Redondo Beach library was solar eclipse ground zero

Betty Waung, Linda Larson, Marie Capodanno and Cecille DeSimone take in the Aug. 21 solar eclipse at the Redondo Beach Public Library. The four pinned handmade eclipse patterns to their blouses to honor Cecille’s late daughter, Katrina.

Donia Sichler was playing a cross between bouncer and drill sergeant Monday morning outside the Redondo Beach Public Library’s main branch, attempting to keep control over people arriving to experience the solar eclipse.

“I’m sorry, I can’t let anyone in right now,” Sichler, Redondo’s Youth Services Librarian, said. “I’m trying to be fair to everyone.”

She had a tall order. The line to join the crowd on the library’s observation deck stretched from its front doors, around the building and down near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Carnelian Street.

Hundreds of people arrived to watch the solar eclipse, an astronomical event that meant that 61 percent of the sun would be obscured by the moon at 10:21 a.m. for South Bay viewers. A total eclipse would be seen elsewhere throughout the United States.

Meredith Tate was enjoying the eclipse to the side of the Library’s front steps. Her husband and son had gone to Oregon to see the total eclipse. But she, having just arrived from an international trip, wasn’t able to make the trek northward.

“I think it’s good to share with other people things that affect everyone,” Tate said. “It’s a human experience. People have been looking at the heavens for as long as there have been people, and trying to interpret what they mean…the people who came out are of all ages. It’s very communal.”

Cecille DeSimone and her friends coordinated their trip to Redondo’s eclipse party late on Sunday night.

“She sent out a group text message to us, saying ‘bring safety pins and wear something dark!’” said her friend Linda Larson. The group of four was the talk of the event. They pinned black and yellow felt patterns to their blouses, representing the eclipse, the darkened moon and the sun’s corona.

The trip, DeSimone said, was in honor of her daughter Katrina DeSimone. She died in January, at the age of 28, of gastric cancer.

“She would have loved to have been here…but she would’ve flown to Oregon,” DeSimone said. Her daughter was a believer in the moon’s power, and felt there was meaning behind every lunar event.

“In 2012, there was a blue moon on her birthday, and every time something came up — harvest moon, blood moon, whatever moon — she would call,” DeSimone said. “This is a tribute to her.”

Despite the library’s best efforts, they weren’t able to share the 150 pairs of solar light-filtering “eclipse glasses” with everyone.

Redondo Beach Police Officer Bill Turner, in his “Eclipse” glasses (left), and Chief Keith Kauffman assist a resident in viewing the Aug. 21 solar eclipse with a City-owned welder’s mask. Photo

As people waited in line, Redondo Beach Police Chief Keith Kauffman passed around a welding mask, borrowed from Redondo’s Public Works Department, while Officer Bill Turner Turner showed off his “Eclipse glasses,” made from a pack of Eclipse chewing gum.

Connie Loftis, with The Arc – South Bay, brought a group of clients to view the eclipse. The Arc is an Adult Developmental Center, based in Hermosa Beach.

“They enjoyed it and I enjoyed it,” Loftis said. “I was grateful the officers took the time with each one of our clients. That just made their day.”

Near 11 a.m., well after the eclipse had begun receding, the line around Sichler dwindled. Though she was still guarding the door, she was also taking time to marvel over the kids who brought boxes with pinholes that projected the eclipse on paper.

“We had staff coming in early to help us get everything together, we had so much support from other departments, it’s been wonderful,” Sichler said. “It shows how vital we are for the community — we’re more than just books and computer access, we provide information.”

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