US

Solar eclipse gives ‘middle-town America’ rare spot in the limelight

Erie, in Pennsylvania, has suffered economic decline in recent years but now finds itself preparing for an influx of visitors eager to witness an extraordinary phenomenon

A pizza restaurant advertises that it will be open during the April 8th solar eclipse in Pinckneyville, Illinois. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Keith Duggan's face
Keith Duggan in Erie, Pennsylvania
Mon Apr 8 2024 - 06:00

John Melody knows exactly where he will be watching the Great American Eclipse. The Dungarvan man will stand on the deck at Pier Six, one of six bars and restaurants he established in the city of Erie with a partner over the past few decades. The third floor bar, on Sassafras Pier, has a panoramic view of Lake Erie that changes with the seasons. In winter, John watches, with an amazement that has never diminished, as the ice fishers carry huts on sleighs across the frozen lake, often driving trucks across the surface.

“I won’t do it,” he laughs. “I can’t grab the concept of it. But you might have 100 huts out there of guys doing the ice fishing.”

Melody arrived in Erie in 1986 on a soccer scholarship, playing for Mercyhurst college. “First time on a plane, all that,” he laughs. The city – it has a population of about 94,000 – felt much the same then as it does now.

“Very industrial. Very blue collar. And I often think: I was coming to the States no matter who called in 1986 and of all the places I could have ended up, I ended up in a fairly good place. It is off the beaten track. It is middle-town America. But I like middle-town America. You know who people are and they know you. There is more of a community feel.”

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When he graduated, he left for the West Indies, returned to Ireland and then came back to Erie to coach soccer at his alma mater in 1994. Twenty years ago, he got into the bar business and has been part of a push to regenerate a city that had, for a century, stood resolute against recessions because it made things that people needed through good times and bad. But the dramatic lurch towards the tech revolution and the relentless switch towards the importation of goods acted like a vacuum, sucking traditional factories and thousands of jobs from Erie. It was buffeted through the first decades of the century – and in 2016, Erie county abandoned a tradition of voting Democrat to play a crucial role in swinging the state for Donald Trump. Driving along 21st – through Raspberry, Peach and Plum streets – to reach the waterfront it is easy to see the hulking relics of once-busy workhouses. The restoration of many formerly derelict reminders of Erie’s industrial zenith has begun. Pier Six and the Bay House Oyster Bar, beneath it, are part of that localised revitalisation.

A total solar eclipse in 2017, the last time one was seen in the US. Photograph: Timothy D Easley/AP Photo

And it is one of the reasons why Monday’s epic, once-in-a-generation fall of midafternoon darkness is causing such a stir in the community. In early April, Erie is still emerging from its deep winter hibernation. “Winter is harsh. Summers are stunning,” is Melody’s succinct summary of the seasons. Sunday morning is blue-skied and sunny but there is a bite in the breeze that travels through the shadows of the lakeside buildings. So, to have tens of thousands of visitors arriving for the weekend is a boon.

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“This is the biggest tourist event for us ever,” Christine Temple, director of communications of VisitErie tourism says.

“Statewide, Pennsylvania is anticipating 50-60,000 visitors. Realistically we are figuring the majority of those are travelling north to be in totality on our shores. And that’s what it seems like. We are already seeing traffic increases. Our hotels are at 99.5 per cent. There is definitely a difference if you are driving around the city. But in driving around, I visited a couple of hotels to check out license plates. And there is a lot from Pennsylvania, but I saw Tennessee, Kentucky, Canada, Washington State, Indiana ... So, there are a lot of people.”

Erie has been planning for over a year for an event whose most eagerly anticipated moment will, strictly speaking, come and go in under four minutes. But the entirety of the eclipse will last for 2½ hours, with the shadow moving at 2,400km/h across the states that lie on the “path of totality” - where the moon will completely and briefly cover the sun. Because Erie is one of the cities that falls under that umbrella and is perched on the edge of one of the Great Lakes, it has enjoyed an intense and novel week of national attention. Nasa representatives have arrived to give demonstrations to local children. The governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro (Democrat) is expected to don his special solar glasses and watch the eclipse as it moves over Perry Square, the downtown park, on Monday afternoon. Beer gardens, package events in Lake Erie wine country and cruise tours out on the lake are all sold out.

Nationally, there has been a frenzy of anticipation, with interactive maps mirroring the path of the eclipse illustrating Airbnb options almost entirely sold out from Texas to New England at prices that can only be described as astronomical. Some counties in Texas have already declared a state of emergency as they attempt to cope with the influx of visitors and the memory of the 10-hour traffic chaos caused by a more localised eclipse event in 2017.

Waterford man John Melody at Pier Six, his bar and restaurant in Erie

In Erie, though, they are taking it in their stride. Over-excitement is not the preferred Pennsylvania way. Melody, whose general upbeat demeanour is further heightened by news that Waterford have won won their first championship game in 14 years, has definitely felt an unusual March vibrancy. In the Bay House on Saturday night, they had two large table bookings hosting reunions of friends who grew up in Detroit and Washington and used the eclipse as an excuse to get together. It won’t be possible to truly gauge just what this will mean to the local economy until it’s over, but it has been nice to hear and see Erie as part of a national conversation on the television news networks.

“Are we going to get this major, major impact? I just don’t know,” says Melody.

“That said, people have come in from far away. Some people feel this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and it is all good.”

Erie locals have dealt with their share of shadows falling over the city. This is one of the more pleasant occurrences.

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