That was when the much-hyped partial solar eclipse appeared at its peak for thousands to see at the State University of New York at Fredonia’s viewing party.

While no apocalyptic darkness swept across the area, students, faculty and community members mouthed words like “Wow,” and “Oh my gosh,” while observing one of the solar system’s most imposing natural wonders through special Eclipse Shades, binoculars, a telescope and even pinholes.

Jessamine Daly-Griffen and her family from South Dayton joined in on the fun after hearing about the viewing party through the grapevine.

“We wanted to come and be a part of the action and bring the kids down and enjoy the solar filters on the binoculars and just kind of see all of our friends and family out this way and enjoy it together,” she remarked. “(We were) just interested. I’m a mom, I’ve got my three kids with me here today, and we studied at the college — we’re alums — so we like to just come back and enjoy all the college has to offer.”

OBSERVER Photo by Greg Fox. From left, SUNY Fredonia biology professor Dr. Karry Kazial joins her daughters Violet, 10, and Ivy, 7, in viewing the partial solar eclipse through Eclipse Shades, Monday at the Fredonia Science Center viewing party.

The spectacle did not disappoint Daly-Griffen either.

“The eclipse is amazing, and thanks so much to SUNY Fredonia for putting together this event for us,” she added.

Michael Dunham, assistant professor in the Physics Department at Fredonia, organized the viewing party. He noted the event served as a way to engage with the public and provide a safe outlet to view the eclipse by handing out 1,500 pairs of Eclipse Shades — which resemble 3-D glasses.

All those glasses were gone in about 30 minutes, but no one missed out, as many pairs were shared.

“The turnout’s been fantastic,” Dunham stated. “We don’t have an exact count, but there’s several thousand people here.”

OBSERVER Photo by Greg Fox. A large crowd filled the field behind the Fredonia Science Center Monday for a viewing party of the partial solar eclipse.

The last time a total solar eclipse crossed the entire United States coast to coast was in 1918 — 99 years ago. The year 1978 — 39 years ago — was the last time a total solar eclipse appeared in the continental U.S.

“This is really special,” Dunham commented. “There’s 200 million people that are within a day’s drive of totality. We’re not totality here in Fredonia, but it’s about 75 percent, so it’s pretty unique.”

The eclipse’s 70-mile-wide path of totality — where the moon completely covers the sun — began in Oregon just after 1:15 p.m. and ended in South Carolina shortly before 3 p.m.

Dunham pointed out the college was collecting data on the eclipse, though not at the viewing party.

“There is a separate event a little bit further away on campus, where they are doing some NASA-sponsored research,” he explained. “It’s a citizen science project, where they’re collecting temperature readings every few minutes as part of a big global project to study the effects of the eclipse on the atmosphere.”

Fredonia President Dr. Virginia Horvath attended the viewing party and got a glimpse of the eclipse, as well. She mentioned she was excited to see how many people showed up.

“It’s certainly an historic moment, so to have people say they want to be here and to have our science faculty and students engaged in showing people safe ways to view is great,” she added.

Monday also marked the first day of classes for Fredonia students — a fact not lost on Horvath.

“It’s great; it’s celebrating the beginning of the year with something that’s momentous and everyone who’s here (Monday) will remember where they were the day of the eclipse,” she remarked. “I’m glad that they’re here as we start the semester.”

For those interested in astronomy, an observatory is located on the roof of the Science Center. It is open to the public for observing every Monday night. Anyone who would like to attend an observing night should sign up ahead of time, as space is limited. More information is available at www.facebook.com/FredObs.

While Monday’s eclipse may feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience to some, it is actually a sort of warmup act for the local area. That’s because on April 8, 2024, another eclipse will grace Fredonia with its presence — and this time, Western New York will be in the path of totality.

With that in mind, if you happened to get your hands on a pair of those Eclipse Shades, you might want to store them in a safe place for the next seven years. However, if you didn’t end up getting any, you don’t have to worry.

“For 2024, we’re going to have to get more glasses and have an even bigger celebration,” Horvath said.

Email: gfox@observertoday.com. Twitter: @gfoxnews