Town Histories

This audiobook features Sister Ignatia's talk at 1960 AA Convention Medical Meeting with Colonel Townes. It was chaired by John Park Lee, administrator at St. Luke's Hospital.

In the early 1800s, long before it officially became a town, Centralia, Pennsylvania was rich with anthracite coal—the hardest and most energy-dense form of coal. This resource was a catalyst for industrial growth during America’s expansion. Coal wasn’t just a fuel; it was an essential element that sparked the Industrial Revolution, and Centralia became a thriving mining town. On May 7, 1962, in preparation for a Memorial Day celebration, the disaster began. Now, even decades afterward, the town of Centralia exists on a liminal threshold—neither entirely gone nor fully alive.

In Summer over Autumn, Howard Mansfield sifts through the commonplace and the forgotten to discover stories that tell us about ourselves and our place in the world - in this case, Hancock, New Hampshire.