundown towns. During the cold weather, it's eerie to see the smoke rising from the ground and graves in the town cemetery.
As a native Pennsylvanian I’ve heard of Centralia but this is fascinating. Also, I just wanted to say that monopoly is a dangerous game to play with friends! Especially when couples get involved! Those boards can fly & the pieces become tiny weapons trust me!!!
LOL!!!😂
It sounds like I am making this up but apparently the British Royal family has a rule that says they cannot play Monolopoly because of how competitive they get.
I always got stuck being the thimble when I was a little girl. I wanted to be the dog, DANG IT!! 🤣🤣🤣
Lol yes. If you want to test how strong your relationship is with your spouse, play monopoly and you’ll get your answer 😂
@@teresacox2511Me too! My Grandmother used to try and placate me by saying the thimble was practical. I had no idea what practical meant as a child, so she usually threw in a piece of shortbread or on occasion Russian Toffee if she’d happened to have a batch at the ready to ‘sweeten the deal’ as they say. ❤ from Australia 🇦🇺
Yes, Steph, do more of these history/strange occurrences. Fascinating. I grew up on Long Island, and recall hearing this news in the 70s. Disgusting how destructive Man can be to the Earth.
Thanks Steph, it’s a relief to get some spooky mystery history!! These last few weeks have been so heavy with the trial of LD and LS.. don’t like spelling their names out. They don’t deserve it.
Yes agreed!
im in the UK so not sure which trial you're talking about, do you mean that red headed lawyer guy?
@@The0212helenno, 2 of the worst mothers ever, Lori & Letecia
@@Gracie.Gardener I know Lori! You can’t NOT know her! (Not personally of course!) But Leticia I don’t know. I’ll do my research. Thanks ☺️
Thanks Stephanie 😊
I'm in Scotland so don't know much about American history but I do love history! This is crazy!! My grandad was a miner and he moved to the town I live in as it was a new town (75 years ago) for miners! I've been down a mine and it's just so dark and chlostrophobic! Miners had really bad work conditions 😢but he's still here at 87 and he's an amazing grandad and great grandad! He met my gran when he moved here as she lived in the mining village. My other grandparents met during world war 2, my granny was Ukrainian and my grandad was a soldier and they met in Germany, the Russians stopped them getting married and they had to get permission from our government and they eventually married. My granny's story is one full ot sadness, bravery and mostly inspiration! She lived until she was 93.. she never managed to reunite with her family sadly as she was afraid to go back and be called a traitor. I loved nothing more than cuddling her and hearing her stories, from being taken from her family, her grandad was killed in front of her, she was being sent to a camp but a German she ended up being taken in by a German lady who had no children and so granny helped look after her.. eventually she went to work for the British as a cook, so many incredible stories I won't get into here. Safe to say she is my hero ❤
Aww I love hearing it family history stories. Especially love stories of her grandparents. Thank you for sharing
@@LoveLunaFam thank you 💕
We purchased a home in Georgia where the neighborhood had been built on mica mines. The mines were long since abandoned, but the old shafts still remained. We got a burn permit for yard debris one spring not realizing the shafts ran through our backyard. At the end of the day when we put out the fire, you could see the flames reaching six or 8 feet underground into those shafts. We were fortunate that Mica wasn’t the fuel source that coal is, and were able to extinguish those flames but it was certainly a scary moment.
That's wild! Imagine if things got out of control, and being the culprit of that?!?!? 🫣
That’s so scary!! Glad y’all were able to get the fire put out. You would think if you lived in a general area where there is or was some kind of my mine that’s some kind of a professional should have to come out and check things over to see if the burn location is a safe place to burn. I mean if they’re doing permits then they might as well do that anyways right? Seems like if they had done that then someone would have came out and told you guys oh maybe it’s not safe to use your yard for this. Hopefully that makes sense. It just Seems like if they took more precautions in areas where there are or have been known mines in the past things like what happened to you guys could be avoided.
@primesspct2 right?! As if having kids these days wasn't scary enough. I can understand needing various sorts of fuel but they should have a separate crew of workers that come in and clean up things to help attempt to replenish the earth. I live in Oregon and there is alot of logging and for a long time there has been a rule that they have to plant a certain number of trees for the amount they take. I can't remember the exact details but if you take from the earth you gotta do damage control.
Where at in GA?
OMG 😳 I'm so glad you and your family are okay 🙏🙏🙏
As someone who has grown up with Appalachian family, I'd love to help you with the pronunciation. It's "Appa-Latch-an". You can remember it because if you don't say it right, "they'll throw an apple at cha". Great story as always Stephanie!
Was that area also named after a native American tribe or the first settlers from outside? Nice "memoire rhyme" (or "donkey-bridge as we would say in Germany lol)
What a great break from all the intense and emotional content of Coffee and Crime and Crime Weekly. Sometimes all the darkness in this world can get to be overwhelming. This piece of history is fascinating and your gift of researching and presentation is refreshing and amazing!! Thank you!
I generally find all history fascinating. Giving it a personal touch is a great format.
When I visited the US in 2010, I went to what's left of Centralia. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking. The Municipal building with a fire engine and ambulance was still there, ruins of ancient wash houses were there, kerbs from former residential streets as well. I met a municipal worker there who told me that people were worried about the cemetary falling into a sink hole. It was truly a remarkable visit and I'll never forget it.
I love when you do history series. My all time favorite series is Bonnie and Clyde. I revisit those often!
Yes! So so good, and as exhaustive as possible. She really brought them right to life (for me anyway)
How did you watch this early?
I just revisited (listened) to the Ken and Barbie series she did....she has the best content on RUclips!!!❤❤❤
Same, the bonnie and clyde is my favorite when my brain needs a break from the here and now. Her story telling is unmatched.
Yeeeeeees! Hands down mine too!
I love hearing about old gangsters and all the cahoots
Stephanie and Kendall+ her husband and all their channels are literally the only thing I can fall asleep too. I probably have over 100 hours of watch time just alone on your channel. Thank you for being the light in my horrible times ❤ thank you for always bringing us the best true crime. I love this video and look forward to the new series. I used to live in Pennsylvania and never even knew this!
Bailey and mrballen are awsome too, those 4 stay on my notifications ❤❤
Same…every night before I go to bed!
omg if you like them check out sherrilynn dale!! she’s amazing too
Have you guys tried Raven Reads, and Raven’s reading room? All I need to get me ready for sleep is to hear Raven’s intro. I’ve made sure to only listen at bedtime so I can train myself, because I have a hard time sleeping.
As much as I like true crime, I don't understand how anyone can fall asleep listening to such atrocious stories , I don't mean this particular video, just true crime.
Fun fact: the Appalachian mountains are thought to be some of the oldest in the world at around 500 millions years old. For context, the Himalayas are just 40 million.
This video reminded me of the podcast Old Gods of Appalachia, a horror anthology series. It's sooo good. I wonder if the creators were inspired by this place.
I grew up in the Appalachian mountains. We had no indoor plumbing or electricity for years. It was a hard life. But we sustained ourselves by growing our own food. We had 3 large gardens that us 7 kids worked in, and momma and daddy too. Momma canned the vegetables that we grew. She kept the cellar full for the winter. Daddy and the boys hunted for our meat and we had hogs that we slaughtered too and put the meat in the smoke house. We had chickens for eggs and meat and two nanny goats and a Billy goat, the nanny goats for milk. There were times when the weather wasn’t good and the gardens didn’t produce enough vegetables because the land didn’t yield as much and our plates weren’t as full. So those were the hard times. But momma always managed to put something on the table. But most of the time the cellar was full of canned vegetables and the smoke house was full of meat. Those were the good times. In summer we swam in the creek and we played in the mountains. In the winter we played in the snow, sometimes two feet deep. Or we stayed inside and read books that daddy would bring us from the different places he went on the train. He was a telephone linesman for the railroad. There were always new books coming in. Momma had a Singer sewing machine and she made most of our clothes. She made us girls dresses and the boys shirts out of feed sacks. It was really good material and it was free when you bought feed for the animals. Us girls learned to cook and sew and mend our own clothes and the boys clothes very young. She started teaching me to mend socks at age 5. By age 7, I could sew anything. I could cook just about anything by age 10. We heated our house with coal and momma cooked on a wood stove. We carried water from the bottom of the mountain from the spring house. Daddy finally dug us a well so we didn’t have to carry water so far. We took baths in a big wash tub, out on the front porch in the warm months and inside next to the coal stove in the cold months. And ya got a bath once a week whether ya needed it or not.🤣 Otherwise you washed up in a pan of water that was heated on the stove. Momma called it taking a little bird bath. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was an honest good hardworking way to grow up. We walked a little over a 1/2 mile to the bus stop, so we missed some school during the cold months. But we all managed to graduate high school and a few of us went on to college. Two of the boys went into the military and we all got good jobs and were hardworking honest good American citizens. No matter how rough you had it as a kid, if you work hard you can make it out of poverty or whatever your obstacles are in life.
@@teresacox2511 That was fascinating to read. Thank you for sharing. I was raised in the north Georgia mountains but it's seems people here are forgetting the old ways. I've been studying Appalachian history, folk lore and folk magic so I can pass it down to my daughter. There is magic in these mountains 🌄 The green can give, but it can also take it back if you abuse the land.
@@teresacox2511 Can I ask you if you've ever experienced anything supernatural living in the mountains? Like haints or boogers or the like
@Teresa Cox thanks for sharing. My great grandma grew up in south Louisiana along the bayou, where I still live today, and her life was quite similar to yours as a child! The stories sound almost exactly the same!
My great grandma was from the Appalachian mountains, I apparently have distant cousins out there. I’ve wanted to meet em ever since I found out but I live stated away :/
I wish you could history lessons for my kids homeschooling. The way you deep dive into history and tell the story so eloquently is unmatched!
Stephanie! You’ve outdone yourself again 🙌🏻 thank you for keeping my brain from turning to mush. I’m so eager to learn more.
I LOVE to hear that!
I’ve been here! About two years ago! It is no longer smoking on that part of the road. They built a road next to it, but my husband and I walked that very road! You can see the few houses that are still there and the blocks where the houses used to be. Five minutes down the road you can go into another mine that has a coal line that connects to the mines that caught fire. Also reading is pronounced “Redding”
I'm from PA. My grandparents used to drive us through Centrailia when we were kids. We always looked forward to going there because it looked like a ghost town. I'm 40ish now wo that was a long time ago but those trips stay vivid in my memories! I'm so happy you are doing a series on Centralia!
What part are you from ? We live in TX bur my husband was born and raised in Halifax PA. I love it there
Lebanon, it's about 30 minutes from Hershey.
I saw this and my husband was like ohh remember when we were kids wonder if you can still drive through there. In our 40s as well so it’s been a long time for us too
@@sararummelTx I grew up eating Lebanon bologna, moved to KY a few years ago and can't find it here so I always stock up when I go back home 😊
@@jessicalynn8746 I'd like to go back through there again. Last I heard you could still drive through some parts but some are blocked off
I grew up in Philadelphia, PA, and Girard is well known all over Philly. Major street named after him, schools Girard College, and very nice areas like Girard Estates. Also, Reading is pronounced like I had read, or the color red. Also knew about Centralia, but now am learning more! Thanks Stephanie!
I love this series - it’s so sad and crazy but it is a reprive from the normal content. I loved hearing all about the history and learned so much about coal mining. I can’t wait for the next episode- thank you for continually putting out high quality research, written and performed content. No one come close to your work as far as quality. You’re an amazing artist. ❤
Agreed
This is A Great series
Both of my grand fathers were coal miners. My momma’s daddy died of what they called back then Tar-head or Gee-Tar head. It was basically cancer of the sinuses and head. It was directly caused by working in the mines. His oldest son who also worked in the mines, died of the same thing. His second son who also worked in the mines died of cancer of the kidneys, they never connected that to working in the mines. My daddy’s daddy was a coal miner and he died of cancer of the bones. During the last days of his life, he could just turn over in bed and break a bone. They said it was from working in the mines. We need coal for energy in this country and I’m glad that they are finding new and cleaner ways to extract it from the ground. I’m proud to be a coal miners grand daughter. I just wish they had lived long enough for me to meet them.
Rest In Peace Grandpa Hylton, he came here from Ireland and also lived in Holland where his daddy was from. Grandma Hylton was a Cherokee Indian.
Rest In Peace PawPaw Nunley, he came here from Germany and MawMaw Nunley came here from Ireland.
Aww thank you so much!
I am BEGGING you to consider doing a history series. Tell me about the Victorian Era, tell me about early America, tell me about the World Wars or any other wars, tell me about colonisation and trade routes and the British in India and the history of China and Japan and Vikings and Picts and Romans and Scots and Catholicism and Israel and the invention of chimneys and the evolution of transport and literally ANY topic that interests you. I so dearly love the way you start at the very beginning and tell me absolutely EVERYTHING that happens on the path along the way. I have ADHD and that makes it hard for me to learn on my own but the way you present and narrate is just perfect for me to listen to and understand and while I love your true crime content I am simply gagging for you to delve more into history. I realise that's a whole other more-than-fulltime job so I know its unlikely but I just wanted to express appreciation and give you the highest possible compliments and fervent support for if you decide to branch out more into topics like this one 💜
Absolutely love the strange and unusual episodes you do! I mean don't get me wrong, I recommend EVERYONE watch you and love every episode you've done, these just happen to be different enough to make me a bit obsessed ❤️❤️ thanks so much for the work, the details and amazing storytelling!
I totally get it! It's just nice to get a little brain tickle here and there!
@@StephanieHarlowe sorry, just over here fan girling at the reply! 🤣 I do agree, it's definitely nice to have our brains working in a different direction every now and then. ❤️❤️ thanks for all you do!!
STEPHANIE!!!! Your conscious and scathing commentary on this story was so compelling. I have never agreed with a video more. Please never stop sharing your personal thoughts!
Everything about this video is SO interesting. I love your research, storytelling, and content in general. I think what sucks me in to your videos so much is that YOU are interested in these subjects, so the way you tell these stories makes it even more enthralling than someone else telling the story just to tell the story lol. ❤
Also, I never knew that Silent Hill was based on a real place 😮
that is kind of one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me.. so thank you so much
I live about 20 miles away from Centralia and know one of the families that still live there. It’s so cool that you’re covering a story literally close to home! Sadly, they recently covered up the graffiti highway that drew so many people there. Also, I know we have weird names that are hard to pronounce…Reading is pronounced like “red”-ing. Like the color. I also heard you say Shell -something which I’m assuming you were trying to say Schuylkill. My area says the “schuyl-kill” like school. Some other areas say it like school-kull.
R.I.P. graffiti highway😔 &we call it the skook🤣 Hi from over in Carbon County😊
Thank you. I was trying to figure out a way to say something about pronunciation of Reading without sounding like an asshole. You did great. It usually doesn't bother me but for some reason I found myself cringing whenever she said the word. Lol. Maybe because she said it so many times in that 1 part of the story. I wonder how many other people say Reading Railroad when playing monopoly instead of Reding.
@@brookels66 Yes!!! The Skook! Love that!
@@carolgannon2307 Us Pennsylvanians certainly have some weird words that half the time aren’t pronounced as they’re spelled, don’t we?! I figured a part two was going to be coming and, in the off chance it had to be pronounced again, I figured a local could help out!
Yes I was going to comment the same thing. I live about 1 hour and 30 min away but I’m more familiar with the pronunciation of “Schuylkill” and “Reading,” since moving to the area about two years ago.
When you think you know a story, Stephanie rocks up with this. ❤️
I have heard this all . She really added nothimg
@@djbookwurm you feel better about yourself yet?
@@djbookwurm she does have viewers other than you, you know? There will be plenty that haven’t heard the story. Myself included.
@@djbookwurm there are fhousand of people who doesn't know this one, and Stephanie is doing a great job by telling this story.
Did not mean to offend I was replying to a comment that made it sound as if there were newer info about Centralia. Stephanie tells stories very well.
I have done multiple videos and tours of Centralia based on my research and Q & A"s with multiple people in government, and David DeKok in 2017. I've followed the Centralia disaster since I was 6.
Centralia is an amazing historic location. My heart goes out to all 9f the Centralians.
My family is from Mt Carmel I remember as a kid seeing the hill side glow at night and smoke/fog during the day. Very interesting place including the penis highway 😂 definitely a sight to see like wtf? Lmfao kids 🤣
I live in Central Pennsylvania in a small once coal mining town. Our house used to be a "company" house that the coal miner and their families lived in while working for the coal mining company. We have what are known as boney piles all around our rural area. Great history can be found in small coal mining towns. Loved this video Stephanie as always❤ thank you again for sharing your talent with us!!!
Your comment reminded me of that song Sixteen Tons.
The verse goes…
I load 16 tons and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don’t ya call me, cause I can’t go, I owe my soul to the company store.
That song was about coal mining. Both of my grandfathers were coal miners and my daddy’s daddy died of cancer of the bone. They said it was caused by working in the mines. My momma’s daddy died of what they called back then, Tar Head. It was actually cancer of my sinuses and head, directly caused by working in the mines. His oldest son, my uncle, died of the same thing and he worked in the mines too. I’m glad they are finding new and cleaner ways to extract the coal from the ground. We need coal for energy in this country. Wind turbines and solar are not going to cut it.
My grandfather was born and raised in Mine Three, when I would write letters to my great grandmother her address was “ Mine Three “ literally . My grandkids think that’s so weird , lol
Texan here. Surely a boney pile doesn’t actually contain bones? 😅😂
Central Pa 🙌🏻
My Pap also had a coal mining company and a back woods moonshining business.. He had a heart attack and died in his coal truck.
Side note, Pa has some of the hardest to pronounce towns/rivers lol
@@kellisheetz8522 I could tell you’re From Central PA as soon as I read “Pap” 🤗. My wife grew up in Tower City and her “Pap” tells us all the great stories From that region. It’s hard living For the people up in that area, but they are great Americans and strong Families.
My husband’s grandparents immigrated to Centralia from Poland during WW2 and when they had to leave, his grandmother never really recovered. They had worked hard to own their home (something they never thought they could do) and so she was desperate to stay. They finally relocated but she was never really the same 😢
History is so important and I so enjoy listening to you bring us these stories. I just wish certain people would stop trying to erase it from us and our memories. Keep up the great work please!
Yes they think by erasing our history, the good, the bad and the ugly, and rewriting it the way they want it told, that the younger generations won’t know about it. But they fail to realize that us older people are verbally handing down the stories of how this country got started. So unless they kill us all and burn all the books, the truth will be told. You can’t erase history by tearing down a few statues.
Same. When history is erased and forgotten it will repeat itself with a vengeance.
So important! I was shocked to know that some children go thru secondary school with no history subjects taught at all!
@@carolynm9638 oh what? In the us??
@@lindseyhendrix2405 Yes! In the U.S. It makes me so angry that my children aren't learning history in school so I have taken it upon myself to teach it to them.
I love listening to your stories. You make it hard for me to turn it off and go to sleep! lol Thanks for all of your work bringing us such informative stories.
Yay! I love love love this series! So excited you found yet another creepy/fascinating case to share with us. Bc, really-this is just wild, and you would think more ppl would know about it, you know? Thank you,Qween 🖤🖤
I love how you deliver history in your series like this. That's saying something. You're such a good story teller that you can entertain someone with little to no interest in history with history.
I loved loved loved this video! You have such a gift for story telling, I can't say it enough. I really love the strange and unusual topics. I had no idea this situation ever happened/is still happening. I absolutely cannot wait for part 2!
Stephanie love this *Strange and Unusual* series you make about the history behind these unusual towns and occurrences. The depth that you go into 😱👏🏼 I’m so happy there’s a Part II coming. Thanks to you, we know the more in-depth story of Centralia, Pennsylvania.
As a history nerd and lover. I love how in-depth you go, no idea how you do it but I love it.
Centralia? Fantastic. Stephanie covering Centralia?! My joy cannot be contained, I'm so excited for this!!
Stephanie I love that ur covering this I'm such a history buff, and now after I'm done watching this with you I'm going to look up more on this, oh and I know EVERYTHING about the titanic and I mean EVERYTHING 😁🌺🌺
An intriguing slice of history whose repercussions are in evidence today. This topic has been ignored and I really appreciate you bringing it to light. Looking forward to part 2. Thanks so much Stephanie. Enjoy your weekend please.
I grew up like 30 minutes from Centrailia. A lot of kids in my school would take trips out to hike around on the weekends. I drove through it at night with my friend and her dad whenever we would go stargazing at cherry springs.
Always love this story!! If you're reading this and want to know more, Part-Time Explorer also has a documentary where he actively walks around the town, showing where old pictures line up to the modern overgrown streets.
Thanks for the tip! I will be checking that out.
This is my second time watching the Centralia videos. Love your other videos, but also hope you do many more installments of Strange and Unusual!! ❤
This story is fascinating to me and I cannot wait to hear Stephanie tell it! It’s a gloomy, rainy day so this is perfect timing!
I’m super excited for this series. I live in north eastern PA, my grandfather worked in the coal mines. I’ve looked for extensive deep dives into Centralia and couldn’t find much. I’ve already learned more from your first video than I have from all the others I found combined! Keep doing what you do! Love all of your channels and content ❤
So stoked to see you putting out content about Centralia! I was lucky enough to get to leave my mark with my best friends on the graffiti highway before it got covered. It was honestly such an amazing and chilling experiencing just being there, seeing the smoke coming up from the ground and knowing that this place that was home to so many people was absolutely destroyed because of a stupid decision.
We got to take our kids there a couple years ago. I was happy to be able to go before they covered it but didn’t get to leave our mark.
honestly this series is what we need- all the major cases going on involving the deaths of children is a lot to deal with for true crime fans lately
agreed!
100% !
I just absolute love her enthusiasm about history!! I'm a history need to and she always knows how to tell a good history lesson! ❤
Loved Reading Rainbow🌈! I really do learn so much from these videos! If Stephanie was my teacher, I would have had an A+++ in my history class! 😊
Just an FYI, I was born in Reading PA and it's pronounced 'redding' in this instance. When driving through Centralia 20+ years ago we felt a crack occur as we were driving over it.
I can't say Stephanie missed her calling in life, because clearly she is exactly where she belongs, but kids in this country (myself included) might actually have enjoyed and learned something in their American History class with Ms. Harlowe had she become a history teacher. With such a gifted storyteller who is so passionate about learning you couldn't help but become excited about even the most mundane and boring topic. I live for these random videos and devour each one while simultaneously looking forward to what's next!
I would have loved her as a history teacher, but I think it's 100% better for he to be here where she can be everyone's history teacher instead of only the population of one school getting to only her educational history lessons 🤌
I have been there. We got to speak to one of the last residents of Centralia. The one cemetery was still there and looking beautiful. We walked on the graffiti highway. The vents we were near were very very hot. It was a great experience for us. We have great photos of it also. I would love to go back.
I have been so fascinated with the history of Centralia. I love the way you told the story. Cant wait for the next part ❤😊..
Absolutely love the "Break" from true crime. You are incredibly thorough, Stephanie, and it's appreciated!
I grew up near there. You have no idea the level poverty. The homes were owned...imagine losing your home...no money to buy another, no money for anything. My great grandfather died from the coal mines.
We learned about this in elementary school in 3rd grade. I remember reading this. We each got packets and got to read about this on it, it included pictures of the fires.
I really enjoyed this and looking forward to part 2!
Both my grandfathers worked the mines in western PA. One of them actually died in a mining accident when I was 10 yrs old.
I remember as a kid at family get togethers the "elders" would talk about this. This is during the 60's.
I was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio. I asked my dad why he moved away from PA, away from all our family.
He told me this. His father ( who died in the mines when I was 10) told him to do what ever he could to stay out of the mines. People really have no idea how dangerous it really was.
My grandfather's both had black lung. One grandmother received "Black Lung benefits" until she passed.
I knew of this town and it's story, and I didn't at the same time. Thank you for the deep dive into this. I am learning a lot about my family at the same time.
That’s so interesting and sad about your grand father. Both of my grandfathers were coal miners too, in West Virginia. One died of what they called, Tar Head, which we learned later was actually cancer of the sinuses and head. It was directly caused by working in the mines. His oldest son died of the same thing, and he worked in the mines too. My other grandpa died of cancer of the bone. They said it was caused by working in the mines too. In the last months of his life, he could just turn over in bed and break bones. It’s incredibly sad what these people lived through. I’m glad they are finding new and cleaner ways to extract the coal from the ground. I’m also proud to be a coal miners grand daughter.
i grew up about 25 miles from Centralia, and it’s absolutely an eerie place. i’ve been there plenty of times. you can feel the trauma/darkness/presence as soon as you get there. by car, or on foot.
To me the idea of a man supporting his country and then being thrown in jail for being broke and then dying penniless without any social safety net is actually a good summary of America lol
Pretty much this exact sentence popped into my head and I'm glad I checked the comments before posting. I knew there was no way I was the only one who thought this lol. 😅
To me, the idea of working hard to have the govt take a huge chunk of my check away to support someone else is not only counterintuitive, it's criminal.
@@Styxswimmer I sure hope you never need help from anyone else for any reason.
@@KSMP why should others get the fruits of someone else's labor? For someone to receive without work means another person labored without receiving. That's theft.
@@Styxswimmer if you say so
Okay but the entire intro was such a vibe. Love it!
I've heard bits and pieces about this story, but I know Stephanie is about to tell us everything about it!!😊
I about a 45 minute drive away from Centralia. Thank you for covering this story that is huge in my area.
Yessss Stephanie!!!! I've been taking a long break from true crime and i love your strange & unsual content as well so I'm very excited to watch this ❤️ thank you for always creating amazing content
Derek can make jokes all he wants, i LOVE that you go so in depth in your cases. The history, the background, it makes a difference and you give it all!
This series is a blast, THANK YOU STEPHANIE!
I find this all very fascinating as well. Can't wait for part 2!
My daughters fiancé is from PA and he travels almost 8hrs away to see my daughter here in the rural southeast Ky mountains, but he has told us some scary crazy stories from around his state and this was one of them. Thank you for telling us more about it. ❤
I'm from Magoffin😊
This is CRAZY. Oh my gawd - it's awful. Man made disaster of the highest order. Never heard of this before - I'm in Scotland - am I'm horrified!! Great episode and waiting on the next. Much love xxx
@@JabberJawz. I’m in letcher county Ky so we aren’t too far from eachother. I subbed to your channel by the way 💕
I am loving this! I had never even heard of Centralia...
Sweet ❤ love this series! I can listen to Stephanie talk about anything she finds interesting. Her truly inquisitive mind and fantastic writing gets me everytime 😊
Awww thank you!!!
I'm glad to see this series back! I love how thorough your research is - whether it's true crime, history, or the strange and unusual - you always give it 110%.
I love everything you do but this is my absolute favorite series you do 🖤
Oh my gosh. I literally love you so much. I was thinking about the reading rainbow and singing the song before you did 😂 (listening to this episode while at work decorating cakes at Walmart ❤)
My father in law is 99 years old, he's a WW2 vet, my husband is his youngest of 6 kids, and our daughter is our youngest of 3. She's 16 and so her grandfather is a WW2 vet. He's still alive, lives alone, spry, drives, can see. His only big complaint is back pain, which I wish we could alleviate.
That's so incredible!!! How blessed you are to have him and all his history! Tell him thank you, truly, for his service!!!
CBD
Just started the episode but I’m excited!! I live in Pittsburgh but my dads family is from and still lives in Mt. Carmel, PA just less than a 10 minutes drive from Centralia, with towns this small and community oriented means my family felt as if Centralia is their neighbors and in turn their family. My grandparents were alive during this tragedy, it is one of my favorite topics to talk to my gram about and pick her brain. We take a drive thorough the area almost every time we are visiting. Sadly spray paint highway has been covered with dirt to deter youths and sightseers from entering as there are still smoking and open veins from the fire below, a lot of the abandoned homes, churches and buildings are also vandalized and destroyed due to human activity and nature. It’s truly one of the saddest places I’ve been. Feels like entering a time machine or stepping into a vacuum, nothing modernized or updated. Permanently stuck in the 80s. a handful of strong willed people still live in their Centralia homes and fought to continue to live there until their deaths and then and only then their homes will be condemned due to eminent domain. Heartbreaking and fascinating. Love you Stephanie and can’t wait to continue the episode ❤
Love the history and Strange and Unusual stories! More please 😊
You'd probably like Baily Sarians dark history she's really good
The foundry I work at uses this type of coal along with rock, and wood chips in our massive furnace. We make ferrosilicon alloy which is mostly derived of anthracite coal. All iron, steel, and aluminum has ferrosilicon in it. As well as silicon computer chips and solar panels.
"why not move" is such a crazy take. Who are they going to sell their houses to? I doubt they have a lot of money in the bank if they are staying.
Gurll You had me at 📚 READING 🌈 RAINBOW. God I wish u were my History Teacher! I would have learned so much and shared my knowledge / Gift with the World like Ms. Stephanie.
Oh man I’m so excited for this. I grew up near here in Schuylkill (school-kill 😂) county and graffiti road was a frequent visit until they filled it in a few years ago.
Edit: Also had a good laugh because I currently live in Reading and for some reason it’s pronounced “Redding” but hearing you say Reading gave me a good chuckle because I’m sure anyone not from here would pronounce it the same!
I thought I was remembering wrong because I got family up in Lancaster area and I’m down in Delaware and was sitting here thinking am I wrong? I thought it was “Redding”. Thank you.
I’m from Georgia and I know Reading is pronounced “Redding.” But I must admit, I would have had no idea how to pronounce Schuylkill! 😂
I’m from Philadelphia and traveled to the mountains for a family vacation. I have pictures with my son and my niece in front of the beware signs in Centralia. It was amazing and dead silent.
@@ConnieL1971 skoo-kil
@@ConnieL1971 I had a friend in college who was in Philly looking for “schuylkill avenue” and asked a cop for directions. He said “I’m looking for ‘shoolykill’ avenue” and the cop was like what? Until he showed him the word on the map 😂
I clicked on this one for exactly this reason. I've been immersed in the Leticia Stauch trial for hours a day for weeks now and just needed a change. Stephanie is my go to in general. So grateful to have a new history video to relax to and escape the heavy true crime brain for a bit
I’ve always wondered if Silent Hill was based on a real place, thanks so much for making this video! Hopefully the nightmarish things from the movie are just imagination 😅😅
This was by far one of my favorites from you, Stephanie. Your research has shown you have great skill and knowledge. Thank you!!
I was so excited to see this coming from you. A few years ago I worked as an editor for a trade publication focused on the drilling and mining industries. Normally our articles were about equipment, technique, or something else along those lines, but occasionally I was lucky to do pieces that were "different". Centralia was something I covered and it was so fascinating and so so tragic.
Ofc I know your research is superior to mine and that's why I'm excited. 🖤 Ready to learn more and wish I could go revise!
Edit: maybe check into the Mohole Project for this series. It was another piece I did for that magazine and is INSANELY fascinating.
I live in PA.. everyone says we are known for our potholes… when I visit other states even nearby . I can’t believe how they are cleaner and roads are so much better.. I can’t understand why … too much corruption I guess!! We need to change things still!! It is so sad how this happened!!!
Just in time when I needed a break from everything. I love this series. Stephanie, you truly are amazing at what you do. I highly appreciate all the research you do. I watch and listen to a lot of people, but you truly are the best! The only thing I could possibly ask from you is to write a book!!
Poor people can't pack up and leave.
I am a lifelong resident of Northeastern/central PA. (Right now I work in Harrisburg, and own a home there, but travel back to NEPA on the weekends and every other chance I get. I moved here out of necessity, so that I could do my job with the legislature, but would move back to Duryea, my hometown, next to Scranton, in a second if I could. And regarding the landscape, the entire region isn’t one continuous culm dump. Parts of NEPA are absolutely breathtaking for their natural beauty. It has beautiful forests, lovely lakes, stunning green mountains. It’s a beautiful place. 14:43
The government needs to give the people there the money for the value of they house so they can move somewhere safer if they are going to do anything about a fire that is literally poisoning people. That would have probably have been cheaper overall that all the fixes that didn’t actually fix anything they tried to do!!!
💯 Agree! I was thinking the same!
Really good episode, Stephanie. I really enjoy these types of videos by you. Excellent research and history telling. I learned so much! 😍
There is a Girard College in Philly named after him. It’s all boys school now that aim to help lower income students. They have a high graduation rate.
Loving Professor Harlowe! The history in you add is fascinating. Please keep it up. Love this channel .
Only the unappreciative people hate history. Knowing that history is why we are here.
I love this content, thank you !❤❤❤