Houlton cleans up after eclipse event that ‘surpassed expectations’
Tuesday, the thrill of the event remained as planners shared stories and details about the three-day festival leading up to the spectacular celestial occurrence.
Tuesday, the thrill of the event remained as planners shared stories and details about the three-day festival leading up to the spectacular celestial occurrence.
Incumbent councilors Andrew Caron and Corey Pelletier were both reelected for three-year terms.
These are stories that reveal humanity amid the rare natural event.
While crowds did not reach the predicted 40,000 in Houlton, eclipse planners estimated that about 20,000 made their way to the last U.S. stop along the 115-mile wide path of totality.
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.