LOGAN COUNTY, Ohio — Tourists flocked to towns in the path of totality for Monday’s total solar eclipse, but the economic boost proved to be especially meaningful in Indian Lake, where residents are still cleaning up the damage and rebuilding after a devastating EF3 tornado in March.
Around 8,000 people watched the phenomenon at Indian Lake State Park, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Camp site reservations were sold out.
Restaurants in the area were extremely busy according to the Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce, which reported record sales at some shops and boutiques.
The excitement was especially meaningful for Brenda Moots, owner of The Depot and Indian Lake Outfitters, in hard hit Lakeview.
Her store was not immune from the tornado that tore through the community in March, but she fared better than some of her neighbors.
The store had been closed for 21 days due to the storm, but after weeks of making repairs, she was finally able to reopen on Thursday.
With tourists in town, the store received a warm “welcome back”
“How do I describe seven Fourth of July holiday weekends in one day? It has been an overwhelmingly, blessed experience,” Moots said of the eclipse crowds.
Like many business owners in the path of totality, she had been planning for the big day for months. The eclipse glasses and other merchandise had been ordered, but the tornado put a dent in some of the planning.
“The disaster hit and you switch gears very quickly,” she said.
Some stores were not able to reopen in time. Moots helped sell their merchandise on their behalf at her storefront. By Tuesday, she was sold out of pretty much everything.
“The last four days have been a total whirlwind and we have been extremely blessed tons of traffic and lots of people and lots of folks shopping and coming to the area to visit, it was amazing,” Moots said.
While it may look like things are back to normal inside the store, Moots said there is still a lot to be done.
“We are gonna get a new roof, we have a heating and cooling system that needs replaced, we have a ton of brick damage, we have water coming in the back like most people, so things that at the end of the day are not devastating, like thank god we are alive,” she said.
For now, Moots is grateful to be providing some much needed normalcy to the community. She said after the eclipse, she is looking forward to welcoming more tourists back to her neighborhood on Memorial Day.
“It’s exciting our tavern opened last week. The ice cream shop, Honey Bee’s, opened Friday. The bank has been open for a couple of weeks now so everybody has been slowly getting back to business and our slogan here in downtown Lakeview is we are open for business but that is the entire Indian Lake community. We want you, we need you,” she said.