Great Barrington — Hundreds of residents got together to watch the sky at the Mason Public Library on Monday, April 8, for a solar eclipse-viewing event. According to NASA, the eclipse was visible throughout the 48 states, while a total eclipse was visible throughout a narrow patch from Texas to Maine.
While many people in New England traveled to Maine or Vermont to view the totality, there were still plenty of residents in Berkshire County who stayed behind to watch the eclipse in their towns. This included the hundreds of Berkshire County residents who attended an eclipse-viewing event at the Mason Library.
Before the event, people were still scrambling to get protective “eclipse glasses” in order to protect their eyes. Customers lined up at Robin’s Candy Shop in order to purchase glasses before the event. According to store owner Robin Helfand, she sold 500 pairs of glasses in the three days leading up to the event. On the morning of April 8, she sold 200 pairs of glasses within 28 minutes.
“I think the hoopla surrounding the eclipse is justified because this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many people,” Helfand told The Berkshire Edge. “This eclipse is a wonderful way for everyone to connect to the community. I saw the total eclipse in 1974, and the partial one in 1970. I think it’s going to be very impressive, and I’m glad we were able to get these glasses out to the community.”
Almost an hour before the event, people started to gather on the front lawn of the Mason Public Library to reserve a spot to view the eclipse. As people gathered on the lawn, local astronomer Rick Costello set up telescopes for residents to view the eclipse. “The great thing about the eclipse is that this will pass through many cities and towns throughout the country, so millions of people are going to get a chance to see this,” Costello said. “This is why this will be so special. You only get so many chances to see an eclipse. Rarely in one’s lifetime you will be able to see one or two of them in one area.”
Costello said that he hopes that people’s fascination with space will continue way past the April 8 eclipse event. “People should be fascinated with space because we all come from space,” Costello said. “All of the elements that make us, including the iron in our blood, the calcium in our bones, everything that we are all made up of, all came from stars that blew themselves up. The universe gave us life, and we are all part of the universe. We should understand the universe that we live in.”
“I’m just so excited to see this outpouring of fascination here,” resident and Calyx CEO Donna Norman said as the solar eclipse took place. “I think this eclipse is bringing a little bit of joy into this world for everyone, and that’s what we really need right now. It just brings everyone together in these challenging times, and that’s what we really need.”
