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A Monumental Day at the Bay!
Monday, April 8th, was quite the day at Put-in-Bay as “The Monumental Eclipse” watchers brought things to a halt mid-afternoon gazing into the sky as the moon blocked the sun for three minutes and 18 seconds. The sky was exactly crystal clear, but even with the very little high light cloud coverage made for excellent viewing of the eclipse from beginning to end. It was also a very nice day when it came to unseasonably light wind and pleasant temperatures.
For those who gathered on the island for this once-in-a-lifetime experience on the grounds of Perry’s Monument or at multiple and various locations around the island. There were viewers on the deck on top of Margarita on the Rock, at private homes, at Rita’s Cantina, in DeRivera Park, at the various condos and hotels, the Island Club, the patio at Put-in-Bay Winery, Doller Winery and other places. There were visitors from all over the United States and other countries including New Zealand.
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About 300 hundred people were at the Monument. Also there was a Channel 13 TV truck from Toledo, the Cameo Pizza food trailer and a Chamber of Commerce table where Jordan Jenkins’ PIB eclipse poster could be purchased. One group set a food table and enjoyed a tailgate-style picnic complete with a cooler filled with beer. There were many people there with cameras, including John Rees from New Colony and Paul Jeris from the Island Club streaming the event live for Facebook. John noticed that when the sun got blocked, the lights for the Monument briefly started to go on and then off. When the last sliver of sunlight was obscured by the moon about 3:10 p.m., big applause and cheering from those at the Monument and boat horn blowing welcomed the mid-afternoon blackout and again when the sky suddenly began to light up. The warmth of the sun also had watchers feeling a slight chill.
The island, like many towns and cities in the path of the eclipse, planned for and promoted the event for some time before it actually took place. In fact, the weekend leading up to the eclipse was very busy for an off-season weekend in early April. Those offering overnight accommodations and serving food reported a very brisk business. Anne Auger from the Village reported that the water needed for the weekend was three times what it normally would have been for that weekend.
Most of the businesses that were open for the long weekend were short staffed and left not knowing exactly how busy they would be. It was a real gamble for them, but it paid off.
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Among some of the businesses that were open were Heineman Winery, the Reel Bar, the Put-in-Bay Brewery, Mr. Ed’s, Cameo Pizza, Put-in-Bay Winery at the Doller Estate, The Forge, the Crew’s Nest and Topsy Turvey’s. The Boardwalk parked its Lobster Bisque truck in its driveway and customers could enjoy a bowl and watch the eclipse from the deck at Rita’s Cantina where they served a special Blood Orange Solar Sangria. Cameo served an “Eggclipse” pizza over the weekend.
You could also get PIB eclipse T-shirts. Matthew Stacy designed one with a dinosaur on it that was sold at the Dynagard Erie Islands Petroleum Pit Stop filling station. At Dockside at the Lime Kiln Dock, their eclipse shirts sold out.
On Middle Bass, people gathered at Lonz Winery to view the eclipse, and on North Bass, a Coast Guard helicopter landed at the airstrip and the crew watched the rare event while sitting in the lawn chairs they brought for the event. People on a couple of small pleasure boats watched while anchored in Manilla Bay on the southwest side of the island. On Pelee Island, there was a special solar eclipse luncheon at the Legion before the viewing.
When all was said and done, the eclipse was certainly a great astronomical event, and for those who enjoyed it while on one of the Lake Erie Islands, it indeed was truly special and memorable.
Putinbay.com is proud to present these Put-in-Bay Gazette articles from the May 2024 issue.
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