Lee Street Beach proved popular spot to view Monday’s eclipse

By Bob Seidenberg
It’s still too early in the year for swimming at the city’s Lee Street Beach.
But it turned out to be an ideal place to catch the United State’s first solar eclipse since 2017 and the last until August 2044.
“We wanted to be among people,” said Holly Smith, who came there with friend Tamara Wolff and their two dogs, early afternoon.
“It seemed to be a good place and evidently everybody else thought it was a good place too,” she said, glancing at groups of people spread out across the beach behind her. “Our granddaughter is out here, and my daughter’s out here — a family affair out here.”
“It’s community but it’s also interstellar,” Tamara reminded the reporter.
“We live two blocks from the lake and so it’s just like a regular thing to see the full moon. So this cannot be missed.”
Others also chose the beach as their spot rather some other spots in the city where watch parties were being held, including Robert Crown Community Center, 1701 Main St., and Ingraham Park, located behind the Morton Civic Center, at 2100 Ridge Ave.

Cindy Dvorak and Rick Otto set up chairs on chairs on the grass just outside the gate area at the beach.
“It’s a little orange ball with a little black ball starting to move in front of it,” said Cindy, reporting an early look at the phenomenon.

Loree Kilian, Joanne Detch,and Kitty Gilbert sat, their backs to the water to watch the event.
Kilian, from Lincolnwood, and Gilbert, from Wicker Park, came from outside the city to join Detch, their friend who lives in Evanston.

In the last eclipse, one of the women recalled “I absolutely remember because I was working as a life enrichment director at a senior living community. We had a whole big event.”
“It would be very cool if we could see corona in some way instead of just a sliver of the sun,” expressed one.

Wolff’s eyes were fixed on the sky during almost the entire time the eclipse came into place.
Smith’s dog, Lincoln, a mini-Labradoodle, and Wolff’s dog, a Jack Russell Pug mix, sat some of the epic event, lying under an umbrella.
“I think I see the corona,” remarked Tamara.
“What?” asked Smith.”
“It’s the outer part of the sun, that’s full of plasma. And that’s what they (scientists) want to know more about,” said Wolff, her work rewarded.