Partial Eclipse of the Heart

St. Johns River State College in Palatka hosted a party Monday for people to watch the last solar eclipse visible in North America until 2044.

The college hosted similar viewing parties at its campuses in Orange Park and St. Augustine. Although only a partial eclipse could be seen from Florida, watch party attendees in Palatka had a fun time staring into the sky – while wearing approved eclipse glasses – to view and take pictures of the moon covering the sun.

Maggie Loya, the Palatka campus coordinator of student engagement, said the Center for Learning Resources organized the event. They wanted to invite the public to the campus for the viewing party as another way for the college to give back to the community, Loya said.

“We’ve always been a part of the community,” she said. “So it’s not just our students we think of when we think of the community.”

Loya and others who work in the campus library handed out eclipse glasses and played music as SJR State students and employees as well as local residents watched the solar wonder. “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles played during the party, and at least one woman played Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” on her cellphone when the eclipse reached its peak.

Some of the librarians had a telescope through which they let people safely view the eclipse as it approached and waned from its peak.

There were bout 250 people who attended, Loya estimated. Everyone in the crowd shared a curiosity about the eclipse, she said, and they didn’t want to miss this one, especially since the next solar eclipse won’t be for another 20 years.

“We all love everyone coming together for a unique event,” Loya said. “It’s a beautiful day.”

In Putnam County, the partial solar eclipse began at 1:47 p.m., peaked at 3:04 p.m. and ended at 4:18 p.m. SJR State’s watch party began at 2:30 p.m., but Jane Crawford, a former college employee, showed up early to find a crowd already waiting.

Crawford, who’s also a former Putnam County School Board member, found out about the viewing party from the college’s Facebook page and knew that’s where she wanted to be when the moon partially blocked the sun.

“I got here at 2 o’clock and there was already a little gathering,” she said. “Then, I turned around and there were so many people here.”

Crawford applauded the college for hosting a fun event for the community. She was especially excited to see so many young children attend with parents or other family members.

She echoed Loya’s sentiments about SJR State being an integral part of the community. Crawford said it comes as no surprise the college would want to share this scientific phenomenon with Putnam County residents.

“This campus has always been totally committed to the community,” Crawford said. “I worked out here for 11 years and they have always did things to bring the community out.”

With this eclipse over, Loya has her sights set on viewing the 2044 solar eclipse. She remembers overcast skies thwarting her plans to view the 2017 eclipse and was relieved that wasn’t the case this year – and hopes that won’t happen again in 20 years.

Monday’s event would have still been a fun time had the skies been cloudier, Loya said, but it was great to have the sky relatively clear for this natural wonder.

“If we had missed this event because it would have been overcast, we would have still had fun because this is still a fun event and a great atmosphere,” she said before giggling. “That was a space pun.”