When most of us think about a movie in the park on a summer Sunday evening, we picture the latest Disney or Pixar offering, with lots of picnicking families on blankets, settling down for an evening’s entertainment under the stars. 

Just Transition Northwest Indiana put a little (okay, a lot) of a different spin on that. We presented In the Water, a documentary about the coal ash contamination in the Town of Pines. Not quite the story of a plucky princess or a group of loyal friends who happen to be toys. 

Our film presented a dose of reality: Coal ash, the substance left over after burning coal to make electricity, is highly toxic and produced at coal plants, including at NIPSCO’s Michigan City Generating Station. And this stuff isn’t magic pixie dust. It’s a serious contaminant, made up of heavy metals, which can cause cancer and other bad things. In its powder form, it blows across neighborhoods, covering everything in its path and filling the lungs of those who breathe it in. 

The “solution” of mixing it with water and burying it is no solution because it leaks out of the pits and contaminates groundwater and wells. This is exactly what happened to the Town of Pines. Right now in Michigan City, buried ash is held back from Lake Michigan by a corroded wall that is close to 100 years old. Can you see what could happen to our drinking water and way of life if that wall gives way? 

The folks in The Town of Pines experienced this firsthand, and Documentarian Beth Edwards thought their story was so important that she made a movie about it. Since the west side of Michigan City is looking at similar prospects, we wanted to share the film with the neighborhood, not to entertain, but to educate and inspire them to join us in action. 

We gathered in Pullman Park, beneath the cooling tower at NIPSCO’s Michigan City plant, on the evening of June 27th, 2021. What our guests didn’t see was the weeks of preparation that went into the event, including meetings, knocking on doors, logistics - a whole lot of work. We got there early that day and discovered the joys of not only putting up a tent on a windy day, but of making sure it would be shaded enough to view the film. It involved sandbags, tarps, zip ties and a lot of ingenuity. It was like an episode of MacGyver in real time. 

Finally we were set up. We had snacks and a wonderful free BBQ from Bill’s Grill ready for post-screening nourishment. Now all we needed was the people. We attracted a lot of neighborhood kids - food will do that - who proudly signed in, first name only, plus some smiley faces and hearts. Sometimes, full names don’t matter! 

Little by little, community members and supporters showed up, including a contingent from the Town of Pines, Indiana State Representative Pat Boy, who had championed legislation to make coal ash disposal safe, and members of the west side community. 

We watched the film together and heard the story of what happened, which Pines townsfolk amplified during our Q&A. They told the story of how coal ash contamination had affected their lives and those of their neighbors, some of whom now use bottled water in lieu of water from contaminated wells. Michigan City residents also rose to speak: a local pastor exhorted us to act with a passion which transformed us into a revival meeting as he spoke. Community members shared their deep concern for their neighborhood, which they had lived in for many years (and love). There was a lot of energy in that tent, which carried over to discussions around picnic tables enjoying the best BBQ I have ever had. And I’ll fight you on that! ;-)

After our guests departed, the tent came down, leftovers were distributed and our organization made sure we left the park as clean as we found it because it’s what we do. We were tired but satisfied, ready to build on the hopeful seeds planted that night in a community that isn’t always heard, because we do that, too.