Funbelievable event

You’ll always remember where you were

“Fun. Unbelievable. Creepy – along with respect for the galaxy.”

That’s how Lori Schwartz described the eclipse to The Reporter. A photo of Schwartz and her granddaughter appear below.

Emmalee and Lori Schwartz snap a quick selfie. (Photo provided)

Donna Holmes drove all the way from Arlington Heights, Ill., to Strawtown Koteewi Park’s Moon Market with her brother to see this eclipse. She told The Reporter, “The experience could not have been more perfect.” She had high praise for the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation staff, for The Reporter’s photographer who took her picture, and for the food at Erika’s Place, 40 W. Jackson St., Cicero, where she and her brother stopped for dinner after the event. A photo of Holmes appears below.

Donna Holmes of Arlington Heights, Ill., was caught by Reporter photographer Bill Miller getting crafty before the eclipse hit Strawtown Koteewi Park’s Moon Market. She reportedly had a great time at the event itself and at Erika’s Place in Cicero for fine local fare after the … uh … fair? (Reporter photo by Bill Miller)

A group of kids at Park Side of the Moon at Cool Creek Park were caught on camera counting down the last 10 seconds before totality began. Then counting it down again and again because they were almost a minute early. You can see them on our Facebook page at this link. During totality you can hear one of those youngsters exclaim, “Oh my God, it’s crazy!”

A family from the Chicago area tailgated in the parking area at Cool Creek Park. They told The Reporter they just drove south toward the path of totality with no real destination in mind. They saw information pointing them to Cool Creek, and that’s where they ended up. You can see their photo below.

This group of eclipsians wandered down from Chicagoland with no real destination in mind. Serendipity and good advertising brought them to Cool Creek Park so they could be in Hamilton County’s Hometown Newspaper. (From left) Tania Sebastian, John Sebastian, Sofia Sebastian, Doris Ayres, Andy Phalen, Caroline Teichner, Sloane Phalen (little girl), Theo Phalen (little boy), Jason Sebastian, and Lester Teichner. (Reporter photo)

The Reporter’s own Paul Poteet was the MC at the Cool Creek event, and he brought with him not only the patented Poteet wit, but also some surprisingly good weather. It rained Sunday. It rained Tuesday. But Monday, April 8 was 73 and mostly sunny. We didn’t know Paul had that kind of pull!

You probably have stories like those. It was, for many people, a once-in-a-lifetime event. For others, eclipses are old hat as they have traveled to see several.

In every case, you will remember where you were when the wind turned cool, the sky darkened, and you got to see day become night become day in moments.

MashCraft Fishers General Manager David Halt told The Reporter he spoke to lots of people from outside the county while he was manning the MashCraft booth at Cool Creek Park.

“It was really nice to see and meet everyone who is coming in from out of town,” Halt said. “When they came up and visited with us, they all had a story about where they came from and how far they traveled. It was exciting to talk to more people just than here in Hamilton County, but from all over the place.”

Duke Energy Government and Community Relations Manager Mark LaBarr said his people were on standby in case anything went wrong.

LaBarr

“In anticipation of significantly increased traffic during the day of the eclipse, Duke Energy strategically staged crews throughout our service territory to respond quickly in the event of an outage,” LaBarr told The Reporter. “Our company also donated hundreds of pairs of eclipse glasses to organizations and sponsored events throughout our Indiana service area supporting the opportunity to witness the rare event.”

On the news coverage side, The Reporter couldn’t be everywhere, but we certainly gave it a shot.

“I’m so proud of this crew,” Publisher Stu Clampitt said. “Amy Adams, Bill Miller, Nik Roberts, Janet Hart Leonard, and Richie Hall just nailed it. Thanks to Janet we have permission to use an amazing aerial shot by Matt Doudt. Thanks to Amy we have photos from the City of Westfield. Our friend Mike Berry got a shot over Morse Lake you won’t believe. People we met along the way sent us their own photos to use. Everybody came together to get their memories in Hamilton County’s newspaper.”

Reporter Columnist & Ambassador Janet Hart Leonard and her husband Chuck Leonard are in awe of the impending total eclipse. (Photo provided)

If you were at a Hamilton County Parks event, you can thank Community First Bank of Indiana, Duke Energy, Fredericks, J.P. Morgan, Sobczak Construction, Compass Realty, Ashlin Hadden Insurance, and Hamilton County Tourism. Without their sponsorship, memories like you will find in these pages would not have happened.