March 15, 1947. 3:27 PM. Centralia No. 5 coal mine, Illinois. William Rowekamp, 52 years old, squinted into the darkness, his weathered face illuminated by the flickering yellow flame of his safety lamp. Thirty years he'd worked these tunnels, and by now darkness felt more familiar than daylight. The lamp in his right hand was supposed to detect methane gas levels—in theory a life-saving device, in practice completely useless for its intended purpose. Rowekamp knew it. Everyone knew it. But nobody talked about it. Because talking meant unemployment.
ENMännlichAltErzählungBildungswesenErnsthaftProfessionellAutoritativGemessenDokumentarfilm
