 August 21st of 2017 will go down in the history books as the day some saw the solar eclipse for the very first time. Hedy Clotter shows us how viewing the solar eclipse is special, especially if you've seen one twice. It's just really cool to see something that doesn't happen very often. The last time a solar eclipse was visible in the U.S. the year was 1979, but Midgy had its own watch party for the historic event where the moon completely covers the sun. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There it is. Some will only lay their eyes on a solar eclipse once in their lifetime, but Lattie Elwell is one of the fortunate ones. 38 years ago, she drove to the Winnipeg Zoo in Canada and observed the solar eclipse. Dark and the birds, especially the owls, responded to it just as though it were getting dark and they hooded and screamed. Elwell says it's fun to be in her hometown and see the solar eclipse again at the Beltrami County History Center. To be here with this many people and we were lucky that the sun peeked through the clouds and we did see it approaching what was it, 85 percent coverage. One word to describe the experience could be awesome, but Midgy was one of the many cities throughout the U.S. to join in on the frenzy. These astronomical, selectional events bring people together, not just in Midgy. The world over, the U.S. of course is lucky and then we're getting the eclipse in full force. For the best view and safest way to view the solar eclipse, these glasses will do the trick. You want to protect your eyes, right? Yeah, from getting blind. It's happening. It's hot. All right. You want to put your shades on and that way you can take a look at it. Although a few people had a different way to get a peek. Just involved a piece of aluminum foil and attacked to pop a hole in it and inside is a white piece of paper. I cut a hole in it and poked a little hole through the, oh I put aluminum foil on the back there and poked a little hole through it and you look in the box and you can see the sun. The longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun is just under three minutes. That didn't happen here, but guess had a clear view of the sun. There's a really bright crescent of the sun and then there's just a completely blacked out circle where you can't really see anything. It's kind of the opposite, kind of like the opposite of a crescent moon, I guess. The path of totality is nearly 70 miles wide that cross the U.S. from west to east. Hopefully you caught this solar eclipse. If not, you'll have another chance in 2024 in Bemidji, Haiti, Claude or Lakeland News. The event was put on by the Girl Scouts of Minnesota, Lakes and Pines. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.