The solar eclipse Monday was visible across North America as the moon’s position passed between the Earth and sun, casting a unique shadow across more than 1,800 miles of America from Eagle Pass Texas to Niagra Falls, at 100 miles wide.
With Missouri being a high visibility state for the eclipse, reports estimate populations in these areas more than doubled as traffic funneled into nearby hotspots for the viewings, such as West Plains and Mountain Home, AR.
The City of Marshfield hosted a viewing party at Rotary Park with free glasses distributed at nearby City Hall leading up to the viewing. Hundreds of citizens filled the park, the parking lot, nearby church and restaurant lots and paused for a few shadowed minutes.
Children played on the playground, baseteball court, soccer and baseball fields and families claimed spots in the grass with blankets and snacks in the warm weather and it could be seen as a normal, busy day at the park, if it weren’t for the brief pause of totality.
Everyone stopped to witness the phenomenon. Parents shared glasses with their children and explained what was happening, teenagers paused their games to look up at the sky, an unspoken sense of unity was surely felt by a few other than myself. For a brief moment, millions of people across America shared a moment of pausing to look at the sky.
Residents at Webco Manor in Marshfield also enjoyed the warm air and light breeze as they filled the care home’s lawn to view the eclipse. After a nurse at Webco reached out in a community group in February to inquire about glasses for the residents, a few Marshfield citizens stepped up and placed orders for the spectacles ahead of the eclipse. Residents wore the donated glasses to enjoy the eclipse for over an hour leading up to totality.
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