Fri 6/9 @ 6:30PM
People are endlessly fascinated by disasters, almost as much as by gruesome crimes. Books about them would probably fill an entire library, with every region having its own niche set focusing on local disasters. Just last year popular local author Neil Zurcher took a break from his “One Tank Trips” to write Ten Ohio Disasters. Death! Mayhem! Fire!
Fire is especially popular as anyone who watches local news knows: the saying “if it bleeds it leads” should really be “if it burns it leads” because fire looks so good on video: why that meaningless “empty warehouse on fire” story always gets so much airtime. And the legendary Ashtabula train disaster of 1876, the worst train disaster of the 19th century, had plenty of fire as well as twisted wreckage. It killed nearly 100 people when the luxurious train, en route from Boston and New York to Chicago and St. Louis in a blinding blizzard, fell into the deep gorge when the bridge over the Ashtabula River collapsed, and the fallen cars were set on fire by their oil lamps and coal stoves.
Earlier this year, PBS aired a documentary about the disaster, which led to rail safety reforms, featuring the work of historians and actors. The Akron Civic Theatre is hosting a free screening of the film.
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Akron, OH 44308