Loring provides memorable eclipse experience to visitor
Greg Moakley drove all the way up from Peabody, MA to see the eclipse at the former Loring Air Force Base.
Greg Moakley drove all the way up from Peabody, MA to see the eclipse at the former Loring Air Force Base.
At 3:32 p.m., the area looked like twilight, then slid into near-total darkness at about 3:34 as the crowd erupted in cheering.
Traffic had reached a crawl in some parts of central, western and northern Maine.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the popular solar system model, Kevin McCartney, a retired professor who devised the whole idea for the project, undertook fundraising and logistics to create a model of the sun that would be visible to everyone on the campus grounds.
The Aroostook Agency on Aging launched Access Points, a project to establish centers where folks can participate in educational classes, social gatherings, activities and other services.
Houlton, the last U.S. stop along the path of totality, has been preparing for this event for nearly three years, and whether it gets 5,000 or the predicted 40,000 visitors, the town is ready with traffic plans, food trucks, porta potties, shuttle buses and six star parks.
Just an hour after opening, nearly 400 people had already entered a brewfest on Saturday and by 4 p.m., the line to enter the John A. Millar Civic Center was trailing outside the doors.
The idea for a Houlton-based feature-length documentary, “A Moment in the Sun,” got started a bit by chance.
With names like Toadally Dahk and Shiretown Blackout, brewers and winemakers in the Aroostook County region focused on specialty eclipse sips.
NASA scientists had arrived by Friday and were setting up their equipment in the Temple Theater in Market Square.