‘Once in a lifetime’: Eclipse draws large crowd to public library

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It didn’t take long for Jackson County Public Library to run out of solar eclipse glasses and Moon Pies.

Employees handed out 175 pairs of free glasses and just as many of the snack cakes to people for the Seymour library’s eclipse viewing party Monday.

“The line was so long we had to start handing them out early because it was creating a traffic situation,” said library director Julia Aker.

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The library purchased the glasses with a grant, and Aker said some people had to share because there weren’t enough to go around.

People of all ages showed up, setting up fold-up chairs around the library’s main entrance area to view history in the making.

Parents pulled children out of school and adults took time off from work to watch the eclipse.

Although it was supposed to be just a 94 percent eclipse, some people were disappointed that it didn’t get darker outside. Other people thought seeing the moon nearly cover the sun was worth the few minutes it took.

Faith Duzan of Seymour was able to snare the last pair of the library’s glasses.

She had to share with her daughter, sister, two nieces, a nephew and a couple of other family members but didn’t mind that or even the intermittent cloud cover.

“It’s still worth seeing,” she said.

Ed Kern of Seymour and his family, including wife, Viola, and son Christopher, were enjoying the solar show, putting their glasses on and tilting their heads back to get the best view.

“This is something,” Ed said of the eclipse. “Once in a lifetime.”

Across the railroad tracks, in the Walnut Street Parking Lot, several people had gathered, including Jason and Tricia Maples and their four children, Joe, 16; Matthew, 15; Samantha, 12, and Olivia, 6.

Although the family lives near Westport, they are Seymour natives and travel to the area often to go to the library and for Boy Scouts meetings.

Tricia said the family decided to watch the eclipse because the kids were interested in it and since the children are homeschooled, it was a great science lesson.

“My youngest daughter saw a display at the library about it and started asking questions,” Tricia said. “She was really excited.”

The family had a couple pairs of glasses, but also made a couple of DIY eclipse viewers out of postal boxes that allowed them to see the eclipse in a different way.

“It works pretty good,” Jason Maples said. “You get the idea and it’s not as hard on your eyes, because you’re not looking directly at the sun.”

Debbie Luers of Batesville decided to try to take pictures of the eclipse with her new camera.

Instead of purchasing a $300 solar filter she decided to fashion her own filter to be able to photograph the celestial occurrence.

“I used 5 percent window tint and it has multiple layers,” she said. “Now if I can get a good picture. That’s the thing.”

Luers, who works at Schneck, said she was off Monday, but had a doctors appointment in the city and had it in her mind that she might just hang around long enough to witness and perhaps even grab a photo of it.

“It’s pretty exciting,” she said.

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