The Paris Review

When the University of Chicago admissions committee received a package addressed to “Henry Walton Jones, Jr.,” they were confused; there is no one by that name on the faculty. Then the penny dropped: the package was for fictional alum Indiana Jones, often said to be based on one of two U of C professors, Robert Braidwood and James Henry Breasted. The package was revealed to contain a detailed replica of Professor Abner Ravenwood’s journal, as seen in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The admissions committee has put out a call for the identity of the sender. “If you’re an applicant and sent this to us: Why? How? Did you make it?” And, most importantly, “Why so awesome?”

Centralia, PA. Photograph by Eric Hart.

Centralia, Pennsylvania, is a town that barely exists. It is a blip of a place, almost indistinguishable from the endless forest flanking state road 61 in the rambling northeast quarter of the state. There are no hulking ruins—not even a sign that alerts you when the town begins or ends. Though the population of Centralia peaked in the 1960s at more than two thousand people, now fewer than ten live here. After the nineties, road maps and atlases began leaving it off their indexes; the post office revoked its zip code in 2002. The reason is simple: Centralia has been on fire for almost fifty years. Read More »