People wait seven hours for eclipse glasses at Knoxville store

KNOXVILLE - After two failed attempts at other stores, Jo Sain was determined to get her hands on some solar filter glasses at Elder's Ace Hardware Thursday.

"It's an opportunity to spend with my husband, daughter and three granddaughters so it's a family bonding thing," said the 66-year-old Fountain City resident describing her excitement for the upcoming total solar eclipse Monday.

Sain arrived at 7 a.m. at the Chapman Highway store to be the first in line for the 2 p.m. sale of solar filter glasses, which are needed to safely view the event.

By the time the sale was about to start around 400 people stood in a line that extended down the driveway, around an adjacent parking lot and started to wrap around the next door building.

For the last week, solar eclipse glasses have been selling out quickly around Knoxville and the problem has been compounded by a massive recall of glasses sold on Amazon.

On Thursday, Elder's was among a handful of places around Knoxville still selling glasses. Their supply of 2,000 sold out in about 30 minutes and still was not enough to meet the demand of everyone in line.

"I kind of expected it but the line was bigger than what I thought it would be once I got here, so I guess I'm here for a pointless attempt," said Renee Kirby, who arrived in line around 1:30 p.m. and was hoping to get glasses for herself, her son and her two nieces.

Would-be eclipse goers on Thursday brought bottled water, umbrellas and lawn chairs as many of them camped out in the Ace Hardware parking lot for hours in the summer heat.

Debbie Taylor, who is still recovering from back surgery she had in March, was among those waiting in line, sweat covering her face as she held on to a water bottle minutes before the release of the glasses. But she said the camaraderie of people in line made the time go by quickly.

"It's uplifting with everything that's been going on (in the news) to know that people still care," said Taylor, 64. "I was about to fall over and a man up there, his wife brought him a chair and he gave it to me."

Taylor and others said the eclipse will be a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

"I'm kind of late getting glasses because I finally realized, just in the last week, that it's going to be a big thing," said Cara Valentine, who got in line around 12:30. "I probably won't be this close to the path of totality again without having to travel a long ways."

The supply of glasses at the hardware store sold out in about 30 minutes, leaving some disappointed eclipse goers empty handed.

It was a similar story at The Muse museum, which sold through the last of 15,000 solar glasses they've ordered since May on Thursday. The museum does not plan to get any more glasses in before the eclipse.

"It never seemed to be enough," said Bicki Rudd, visitor services manager at The Muse. "We were very surprised."

At Elder's, Michael O'Rourke, of Knoxville, was one of the lucky people able to purchase glasses. He said he and his wife just realized Thursday morning that the glasses they bought on Amazon were among those that were recalled.

"We were scrambling this morning," said O'Rourke, who plans to watch the eclipse from his home near Farragut. "It was hot out but I brought a chair and it was pretty easy. People were friendly. If you had to wait in line, it was a good place to wait."