6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 23, 2017
A total eclipse
The crowd at Riverview Park views the eclipse by
STEPHANIE BLAIR
Eclipse photos by JEFF MENTZER AND LUKAS EGGEN
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Campers set up a tent on the fields at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.
Dizzy Hips performs during Dallas’ e
Cities provide warm we
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dallas Mayor Brian Dalton
rolled out the welcome mat early for
those looking for a place to watch the
Great American Eclipse.
He penned a welcome letter posted on
the city of Dallas’ website.
Rebecca Martin, of Los Angeles, saw
that letter and it inspired her to bring her
family to the Dallas area.
“It was very nice and inviting, saying
‘come visit our small town,’” Martin said.
She found a campsite on a farm out-
side of town and visited Dallas’ festivities
on Sunday. Volunteers working at the
event had anticipated larger crowds, but
Martin thought it was perfect.
“This feels nice, though, not too crowd-
ed,” she said.
The larger crowd that organizers and
volunteers expected was to come later
that night for the JukeBox Heroes and
Steelhorse concerts. That seemed to be
the pattern from the three nights of cele-
bration, Dalton said.
Dalton said he wasn’t sure the festival
could have handled many more people
and gave the eclipse celebration a high
grade.
He would like to see the event — which
required collaboration between the city,
the Dallas Downtown Association, Dallas
Area Visitors Center, and the owner of
Pressed Coffee & Wine Bar — become a
model for future events in Dallas.
“This brought the whole community
together in way that I haven’t
long time,” he said. “We can ra
for ourselves with good ente
and a great time.”
He added that the fun was sh
plenty of people from out of th
even those from other countrie
Kim Brehm, the owner of Dal
rium, started keeping a list of w
tors came from on Saturday.
By Sunday afternoon Alaska
vania, New York, South Dak
Wisconsin, Maryland, Nevada,
Washington, Montana and, o
elsewhere in Oregon, were repr
She will be placing pins on
show where this weekend’s
came from.
“There are people from Dalla
ROGER HARNACK/for the Itemizer-Observer
Independence wowed visitors and locals with a fire-
works show during the Indy Goes Dark celebration.
Eclipse chaser finally sees
total solar eclipse
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Jerry Rosen didn’t mean to make
seeing a total solar eclipse into a lifetime goal, it
just happened that way.
Rosen, who lives in Seattle, has attempted to
see an eclipse three other times — the most re-
cent in 1979.
Each time, the weather has foiled his plans.
“Every time, it’s been cloudy,” Rosen said.
The 1979 eclipse proved to be especially frus-
trating.
Rosen parked alongside a highway in Wash-
ington and was excited to finally see the solar
eclipse.
Then, a single cloud began creeping toward
the sun.
“People were getting into their cars and driv-
ing down the highway to get the view,” Rosen
said. “I couldn’t because I had driven into a
ditch.”
Rosen watched in horror as the cloud
moved in front of the sun — just in time to
block the eclipse.
With another chance to see a total eclipse,
Rosen wasn’t going to pass up the chance —
and this time he had help from family.
His original plan was to watch it from the
coast, but when weather threatened that
plan, his son David made the decision to go
to Dallas.
Though the lack of traffic on the way over
made them question themselves just a bit.
“We thought we made the wrong choice,”
Jerry said.
The Rosen’s group split; some remained on
the coast while others, including Jerry and
David, made their way to Dallas.
Turns out they made the right choice.
The Rosens in Dallas got a clear view of the
eclipse.
Those who stayed on the coast did not.
“I told you I was going to make this happen,”
David said after the eclipse on Monday.
Though it’s taken a few attempts — and years
— to see it, the total solar eclipse was well
worth the wait.
“I was lucky,” Jerry said. “I lived long enough
to see an eclipse — and with my son.”
Pigs on the Wing performs for an enthusiastic crowd Sunday at Monmou