EDITOR’S NOTE: The Bruno family from Sheguiandah (Rev. Whitney, Rob and daughter Selena) were part of the crowd that travelled to Niagara Falls for prime viewing of last Monday’s eclipse. The Expositor asked Rev. Bruno to record the family’s experiences and take photos of this rare event. Her story follows.
by Whitney L. Prose Bruno
Where will you be in two years? April 8, 2022, I knew I wanted to be in Niagara Falls for the 2024 solar eclipse. I reserved a hotel room and two years passed. The NEMI Public Library provided solar eclipse glasses, paper plates and directions for making a protective mask. I recall how sunburned I got from watching the 2017 partial eclipse! I was glad to make masks with my family. We packed red and green shirts, as the eclipse is supposed to make them look odd, rain parkas for the falls mist and sunscreen.
On April 7, 2024, my family loaded up after church (Rev. Bruno is the minister at Little Current United Church) for the drive down. Selena, age 9, adds, “I was really squeezed from my bag of activities so that Inga, our dog, had room. Otherwise, it was pretty comfortable. But I didn’t like (driving) because we were, the whole entire day, in the car.” I rang the hotel before we left. I had read that some hotels were cancelling reservations made when the prices were cheap. Then they were re-renting the hotel rooms out at the inflated price for the event. My hotel reassured me all was well. When I checked in, they exclaimed, “When did you made this reservation?”
“Two years ago.”
“No wonder you have such a good rate!” They told me that rates had been five times my own yesterday. But now, the night before the big day, demand had dropped. Now rates were only twice my own.
Although Niagara was busy, it was not overwhelmed. Road signs warned people to plan for eclipse traffic. Worried about a crush, we arrived at the falls from our hotel around 9 a.m. on Monday. But between the rain, clouds, and maybe trepidation over crowds… the crowds were manageable.
Karine Wassiana Echaquan, of Les Atikamekw de Manawan, Quebec, was there early with other Atikamekw women for ceremony. She explained she is facilitating healing and recovery from forced assimilation. Her story is not my own to share, but I encourage you to learn of the vision she is fulfilling and the strength she is awakening.
Lauri (no last name given), a Niagara Parks employee, was also up early. Said she turned on the news in the Table Rock House Restaurant and saw her own work place; “I looked out the window and saw them live. Right there! Look!” She indicated a podium of newscasters, spotlights and TV equipment right beside her window. She shared that she remembers the 1979 eclipse was met with some fear, “The school closed the window shades to keep us (children) from watching.” She hoped she could see some of it today and her boss wouldn’t require drawing the shades.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Quantum Kyle of Mad Science was setting up for a day of activities and experiments for children. Selena shares, “I loved making the pretend solar eclipse! I made a rainbow one.”
Kyle shared the science behind getting to the moon. Selena loved this, “I made a tiny rocket and it hit the ceiling. It wasn’t doing anything for a bit and I started walking forward and then it popped and hit the ceiling!”
Kyle proclaimed Selena’s generation is “the space generation.”
“We’re going back to the moon,” he said, “But this time, we’re staying there!” Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen had been present the 7th to sign autographs. On the 8th, representatives of the CSA answered questions about the upcoming moon flight.
After lunch, we visited what Selena thought was “half a giant poppit circle. But when we went in, it was a planetarium with inflated seats. They felt weird and nice at the same time. If you leaned this way or that way the seat popped up.” Perhaps prophetically, the planetarium wished us “clear skies.”
It was now 3 in the afternoon. The eclipse was happening, but the heavy cloud cover completely hid the sun. We laid on the grass and waited – and it was worth the wait.
Selena shares: “It looked really cool. The eclipse did. But it also kept peeking behind the clouds. But whenever it peeked out everyone cheered.” Shouts of elation scattered around Niagara Park each time people saw through the crowds. Often simply sunglasses were enough to see the moon slowly cover the sun. The cloud cover filtered the rest of the light.
As totality approached, the seagulls gathered around us. Night and cold rushed in. “It became…it looked like day time. But in a couple of minutes, it got as dark as night and all the streetlights turned on.” Selena shares. “And it was extra, extra cold. My toes felt like ice cubes. Mom felt like a Popsicle. Dad took off his coat for me and all of us were super squeezed together.”
A cold wind passed and abruptly it was night. I have never experienced anything like this. I have read many times that there is nothing like Totality, and I have to repeat that claim now. There is nothing like it. It is unnerving how quickly it becomes full night, and quickly drops 15 or more degrees.
Rob Bruno, my spouse, whispered in the incredible night-in-a-day, “This is how much we need the sun- the light and the heat- what strength!”
It is so much more than “just” some simple change in temperature and light. Totality feels visceral, spiritual, exhilarating.
As quick as it came, it left. The sky changed colours of a sunrise and heat fell on our chilled upturned faces. Selena said, “I felt like a whole day had passed but really it didn’t.”
Part of our solar eclipse experience is experiencing it with family in Ohio. Originally, we had all planned to gather in Niagara as a Canadian-American family reunion. But border crossing isn’t as simple as it once was; and the prediction of terrible crowds made us leery. Still, we shared through videos and phone calls.
Graveyards in Ohio were closed to keep people from watching the eclipse from cemeteries. But my family were able to watch from their own backyard. My mother, Corinne Clark, shared she just had “high wispy clouds. I got so burnt!” But, “that was amazing.” During totality, they were able to see a red line coming off of the sun. This was a prominence, a type of plasma arm that extends from the sun. Steve Dan Prose, my brother, said, “It looked like a volcano shoot coming off the sun.” The little village celebrated totality with fireworks, cheers and gunshots.
My spouse’s family went to a Columbus MetroPark to watch, but found it was too full. People parked along the highway watching. They located to another park with enough room to accommodate a few more people and a car. With no clouds they were able to play with fingernail shaped shadows. Nephew Quincy Philips, age 7, called the eclipse “a black hole.” His brother, Marius Philips, age 4, thought “the moon ate the sun.” He drew a picture to record this event, including himself protecting the sun from the hungry moon.
My nephews will be 24 and 27 the next time a total solar eclipse comes by North America. Selena is already planning for it. She’ll be 29; and says, “We’re going to watch it with dinosaurs” in Alberta. So, where will you be in 20 years? These kids know!
