In the summer of 1945, a small area in the Churchbridge-Bredenbury district became the place to be for those wanting the best view in North America of the coming eclipse of the sun.

People of the area were interested, but only to a degree, in this group of scientists assembling equipment to view this phenomenon.

It wasn't until Bob Priestly, the manager of CJGX Radio in Yorkton, through his connections discovered that this group of scientists came from leading universities from across North America, that interest was really piqued.

Mr. Priestly and my husband Cliff Shaw, bureau manager of the Leader-Post in Yorkton, arranged to have lunch with the leader of the group.

As a result of this lunch, Cliff, along with three other reporter/photographers from Regina and Saskatoon, were invited to visit the site and take pictures of the 'dry run' that would take place the day before the eclipse.

During the interviews with various members of the scientific party, it was learned that of all the places on the North American continent, scientists pinpointed this area as the best possible place from which to view the eclipse.

During the day, the whole 'dry run' was photographed and noted by the reporters.

Next morning, we arrived at the site in the early morning darkness. As daylight appeared birds were twittering, dogs were barking and people who had assembled at the site were chatting.

As the leader of the scientific group started counting backwards from 10, the light started to fade almost as if it was a stage, and the footlights went down.

At the count of 4 an eerie silence came over the crowd, the birds ceased twittering, the dogs stopped barking and the people stood in awed silence. By the count of one there was total darkness and the silence could be cut with a knife.

Then the count started the other way, one-two-three, and the darkness gradually disappeared. The birds and dogs could again be heard.

Everyone who witnessed this phenomenon was filled with awe. It was hard to realize the eclipse was over and that everything was back to normal. It was the most awe-inspiring, eeriest thing I have ever experienced.

After everyone dispersed, the scientific party tore down the equipment and went home to their various universities and institutes.

Much later we learned that the leader of the group was one of the two top scientists in California. It was also rumoured that the information obtained from this scientific event was used in the construction of the atom bomb.