In Webster County, they gathered at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park bearing a great panopoly of special eclipse glasses, paper plates and breakfast cereal boxes.

Ken Hays, of Fort Dodge, brought his grandson, Peyton Hays, 13.

“We saw the article in the paper and wanted to check it out,” Ken Hays said.

Hays thought it was worth taking a chance.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson More than 100 people gathered at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park Monday afternoon to view the solar eclipse.

“I was privileged enough to see it in 1979,” he said. “The opportunities don’t come up too often, so you kind of want to see it when you can.”

Peyton Hays had his eclipse glasses ready to go. The glasses darken everything else, making just the sun visible.

He and his grandpa showed up at the park at 10:30 a.m., he said.

“We just hope we can see it,” Peyton Hays said.

Clouds that drifted across the late morning sky threatened to obscure the view.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Noah Flaherty, 5, of Fort Dodge, center, looks to the sky using a pair of special eclipse glasses Monday afternoon at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. His brother, Micah Flaherty, 10, and mother, Lisa Flaherty, look on at left.

At the park, people stood near the shelter by the playscape, while others sat with their families at picnic tables a short distance away.

Yes it was dark and cloudy at times, but the sun peeked through off and on. It was just long enough to allow people to see what they came for — the partial eclipse.

Brenda Boyington, of Williams, watched with her mother, Virginia Legore, of Rockwell City.

Boyington said she picked up a pair of eclipse-viewing glasses at the Iowa State Fair. It was about 12:30 p.m. when she caught a glimpse of the eclipse.

“I don’t care if I don’t see anything else,” she said. “I saw something.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Grant Webster, of Fort Dodge, views the solar eclipse through a modified Captain Crunch cereal box at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park Monday afternoon. His mother, Theresa Webster, looks on.

Lisa Flaherty brought her two sons, Noah Flaherty, 5, and Micah Flaherty, 10, to the viewing party.

They only brought one pair of glasses, though.

“We are sharing,” Lisa Flaherty said. “We just keep passing it around.”

Some of the viewers brought modified cardboard cereal boxes to view the eclipse.

Brett Webster, of Fort Dodge, chose Captain Crunch.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Virginia Legore, of Rockwell City, left, and her daughter Brenda Boyington, of Williams, view the solar eclipse through special eclipse glasses Monday afternoon at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.

The two boxes each had two holes in the top. On one end a piece of tinfoil covered one hole. The other hole was left open.

The person holding the box faced away from the sun. By looking into the bottom of the box, the person is able to see the image of the eclipse.

“I saw it online,” Brett Webster said. “And it does work.”

Webster shared the experience with his wife, Theresa, and their three kids, Grant Webster, Jack Webster, 8, and Abby Webster, 6.

While there have been eclipses in the past, Monday’s was the first in recent history that was not only total, but traveled in a path that crossed most of the United States.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter The clouds partially filter the sun at 1:03 p.m. Monday, revealing the tiny sliver as the moon covers the sun in a partial eclipse.

In Fort Dodge, the moon covered about 92 percent of the sun. It was in the sun’s path beginning at 11:41 a.m. and continued for about 3 hours.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter Samantha Condon, 5, tries to see the eclipse as it moves into Kennedy Park Monday. Condon managed to get a good view in spite of clouds which at times blocked the sun.