‘This is just the coolest place’: Harvard graduates visit McGregor to experience The Great American Eclipse
McGREGOR, Texas (KWTX) - A group of Harvard graduates and longtime friends from all over the United States put their heads together and decided that McGregor was the best place in the country to view the total solar eclipse and they say it didn’t disappoint.
“It turned out better than we hoped,” said Bill Rose, of Newark, Delaware.
Rose, an Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Delaware, was one of six 1981 Harvard graduates who made the trip to Texas along with another Harvard grad from 1982, and two spouses, to view the total solar eclipse and experience totality.
The group, which also included multiple medical doctors, traveled from Delaware, Pennsylvania, California, and Michigan to Austin before coming to Central Texas Monday to witness one of the most highly anticipated events of 2024.
“We chose Texas because it had a better chance of clear skies than places closer to our homes,” Rose said.
The group woke up Monday morning in Austin and began considering the best location for viewing based on factors like roads, crowds, and weather forecasts.
They landed on McGregor, population 5,000 and 21 miles southwest of Waco.
KWTX WEB XTRA: Timelapse video of The Great American Eclipse totality as experienced from the KWTX studios in Waco, Texas on April 8, 2024
“We chose McGregor because it had slightly better odds of clear skies than towns farther south, and because we saw on Google maps that it has a lot of green space, including a big school area where we figured we could hang out,” Rose said.
The group attended the “Moon Monday in McGregor Solar Eclipse” event located in an open field behind McGregor Elementary School, and just down the road from SpaceX’s rocket testing facility. The event had a food truck, live music and vendors selling commemorative t-shirts. Organizers were expecting a much larger crowd, but the threat of cloud cover kept many away, they believe.
Walter Gillett, a software engineer from Lexington, Massachusetts, was another Harvard grad who took the chance on McGregor, and he said the view was perfect.
The group watched the eclipse through binoculars, a telescope, and glasses. They stood up and, at times, laid on blankets to soak it all in.
“This is just the coolest place to see the sun disappear and the corona, and right out here next to SpaceX,” Gillett said.
The friends returned to Austin Monday and began traveling to their homes Tuesday morning.
In addition to the solar eclipse, they were able to sightsee in and around Austin during their visit.
A few even participated in the 48th Annual Statesman 10K run.
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