Teacher Promised His Students An Eclipse Party In 1978 And He Kept His Vow More Than Four Decades Later

The excitement around this week's total solar eclipse has been building for quite some time.

However, for one particular teacher and his group of former students, the anticipation has stretched over more than four decades.

In the late 1970s, Patrick Moriarty was a fresh-faced 22-year-old who had just embarked on his journey as a teacher.

It was during his early days as an earth science teacher, while working in the vicinity of Rochester, New York in 1978, that Moriarty made a memorable promise to his ninth-grade students.

Patrick Moriarty started his teaching career in the 1970s. NBC News

He assured them that when the moment arrived, they would reunite to experience the next total solar eclipse that would traverse their hometown.

Eclipses are relatively common, occurring roughly every 18 months, but observing them requires being in the path of totality, where the Moon obscures the Sun entirely, aligning perfectly with it.

This path often crosses oceans or uninhabited regions, but on occasion, it sweeps over densely populated areas.

For Moriarty and his students, the eclipse's path of totality crossing their hometown was a momentous event that would not occur again until this year.

Remarkably, more than 40 years after making his vow, Moriarty fulfilled it by gathering with over 100 of his former students to witness the spectacle.

Moriarty, now 68 years old, reminisced about the promise he made so long ago, stating:

"I mentioned to the students, 'See that one on April 8, 2024? Circle that one. We're gonna meet that day."

Patrick was able to view the solar eclipse with more than 100 of his former students. Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

He continued to urge every earth science class he taught over the next 16 years to remember the same date.

As expected, a lot has changed since Moriarty initially made his promise to reconvene.

Originally, he had planned to spread the word through a personal message in the local Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper, saying:

"I did say unless there's any other way in 2024 you can get ahold of people easier than that."

Ultimately, he opted to create a Facebook group about two years ago to organize the event well in advance.

Patrick had the opportunity to reconnect with the people he once taught. Courtesy of Caitlin Moriarty Hynick

And, indeed, people showed up in droves on Monday to witness the total solar eclipse, with more than 100 of his former students in attendance.

The retired teacher expressed his gratitude, saying:

"I have had the opportunity to reconnect with so many of my students who have shared such wonderful things about being in my classroom and the impact of teachers."

He reflected on the experience, adding, "This was an 'Oh my gosh, I guess I did OK. I had an impact on these kids.' type of moment."

Although his students had changed in appearance, Moriarty found he could still recognize them.

"It was so interesting seeing them walking up bald or with gray hair, and looking at me like, 'You're still my teacher' and I could see in their faces, in their adult faces now, what they looked like when they were 14," Moriarty noted.