Joan Girolami collection
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of records related to the coal mine fire in the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, collected by Joan Girolami, a resident of Centralia from approximately 1965 to 1984. The collection contains correspondence, deeds, reports, news articles, maps, photographs, a test tube, and other Centralia fire related memorabilia and records including the 1983 dissertation of Jane Anne Donohue, a graduate student of social work and social research at Bryn Mawr College.
Correspondence includes records from elected officials, governmental entities, local residents, medical professionals, news outlets, attorneys, consultants, community groups and other associations. Deeds are for a property located on East Park Street in Centralia owned by Joan Girolami from 1967 to 1984. Reports are by federal and state agencies and consultants.
The collection contains records of several organizations focused on issues of interest to residents of Centralia including the Concerned Citizens Action Group Against the Centralia Mine Fire, Centralia Committee for Human Development, Centralia Homeowners Association, Residents to Save the Borough of Centralia and United Centralia Area Mine Fire Task Force.
Dates
- Creation: 1917-1994
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
Usage Restrictions
The materials in this collection may be protected under copyright law and may only be used for educational, teaching, and research purposes. If the intended use is beyond these purposes, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the appropriate permissions by contacting Special Collections/University Archives at the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.
Biographical / Historical
Joan Williams was born on October 7, 1942 and as a child resided with her family in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania (located 3 miles west of Centralia). As an adult, she resided in Centralia, Pennsylvania, from approximately 1965 to 1984. She married Robert Pasipanko and they had two daughters. They divorced and Joan married Louis Girolami. After leaving Centralia, she lived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and Florida. She died on May 20, 2014.
Joan Girolami was a member and vice president of the Concerned Citizens Action Group Against the Centralia Mine Fire, a group that formed in March 1981 shortly after a 12 year old child survived a fall into a land subsidence hole caused by the mine fire. The activist group sought to aid residents, expand public awareness, and advocate for the relocation of residents out of the hazardous area of the mine fire.
She gave the collection of materials related to the mine fire to David DeKok, journalist and author of Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire.
Extent
4.04 Linear Feet ((2) 5 inch record boxes, (1) 2.5 inch document box, (1) 11 x 13 x 3 inch box, (2) oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The Joan Girolami collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title and chronologically within the folders.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Received from David DeKok in March 2008.
Separated Materials
Additional records may be found in the oversize records.
Source
- Girolami, Joan (Person)
Topical
- Title
- Joan Girolami collection
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Bucknell University Special Collections/University Archives Repository
028 Bertrand Library
Bucknell University
One Dent Drive
Lewisburg PA 17837 United States US
570-577-3101
570-577-3313 (Fax)
scua@bucknell.edu