4A
●
APPEAL TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
Life in the
Valley y
sanews@salem.gannett.com
DANIELLE PETERSON/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Allan and Maira Raicher of California get cozy on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol to view a total solar eclipse, also known as the Great American Eclipse.
Oregon’s solar eclipse bonds
family, friends and strangers
APPEAL TRIBUNE
It seemed every aspect of the total
solar eclipse presented the gathered
masses with a different, yet equally
thrilling sight from atop Marys Peak
Aug. 21.
Some let out exclamations and held
hands with their partners as the moon
first began carving a bite out of the
sun.
The buzz grew louder as unnatural
darkness began falling around them,
building with each passing minute.
When the sun was a mere sliver in
the sky, the chatter grew to a roar, then
exploded into applause and cheering
when totality struck.
Then collective silence. Unexpected
emotion. Reflection.
Here on Oregon’s tallest coastal
peak, hundreds of science aficionados,
outdoors enthusiasts, amateur astro-
photographers, families with young
children, and many more came togeth-
er from across the nation to spend sev-
eral minutes looking at the exact same
point in the sky.
Jennifer Simpson from Seattle spent
her 36th birthday on the mountain, with
a balloon tied to her backpack, a shiny
birthday hat on her head and a piece of
cake in her bag.
Much of her family and friends
would be watching the eclipse, too —
her sister by her side, her parents as it
passed over Chattanooga, Tennessee,
and some close friends would catch a
glimpse in St. Louis.
“It still kind of makes it a party,” she
said.
On a totally clear day, the Pacific
Ocean is visible from the mountain’s
top, but during totality all people could
see was a white ring where the sun
used to be and a glow of pinks, blues
and oranges all around.
Tears came to people’s eyes and
gasps and camera shutter clicks filled
the now quiet and cooler air.
Many across Oregon were similarly
shaken.
Finding words to describe the expe-
rience wasn’t easy for campers at So-
lartown just outside of Madras.
“Short of the birth of my kids, it was
the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my
life,” said David Wiza of Beaverton.
“I’m an emotional baby anyway, but
holy cow.”
He and his wife, Kathy, hugged —
but only after totality had passed.
Karri White, a banker from Santa
Cruz, California, choked up and wiped
away tears after she, her family and
friends did a group hug during totality.
“It was the most beautiful experi-
MOLLY J. SMITH / STATESMAN JOURNAL
David Wiza tears up as he describes the
feeling of watching a total solar eclipse in
Solartown, a solar eclipse campground just
north of Madras.
ence I’ve had,” she said. “In the midst
of it, I teared up. It was just a glorious
feeling.”
At Baskett Slough National Wildlife
Refuge west of Salem, the birds went
strangely quiet as darkness enveloped
the area. Joanna Picchi wished it had
lasted longer.
“It was beyond expectations. But it
all happened so fast. I just wanted it to
stay for a while to soak it all up,” she
said. “It was really a spiritual experi-
ence.”
And then, after months and some-
times years of planning, it was over.
Science and stopwatches tell us totality
lasted about 83 seconds at Marys Peak,
but few describing it later would say it
was more than 30.
In Salem, it lasted almost 2 minutes.
But still, no one seemed to have
words to fully articulate what hap-
pened, even when speaking to someone
who had just witnessed the same phe-
nomenon.
Some saw the solar eclipse as a way
to bring perspective to what they see as
an increasingly apathetic world. An
event of this magnitude, they hope, will
give the shortsighted and the disinter-
ested some reason to take notice of the
world around them.
“So many kids are not awed by na-
ture any more. But I know this has
knocked some socks off,” said Eugene
resident Donald Burton.
“I’m still looking for my socks,” his
friend Steve Pobutsky replied.
MOLLY J. SMITH / STATESMAN JOURNAL
A composite photo shows the progression of the total solar eclipse through the sky from
Solartown, just north of Madras.