Solar eclipse wows watchers in Fayette County

Apr 9, 2024 By Amy Fauth 2 min read

Some came to soak up the energy of the sun. Some came because they just couldn’t miss it.

Gina Ronzio, owner of Dr. Lillian Ronzio School of Holistic Health, invited her clients, students and friends to an eclipse watch party at her school, located at her mother’s home in Bullskin Township. The watch party was held in the large field behind the home.

“It’s a once in a lifetime event,” said Ronzio.

Sean and Marie Hawley came all the way from just outside of Nashville, Tenn. Marie Hawley is originally from Mount Pleasant. They were joined by her brother-in-law Leo Wisniewski and his wife, Carol, who are both from Mount Pleasant.

Although there were some clouds, all of the guests were able to see the eclipse at different levels of totality. With about a half hour left before the peak hour, Gina Ronzio burned an herb known as holy wood to bless the watch party.

As if on cue, after her blessing, the clouds shifted and the group got the best view of the eclipse they had so far.

Students at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly campus also joined in the eclipse viewing, gathering on the lawn of the Williams Building. Student Brandon Pritts of Uniontown held the viewing glasses over his cellphone camera to take photos.

Both he and student Sophia Zalar of Carmichaels said they watched the last eclipse in 2017 – Zalar while swimming with a friend and Pritts with his family.

With another eclipse like Monday’s expected in 2044, Pritts pondered how the experience might come full circle for him.

“I’ll probably be outside looking at it with my kids,” he said.

At Ronzio’s watch party, Josslyn Jurczak, 6, of Uniontown, offered a simple reason for attending.

“I’ve never seen an eclipse.”

And, now she has.

Herald-Standard reporter Mark Hofmann contributed to this story.