At 1:17 p.m. Monday, large crowds at Waterloo’s “Solarbration” and Columbia’s “Total Eclipse in the Park” stared up at the sky in anticipation as the sun readied to perform the ultimate sleight of hand, concealing itself behind the moon.

Slowly, the remaining light began to dissolve, and once the remnants became but a speck, many roared in satisfaction.

What remained was a phenomenon reported on extensively in months and days prior, but which lasted only minutes, depending on geographic location.

The sky had grown dim leading up to the total solar eclipse. The change in environment caused street and park lights to turn on, and cicadas buzzed incessantly. The temperature even dropped slightly during the two minutes or so of darkness.

During totality, everyone craned their necks to the point one might think their heads would never fully realign as they “oohed” and “aahed.” Then came a glimmer from behind the grey orb in the sky as spectators gave a ceremonial round of applause.

And just like that, the scene some drove across the country to witness was no more. The song “Blinded by the Light” by Bruce Springsteen was cued up at the Columbia event, and people began exiting the park in droves.

The Brad Noe Band, the live entertainment at the fairgrounds, played “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles as the first rays of sunlight emerged from the darkness.

Other parts of southern Illinois and the country had experienced the same solar activity at slightly different times in the day, and many, including Republic-Times photojournalist Alan Dooley, contributed different accounts of what they saw.

“Hummingbirds are starting to swarm on the feeders, as the sun dims and it seems to them, that day’s end is nigh!” he said on Facebook when watching the solar eclipse from his home south of Waterloo.

Others reported feeling that the “darkness” didn’t measure up to their expectations, though no one was disappointed with the way the moon looked with the sun shining its aura around it. Many also noticed the diamond ring effect in which the sun shines a small portion of light from behind the moon. 

During the “Solarbration,” KTRS 550 AM radio personality Jon Grayson of Waterloo coached attendees through what they were witnessing as they peered up at the heavens with their eclipse glasses.

“He provided exactly what we were looking for as far as giving the crowd information about eclipses and phases of the eclipse,” said event organizer Sarah Deutch, Waterloo community relations coordinator.

She also recalled his precise timing in telling people when to take off the protective glasses for totality and when to put them back on. While totality occurred, he provided informational nuggets such as how a person’s shadow appears different. But he didn’t entertain on his own.

Radio personalities Brando, a Red Bud native, Spencer and Cassiday of 106.5 FM The Arch hyped up the event as well, with Brando interacting with Grayson at times to provide comic relief.

“It was fun to see them interact. They played well off each other,” Deutch said. “They had a lot of fun with it and you could tell the crowd enjoyed it.”

Also during the event, The Arch gave away a Mitsubishi Eclipse to Kelly Swope of Hecker following a drawing. 

Solarbration organizers estimated that the fairgrounds saw about 7,500 people in attendance. Of those 7,500, the spectator who traveled the farthest came from India. 

Domestically, that title went to someone from Sebastopol, Calif. International travel included nine different countries, including Russia and Turkey, and 26 different states were tallied up for domestic travel. Many came from Wisconsin and the Chicago area.

“It was really something to see all the people literally from all over the world,” Deutch said. “It was amazing. I’ll definitely never forget it.”

Waterloo public works director Tim Birk agreed.

“(The cars) just kept coming and coming,” said Birk, who helped with parking cars along with Waterloo zoning administrator Jim Nagel, Waterloo code enforcement officer Nathan Krebel and several members of the Monroe County Rotary Club.

Local restaurants and shops also reported an uptick in business thanks to the large crowd of eclipse visitors in Monroe County. There was also a decent crowd seen on the Monroe County Courthouse grounds viewing the eclipse.

Columbia patrons viewed the eclipse sans commentary in the park, though no one seemed troubled or unable to follow the timing.

Those at the “Total Eclipse in the Park” enjoyed food trucks and live music from the band Gypsy Jones before totality. Sue Spargo, Columbia community relations and tourism coordinator, marched through the park, checking in on operations and enjoying people’s reactions to the event.

She had at her disposal about nine workers. She needed every bit of help she could get, as the parking lots continued to fill and visitors from out of state converged on the grounds.

“We’re really happy,” she said in a sweat. “It’s been mostly calm — no big problems. We’ve gotten great feedback from everyone. I haven’t heard anything negative.”

She couldn’t wrap her head around crowd size, though she noted that the 3,000 glasses the city made available at the event had depleted rather quickly.

“We expected to fill both overflow lots and I’d say we’re about there,” she said as another indicator.

A short distance up the hill, Parkview Elementary students set up blankets on the lawn moments before totality. School children in the county, thanks to well-prepared staff and administrators, were soaking up knowledge and performing fun activities based around the eclipse.

Waterloo school administrators reported to the school board Monday night that viewing events went well. WJHS principal Nick Schwarz said he enjoyed listening to the kids cheer during totality, and Zahnow Elementary principal Mary Gardner said she was pleased to give the young ones a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Who knows if a 5 or 6-year-old will remember the eclipse part, but they will remember the event,” she said.

Another total solar eclipse is set to take place in the U.S. on April 8, 2024, although only the very southern portion of Monroe County is in the projected path of totality.