BETHEL — “Where will you be for Monday’s eclipse? Have you seen an eclipse in the past?”

Brenda Lynn Gould – West Paris Library Director Brenda Lynn Gould remembers her first total eclipse when she was four years old and living in Dixmont with her family. She said her parents were hovering over her to make sure she had her head inside the box projector they had made. She said the other “high-tech” viewers they used were green welding glasses.

Her grandfather, not known for his tight fences, said Gould, had left his sheep out to graze in the pasture. When the skies darkened,  “the sheep self  ‘off loaded’ out of their field, came down the hill, onto the road, … and loaded themselves into the barn,” remembers Gould with a laugh.

The West Paris Library will be open April 8 for patrons interested in the eclipse, said Gould, but closed for regular business, since they will be focused on the eclipse. Starting around 10 a.m. Gould will be running live stream footage of NASA’s eclipse coverage.

Gould ordered 500 pairs of eclipse glasses for West Paris and other area library patrons. If they run out, they will make box projectors, she said.

Angie Lovejoy – “We are not closing the town office … I guess we’ll step outside the office here and a have a look as long as we have our safe, little glasses,” said Lovejoy, Greenwood Deputy Clerk.

The West Bethel resident said she will never forget the last eclipse she saw on May 10, 1994 when she was a junior in Mr. Vachon’s English class at Telstar High.

“We were right in the classroom when it happened. All the streetlights came on. We had to turn the lights on in the classroom because it actually got dark. It was very cool … they let us go to the window and watch it, but we didn’t go outside … it was very eerie looking outside. It was like having dusk at midday …. after [it passed] we went back and did our schoolwork again.”

Norm Greenberg – Greenberg, of Hanover, said he is hoping to drive to Jackman to see the eclipse with his family. He said he saw the partial eclipse in 2017. “It was amazing!”  They used box reflective viewers to see it.

Darlene Akers – Said Akers, of Andover, “We are planning to view the eclipse at my parents camp in Upton.  They have a beautiful spot with great views of the sky, so it should be spectacular.  Hoping to make it a family event with a picnic (if the weather is suitable)  This will be the first solar eclipse that I have experienced.”

Jane Chandler – ” I remember the 1963 total eclipse. I was 13. My father was a veterinarian in Rumford. He took excused x-ray film for us to view the eclipse. We drove to Skowhegan where we had a friend to view the totality. It was amazing. I think what I remembered most was the temperature drop almost instantly. Yes the corona was spectacular, I could certainly see how people would have suspicions regarding the sudden darkness.

“My brother Jim, 15 at the time, remembers he was a Boy Scout at Camp Bomazeen in Belgrade. The Scout leader told the boys to go inside and watch the solar eclipse on TV so they wouldn’t burn their eyes. My brother dallied and saw the totality briefly before heading indoors. He said it was so much more impressive outside than on the TV.”

Chandler is driving to Rochester, NY to watch this eclipse with friends. “It has a better record for clear skies in April than Maine [does].” said Chandler who resides in Woodstock.

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