Celebrating the eclipse: See how Stark County reacted to the rare total solar eclipse
Cheers erupted all over Stark County as residents and thousands of out-of-town visitors watched the moon mask the sun for roughly four minutes Monday.
Here are some of the sights and sounds from across Stark County as viewers readied for the total solar eclipse:
Hartville MarketPlace welcomed visitors from as far away as England
More than 4,000 solar eclipse viewers arrived at the Hartville MarketPlace & Flea Market on Monday. The viewers came from near and far – everywhere from Lake Township to Pennsylvania and New York and even as far away as Essex, England.
Throughout the day, kids got the sun and the moon painted on their faces and the DJ played music to match the mood – everything from “Good Day Sunshine” to “Walking on the Moon.”
Wearing their solar eclipse-themed shirts, a family of four from Plain Township arrived early, setting up chairs and blankets.
Richard Doll, 71, who works part-time at Hartville Hardware, and his wife, Elaine, 68, were born and raised in Hartville. Elaine is a part-time merchandiser for Hallmark.
Their son, Nicholas, 33, works at the Hartville MarketPlace while his sister, Stephanie, 37, works for Amazon. Expecting lots of post-eclipse viewing traffic, they booked a nearby hotel room.
“We’re excited about the viewing and happy to just sit back, enjoy the warm weather and this lifetime experience,” Elaine Doll said.
- Barb Shaffer, Canton Repository
Families gathered in Alliance
At Butler Rodman Park in Alliance, the eclipse-viewing gathering took on the atmosphere of a picnic with nearly 200 people attending the event.
Families totted kids, folding chairs and bags bearing snacks. The playground filled with children as adults found spots in the grass nearby.
"We knew that if there was good weather, we'd have a good crowd," said Niki McIlvain, director of marketing and events coordinator for Alliance City Parks.
The park blocked off one parking lot to accommodate a bouncy house, the Alliance Public Library Bookmobile and a balloon-animal giveaway, courtesy of Texas Roadhouse.
The Alliance Lions Club occupied a large picnic shelter, where they handed out hotdogs, drinks, cookies and chips.
President Bill Prueter estimated they gave away about 300 hotdogs. Member Paul Domino said the giveaway is in keeping with their mission to serve others. The club also provides blindness prevention, distributes eyeglasses and raises funds for pediatric cancer.
Shakiya Golphin said she brought her children to the event because they've been excited since they learned about it in school.
“I wasn't that excited about it, but the teachers had them so hyped up," she said with a laugh. "Plus, it's a beautiful day.
Golphin was accompanied by her sister, Imani, whose toddlers, ages 3 and 1, were too young to understand what was happening. But she agreed that the warm day was worth the effort.
"It's a great day to be at the park," she said.
Rodman Public Library employees James Sedoris and Jenny Petkash gave away more than 75 pairs of eclipse glasses at the event.
Petkash said patrons have been excited about the eclipse, estimating that the library gave away about 1,000 pairs since April 1.
"People are really excited; they were very happy to see us," Sedoris said. "The last time people were scalping, so we're happy to help."
- Charita Goshay, Canton Repository
Massillon sees small crowds form at downtown venues for eclipse
A little more than two dozen people filed in and out of the Massillon Public Library parking lot where a free solar eclipse watch party was ongoing Monday afternoon.
Spike Ridgley and his wife, April, brought their two sons, Whit and Wyn, to the library to watch the rare celestial event.
"This is a couple-of-hundred-year thing. It's very cool and unbelievable to see," said Spike Ridgley, who is the Massillon Tigers' head baseball coach.
Kids drew pictures of the sun and moon using colored chalk on the blacktop of the library's parking lot before the full eclipse.
Danelle Drexler, adult program manager at the Massillon library, passed out solar eclipse glasses until the sky turned dark. Free beverages and library literature were also available to attendees.
In addition to the library, dozens of people sprinkled into other downtown spots, such as Downtownhecks Tap Room, Bender's Food & Spirits and Duncan Plaza to watch the eclipse.
- Steve Grazier, Massillon Independent
Countdown to the eclipse at McKinley Monument
By 3:11 p.m. Monday, a couple hundred people at the McKinley Monument were ready for the show.
"Four minutes!" shouted one boy from the sidewalk below.
The sky grew more dusky.
Men, women and children had picked their locations. On blankets in the lawn. In folding chairs. On concrete rails that lead to and surround the final resting place of William McKinley, the nation's 25th president who was assassinated in 1901.
Near the foundation of the monument, 108 steps above the parking lot, was prime real estate for some.
Michael Gnome and Kara Irvin, of Tuscarawas County, and their kids, Lilly Irvin, 10, and Leo Irvin, 8, had settled in long before. "We just decided to come to the highest place we could find," Gnome explained.
Same for Lydia Krupa, of Canton.
"It's been on my calendar for a year," she said.
Rebeka Berrick and her sons, Erick Kugelman, 12, and Kyle Kugelman, 10, had planned to watch from home. They made a quick change of plans Monday morning. They'd grabbed a picnic lunch from nearby Kennedy's BBQ and headed to the monument.
"It's going to be like nighttime," said the older brother.
"It's going to be like the sun exploded," Kyle Kugelman predicted.
Alexander McCalla and his girlfriend's son, 8-year-old Gabe Rastetter, shared a pair of solar viewing glasses on the west side of the monument.
"It literally is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said the Alliance Elementary School second grader, who explained the three phases of the eclipse, then at totality, "All the streetlights are going to come on."
As dusk turned to dark, boys on the sidewalk shouted.
"One minute!"
Annie Collins, 84, had perched herself at the highest point, next to the mausoleum. She climbs the steps every day during her walk in the park, weather permitting. The monument is one of her favorite places.
"Breathtaking and so lovely," she said.
At 3:15 p.m., the sky became as dark as it would be in this neck of the woods (just outside the path of complete darkness). A couple of minutes later, light gradually began to return.
It must have felt like the end of a fireworks display. One group of eclipse-watchers on the lawn responded accordingly with several rounds of applause and a few hoots and hollers. A few others joined in, to show approval for Mother Nature's reverse light show.
- Tim Botos, Canton Repository
‘Absolutely amazing’ for four friends from Walsh University
Evan Stertz told his friends to look up at the sky at 3:17 p.m. while they stood on the Walsh University quad for the event billed as Solar Eclipse Fest.
"This is the highlight," said the 22-year-old Walsh graduate who works in online marketing. "I was so excited for this."
He said the eclipse more than lived up to his expectations.
The North Canton resident graduated from school in May but returned to campus to watch the once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event with friends Matthew Voegele, Mathew Bagatta and Lauren Michele.
"I thought it was amazing; I thought it was absolutely amazing," said Michele, a 22-year-old Walsh MBA student from Canal Fulton.
Bagatta jokingly said that he was expecting the world to end. But the 21-year-old digital marketing and analytics major from Hershey, Pennsylvania did wear a scapula and rosary bracelet.
"I thought it was amazing, too," Bagatta said.
Voegele, a 21-year-old premedicine student and biology major from Powell, Ohio, said he might be able to see the next eclipse, but by then he hopes to have a big family and may be too busy to watch it.
- Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository
Gervasi visitor: ‘There's more to this experience than what you see’
Guests at Gervasi Vineyard Resort & Spa’s eclipse-viewing event traveled from Michigan, Florida, Marietta, Toledo, Canton, Akron, Youngstown and elsewhere.
Mouth agape and eyes wide, Joan Smith of St. Paul, Minnesota removed her eclipse glasses during the moment of totality as the moon blotted out most of the sun. The 65-year-old outstretched her arms in awe as if she were at a religious revival.
Smith watched the solar eclipse with her longtime friend Tama Ann of Columbus. A retiree from a mental health benefits company, Smith had witnessed a solar eclipse in northern Iowa in 2017.
Based on Smith's reaction, this one was even more impressive.
"You can look up at it now," she said of the sun as darkness swept over those gathered. "And it is beautiful. Ahhh."
She turned to Ann, "Thank you, thank you! Thank you for coming with me and for making this a reality."
Seated to Smith’s right was Randy Lake, 71, of Toledo, who exclaimed, "Thank you, God!"
"It's the power," he said of the moment. "Whoever created this so we can see it. There's more to this experience than what you see. There's something spiritual about your experience."
Lake originally hadn’t planned to go outside for the eclipse. Maybe he would just watch it on TV.
"But then I heard reports on the radio that they had been to Antarctica and to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and seeing a total eclipse was equal to those experiences for them," said Lake, who works in website communications for Belle Tire.
The eclipse also brought together two strangers who attended the See + Sip event alone – Michelle Rainieri, 48, of Stark County and Amanda Jones, 46, of Green.
Jones offered Rainieri space on a blanket.
"Ohio did a good job of showing up with the weather," said Jones, who works in medical device sales.
Added a smiling Rainieri, "I think it's neat. I'm glad I'm off work to be here."
The Canton City Schools teacher said she would have showed up in a poncho to watch the eclipse even if it had rained.
"I'm a nerd for stuff like this."
- Ed Balint, Canton Repository
Senior living residents celebrate eclipse
With the next solar eclipse 75 years away, residents of Brookdale Canton were eager to watch Monday’s eclipse as part of a “solar-bration” event at the Perry Township senior living community. The event also included commemorative photos.
In North Canton, Danbury Senior Living residents gathered in the south-facing parking lot and balconies for drinks and snacks as they watched the eclipse.
- Karen Sidaway, Canton Repository
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Total solar eclipse reactions from around Stark County
