Lancaster, New Hampshire, was almost unrecognizable Monday as what seemed like thousands of visitors streamed into the town to see a once-in-a-lifetime sight: a full solar eclipse. 

I drove up from Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and made it to Lancaster around 10 a.m. after hitting a little traffic. Usually a town of just over 3,500 people and quiet during “mud season,” the town was buzzing with energy. Five hours before the eclipse, the streets were full of people walking around, getting snacks at local shops and food trucks, and setting up their blankets and chairs in preparation.

Sitting on a field next to the Granite Grind, Heidi and Nina Glavac had arrived in Lancaster around 9:30 a.m. to make sure they got a parking spot. They are from nearby Bethlehem.

“I want to do the 100%, right. And our house apparently my husband’s like, we’re 99.6. So I’m like, where’s the closest to where we live,” said Heidi.

Much of New England saw a partial eclipse somewhere in the 90th percentile. But many of the people who traveled to Lancaster said they saw it as their one chance to see a total eclipse. The next one in the area won’t be until 2079.

The total eclipse

The moon began covering the sun around 2:15 p.m. Wearing my ISO certified eclipse glasses, I saw the sun begin to morph into a crescent.

Brad Moser, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Plymouth State University, was standing outside The Lancaster Motel with his telescope.

“I’m most excited … there’s a couple of minutes leading up to totality, there’s things like shadow bands or shadow snakes, if you’ve heard of those before,” Moser said. “Once there’s like this narrow slip a couple of minutes right before the eclipse, you can look onto the ground and there should be like these sort of like wavy shadows that are like kind of leaping over each other, kind of snakelike.”

Moser said that in the moments leading right up to full totality, informed viewers can see things like “Bailey’s Beads,” or little fibers of sunlight, and the subsequent “diamond-ring effect” as they disappear. Moser said these are caused by the sun’s light coming past the mountains and valleys on the moon. 

The sun was still only partly obscured when I came upon a large sports field with hundreds of people scattered. Hannah, Chris, and Trish Autenrieth sat with their dog, Bear. Hannah lives in Rhode Island but had come home for the weekend just for the eclipse. The Hooksett family had driven up that morning, arriving just before the eclipse started.

“We figure there’s probably going to be some kind of an alien communication,” Chris joked.

As the sky got darker, kids who were playing catch and wrestling reunited with their parents to stare at the sun. 

“Mommy it’s getting more!” cried one curly haired child. 

“Momma it looks like a banana,” said a young boy around 3:15 p.m.

People started putting back on their jackets as the air grew colder, and murmurs grew about the light.

“Weird glow right now,” said one. “Not like sunset darkness, like under the shade of a tree or something,” observed another.

Just as the sun slowly, then suddenly slips under the horizon at sunset, the moon quickly overtook the sun in the sky, covering the whole field under an eerie darkness. For a short 20-40 seconds, all the observers were able to stare directly at the eclipse without glasses. You could see the corona, or the outermost atmosphere of the sun, as well as some brighter planets and stars in the sky. People clapped, laughed and screamed.

There was no alien communication, but the Autenrieth family said their trip was definitely “worth it.”

Residents, business owners of Lancaster worked together

Ruby Berryman, owner of The Lancaster Motel, said they had been preparing for a year for the eclipse. The hotel put together a package that included a few nights, food and entertainment like live music and talks by Moser, the astrophysicist from Plymouth State. Its 40-person capacity was filled last week, but she said they’ve been getting calls all night.

“It’s been nice to see the town come to life. Seeing all my neighbors and stuff,” Berryman said. “We normally don’t see this much traffic except during the fair. But even with the fair people are driving by, they’re not milling around and meeting each other.”

She said the motel partnered with local businesses, such as handing out coupons, to further stimulate the local economy.

Indeed, the Granite Grind and Polish Princess Bakery, two bakeries in town, saw huge lines for much of the morning. Business was also hopping for the food trucks that had come from nearby towns. And a couple local Girl Scout troops were clearing out their remaining inventory.

The bright, sunny skies added to the overall jovial feeling in town.

“I feel like it’s a gift to me personally,” said Berryman.

People came from near and far

Sprinkled throughout the New Hampshire and Massachusetts license plates, states like Utah, Washington D.C., and Kentucky were also represented.

More: Eclipse arrives in NH and Maine: Crowds thrilled by show in sky

Samir and Cristina Shoukleur came from San Diego.

“I wanted to see the eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico, because that’s where it started,” said Cristina. But the pair had family in the area, and so they decided to combine the trip. She said it felt very spiritual, and so happy. “It was like I wanted to say, Happy Eclipse Day! Like Happy New Year.”

Paul Broce, Bea Zakur, and Linda Swope drove up on Sunday from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They felt so lucky to have no clouds for the eclipse.

“We’re not going to be around for the next one,” said Broce about why they decided to come. “We’re a lot older than you are.”

I’ll be 83 by the time of the next eclipse in this area. I told them it might be a stretch for me too to make it. But as a newfound umbraphile, I’ll certainly try!