- News Archive
It was heralded as one of the “Top Stargazing Events of 2017”. Total darkness would come to certain areas across the country on August 21, 2017, including Columbia, SC. Folks in this area were excited, and Still Hopes residents were no exception. Longtime Still Hopes skilled nursing West Columbia, SC resident Brooksie Mays staked out her spot on the Guignard Mansion porch over an hour before the total eclipse was supposed to happen, which was scheduled to occur between 2:41 – 2:43 p.m.
“I didn’t dream that I would live long enough to see such a thing and I just made it! I may be going out any minute but now I’ve seen this! Isn’t that wonderful?” Brooksie laughs. When asked what she was expecting to see, Brooksie replied “I’m expecting to see just what has been shown to us over and over again – the moon slowly crossing the sun. It’s going to be very exciting.”
After the eclipse reached its totality, which was reported to be 100%, Brooksie was still in awe of what she just witnessed. “It was the most wonderful thing I ever saw. The most wonderful.” Brooksie even recalled watching something similar in Columbia during the year 1936, but she says it wasn’t quite the same. “When I was a child of about 6, we had something like this and I can’t remember many details but I remember we didn’t have glasses, so my father took a bottle and broke it and took a candle and smoked the glass so we children could look at it. But I don’t think that was a total eclipse.”
So did the eclipse today, on August 21, 2017, surpass Brooksie’s childhood memories? “Yes and more.” Brooksie says. “I just can’t get over it. It was just wonderful.”