Karen Murphy has never seen a total solar eclipse. So, the Colorado resident made sure she didn’t miss the one on Monday, as she plans to be in Effingham for the special occasion. Luckily, she didn’t have to look for a place to stay.
Murphy is part owner of a house at Lake Sara that is used as a short-term rental when her family is not using it. Murphy and her husband began planning for the occasion about a year ago when a friend who grew up in Effingham suggested it. The first thing she did was make sure the house would be available.
“I’m sure we could have rented it out this weekend, but we were like, we want to see this. So it was more important for us to come,” she said. “That’s why I reserved the dates through our app a year ago because I wanted to make sure we could be there for it.”
The couple and friend planned to arrive Friday and meet with other members of Murphy’s family.
With the lake just outside the path of totality, she said the exact viewing location for the eclipse had yet to be determined.
“Initially, we thought – well, we have a pontoon boat – if the weather was nice enough, we could go out on the lake and watch it there,” she said.
The edge of the totality path will cut through the city near Interstate 57-70, leaving out the northwest end that includes parts of North Keller Drive and Outer Belt West.
Murphy said the group may travel to a place of totality with a longer viewing time. But she believes the concern over traffic may prompt them to stay at the lake.
“I have heard some of the roads could get backed up because I think it is such a draw for a lot of people to come and see the eclipse,” she said. “It seems like it’s creating a little frenzy with travelers coming into town, which is exciting.”
To prepare for the big event, Murphy said they have eye protection and, for fun, some treats.
“I got Sun Chips, Eclipse gum, and little Oreos that are for the eclipse,” she said.
Weather and length of totality will be factors in determining a viewing location for Jim and Sue Caldwell. The couple plans to travel from their home in Carrollton, Illinois, two hours east to Effingham. However, they plan to view the eclipse where there is longer totality. Effingham’s totality is expected to last about 40 seconds, starting at 2:03 p.m.
“Our plan is to come up to Effingham Sunday afternoon and stay all night there at a motel. Then, as long as the clouds stay away, we will drive south from Effingham to where totality is, and then drive south to at least Fairfield, somewhere for four minutes plus of totality,” said Jim Caldwell.
If everything goes as planned, what is once-in-a-lifetime event for many will be twice a lifetime for the Caldwells. They saw the last one in 2017 in the small village of Marissa, Illinois. They left their home that morning looking for a small place in the band of totality. They happened upon the village and liked the small crowd and wide open space outside a park.
“It was so calming and just so magical. I’ve never felt that kind of calm before,” said Sue Caldwell.
The Caldwells are looking to find that same serene atmosphere this time, which is why they chose not to go to bigger cities like Carbondale.
Jim Caldwell said they have been planning for the upcoming eclipse since 2017 and are more organized this time. One thing they can’t plan for is the weather, which Jim said will determine where they end up.
“We have our glasses ready and everything. Looking forward to it as long as the clouds cooperate,” he said.
Students in Teutopolis will view the eclipse from school. Even though the village is in the path of totality that is expected to last just over a minute there, the district is using the experience as an educational opportunity.
Teutopolis Unit 50 is expecting less traffic than Effingham Unit 40 School District, which canceled school because of an expected influx of travelers disrupting normal traffic flow at a time when students would be bussed. Unit 40 is also restricting access to all of its facilities and grounds on Monday due to safety concerns, liability issues,waste management concerns and security management.
“We encourage everyone to please stay off ALL school properties including parking lots and sports complexes,” the district said in a press release. “Large gatherings can pose significant safety risks, especially without proper planning and supervision.”
“Although there may be some additional traffic, we do not anticipate travel conditions for our school bus routes to be significantly impacted, per discussion with the Effingham County Emergency Management Agency and Sheriff’s Department,” said Teutopolis Unit 50 Superintendent Matt Sturgeon.
Students at Teutopolis Grade School are excited to view the total eclipse and experience its effects firsthand as they travel through stations at the school leading up to it.
Attracting the most anticipation is the chicken coop. The idea behind it, said teacher Kim Repking, is as it gets darker, the chickens will go into their coop.
“They do not know what is happening, so they will just assume it is getting nighttime,” she said.
Another station will have a table with a large tub of crickets. As it gets darker, the crickets will start to chirp because they also will think it is night.
One station with red and green fabric will show the eclipse’s effect on colors. According to Repking, the red and green will look more vibrant than usual.
Repking said another stations will have white paper on the ground with little telescopes for students to see the shape of the sun. As the moon moves in front of it, she explained, the shape of the shadow will change. She added that this is also a place where students can use their hole-punched index cards to notice the shape of the sun’s shadow.
Sixth-grader Penny Dennis can’t wait to see the chicken station.
“I’m excited to see if they’ll actually think it’s nighttime and go to sleep,” she said.
Dennis barely remembers the last eclipse in 2017.
“All I remember from that experience is eating Uncrustables,” she said, adding she’s looking forward to a more memorable experience this time.
Twelve-year-old Piper Miller also doesn’t remember viewing the eclipse in 2017, but she does recall one thing.
“I remember sitting in my (parents’) car, falling asleep,” she said.
Miller plans to be awake during this eclipse to see if the crickets make noise. She also has been Googling the event for the last few months. When asked if she found anything interesting, she replied, “Not that we haven’t talked about in class,” giving a nod to her teacher, Repking.
Other students are looking forward to the watch party, which will include drinks, snacks and, of course, solar eclipse glasses.
“The students are very excited about the eclipse!” said Repking.
So are adults.
“It’s not something that comes along every day or even every year, so I think it’s going to be a really cool opportunity to see it,” said Karen Murphy.