Cheers and chirps could be heard throughout Wayne County as residents, visitors and wildlife marveled at the rare total solar eclipse Monday afternoon.
About 200 eclipse chasers from California to Maine spread out comfortably in the grass and on benches at Cope Environmental Center in Centerville. They cheered before and after the nearly 4 minutes of totality, reacting to nature’s powerful show.
A quick tour of a portion of the parking area showed license plates from Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey, Florida, North and South Carolina, West Virginia, Illinois, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan and several counties in Ohio and Indiana.
Some guests found Wayne County through online searches, including Colleen and Chuck McMullin of Washington Township, New Jersey. The display around their lawn chairs included a sign, “The sight of my life with the love of my life. Eclipse 2024.”
The McMullins witnessed the last total solar eclipse in 2017 in Tennessee and soon began planning this trip. They are chipping away at their list of the 50 states to visit together, and accomplished both goals in Indiana with a 9 to 10 hour drive.
“It’s a beautiful place and the people are so friendly,” Chuck said.
They also marveled at Cope’s $5 lunch of a burger, chips, cookie and soda for $5, with Colleen calling it “a steal.”
The McMullins considered themselves lucky to find mostly clear skies and warm temperatures where they could comfortably wear matching yellow eclipse T-shirts. They’d driven through snow in Pennsylvania.
“You couldn’t ask for better weather,” Chuck said.
The Cunningham family from Peoria, Illinois, had watched the 2017 eclipse in southern Illinois, and had planned to stay in Illinois this time. They booked a hotel a couple of years ago, but recently learned it was closing for renovations, so they began Googling and found Wayne County. Candice, Aaron, Noah and Kim were pleased with their choice.
“They did a great job making a whole event,” Aaron Cunningham said. “This place is fantastic and couldn’t be better.”
Helen Moeller and her son, Robert, both of Lynchburg, Virginia, came a couple days early and also appreciated Hoosier Hospitality.
Robert was pleased to find Cope, which at first appeared to be a large park, through his Google Map search. He wanted a great view for his camera. As they narrowed their choices, Helen was won over by the brochures that Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau sent them.
Marcy Crull, Cope’s executive director, said staff and volunteers received lots of positive feedback about their Cope, Wayne County and Indiana experience, and they enjoyed hearing where everyone was from. To fill the day, all ages could join activities ranging from children’s crafts to a science station, hikes and a wetland exploration program.
Some chasers took a shorter drive, including Emily Darnell and her children, Matilda, 6 ½, and Arthur, 3, from Cincinnati, Ohio. They knew that Richmond was in the path of totality, and wanted a ticketed event that would be easy to access since Emily’s husband had to work. Matilda wore a dress with planets and Arthur and Emily sported “Star Wars” shirts.
The Raubvogel family from Cincinnati enjoyed their experience “being with a hundred or 200 other people staring at the sun,” said Yehuda, 24.
Yehuda said witnessing totality was “amazing.”
“It felt dusky, the birds were chirping, it felt cool,” Yehuda said.
Shimshon, 11, noted the next time a total eclipse happens 21 years from now, he’ll be 32.
Shimshon’s dad, Alter, wasn’t quite ready to hear that.
Others viewers were drawn to Wayne County because they have family here or had lived in the area previously.
Carol Mann of Elkhart, Indiana, and Patty Peterson of Bellevue, Kentucky, are friends from their days at Earlham College in Richmond.
Mann said she was drawn to Cope because she became acquainted with Jim and Helen Cope, who founded the nature preserve and education center, when attending Clear Creek Meeting during her time in town.
They agreed that Cope was a “nice, peaceful place to watch” the eclipse.
Trish Bieber of Connersville had been to Cope a couple of times previously and was wowed by the eclipse.
“I didn’t expect it to be quite like that,” Bieber said. “It was even better than I thought it would be. It’s beyond words.”
A version of this article appeared in the April 10 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.