Thursday, May 16, 2024
After spending one year preparing Gatesville to receive visitors for a total solar eclipse that took place on April 8, eclipse coordinator Cheri Shepherd reflects on how the experience impacted the community.
“My biggest takeaway was that we can accomplish a lot by working together,” Shepherd said. “City staff, county and state agencies, businesses, community organizations, and individuals all came together to organize a successful weekend and eclipse day.”
Shepherd not only worked closely with city staff and the Gatesville Police Department to prepare for the event, but also spoke with several cities that were on the path of totality in 2017. Many cities in 2017 experienced traffic congestion and longer than normal travel times once the eclipse ended.
Before the eclipse, the main concern for Gatesville included the potential influx of visitors that could put a strain on local resources, including shortages on gas and groceries.
“We had worked hard to look at and plan for every need and potential problem that might occur,” Shepherd said. “We were definitely over prepared, which we knew was a possibility, but we felt that it was better to be over prepared than underprepared.”
As the day of the eclipse approached, it was clear that the city would not receive as many people as predicted. Although a positive for those concerned about traffic issues, Shepherd had hoped more local businesses would benefit from the additional visitors.
“My biggest disappointment was that our restaurants didn’t see the business that we had anticipated for them,” she said. “Several of our retailers did report very good sales, so we were happy with that.”
Due to weather forecasts that predicted cloudy conditions and storms on the day of the eclipse, the potential for poor viewing conditions likely contributed to the lower numbers.
“We did see a sizeable influx on Monday, but we had expected more people over the weekend,” Shepherd said. “I suspect that many of them delayed their final travel decisions until Monday morning.”
Although the city did not receive the large crowds they originally anticipated, many visitors from across the nation and around the world still traveled into Gatesville to experience totality. After documenting all the visitors who arrived on April 8, Shepherd said the Gatesville Police Department estimate that 6,000 people in addition to residents observed the eclipse from various public spaces within the city.
Shepherd adds that they also documented visitors who came from 30 states and 19 countries. This includes countries such as England, Brazil, The Netherlands, Japan, and India, and states such as Maine, Colorado, Alaska, Alabama, Nevada, and New York.
“For me, personally, it was really rewarding to be able to meet and welcome people from all over the world to our town,” Shepherd said. “I was proud of how we accommodated these visitors and to hear and read their positive comments. I think that seeing Gatesville through the eyes of our visitors gave me a new appreciation of what we have here.”
Shepherd encourages residents to read the comments left from visitors in the Gatesville eclipse’s online guestbook as well as to leave an entry about their own experience. To access the guestbook, visit www.gatesvilletxeclipse.com/guestbook.
“Viewing the eclipse was an opportunity for our community to experience something amazing right here at home,” Shepherd said. “We wanted to make sure that our residents were able to enjoy that while still accommodating visitors, and I think we accomplished that.”
