There were still, in 1968, a few people who were afraid of the nuclear power plant. This means, simply, that operators in nuclear power plants need not be eminent physicists or mathematicians. They had some nuclear power, introduced a century or so ago by traders from Marduk, one of the really civilized planets.
This interactive Google map shows the path of the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 Aug 21. The northern and southern path limits are blue and the central line is red. You MUST be somewhere within the central path (between the blue lines) to see the total phase of the eclipse. The eclipse is longest on the central line (red).
Next total solar eclipse in Nebraska 3 May 2106. Last total solar eclipse in continental U.S. 26 February 1979. Next total solar eclipse in continental U.S. 8 April 2024. Next total solar eclipse visible anywhere on Earth 2 July 2019 (South Pacific, Argentina) Average period of time between total solar eclipses in one spot 380 years. Average period of time between total solar eclipses on Earth ~1.3 years (67 in the 21st century)