‘I CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING BETTER’
Sisters return to city 77 years later to view second total eclipse
Two sisters whose family moved from Springfield to California 77 years ago returned for the first time Monday to watch their second total eclipse.
Mardi Briggs, who lives in Tehachapi, and Randi Decious, of San Jose, took the train across the country to view the twice-ina-lifetime — for them — phenomenon at National Commons park in downtown Springfield along with about 250 people. The sisters wore matching “Twice-in-alifetime” T-shirts with the dates and locations of their experiences.
“We always wanted to come back, and when we found out there would be an eclipse, we thought, ‘We’re going back,’ and we’re here,” Decious said.
Briggs and Decious saw their first total eclipse in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 2017, an experience Briggs described as “mystical” and Decious said was “awe inspiring.”
“It’s one of the best experiences,” Decious said. “Actually, I can’t think of anything better.”
When Briggs suggested going to Springfield for the eclipse, Decious said “we’re going to spend all that money to go for two-and-a-half-minutes,” but she said it was worth the trip.
The sisters stayed for the entire eclipse period — when the moon fully covered the sun and then when it moved out from in front of it. They didn’t want to leave immediately after the total eclipse concluded like some others, Decious said.
The partial eclipse began in Springfield at 1:54 p.m., and the total eclipse began at 3:10 p.m. The crowd at National Commons cheered as the sky turned to dusk Monday.
The sisters took a train to Springfield, which Briggs said was a good experience, viewing beautiful scenery across the U.S.
“I took a ton of pictures,” she said.
The sisters’ father, Herb Haley, used to own a radio station and moved the family to Los Angeles for another opportunity. Briggs and Decious raised their own families in Texas and California.
The family used to live on Possum Road, and that area has not changed significantly, the sisters said. They visited it over the weekend, looking at places from their childhood. When the sisters were growing up, they used to watch a train go by at night from their window, but Decious said it is now a bike path.
Decious said it has been “really cool” being back in Springfield. The sisters found it odd how their old house that they used to think was huge, is actually “so little.”
“We’re kind of getting up there (in age), so time to see the old homestead,” Decious said. “I’ll be 80 in like two weeks; not everybody gets that privilege, so I don’t mind being old.”