They Came, They Saw, They Collected
Wyatt Miller, 4, discusses egg-gathering strategy with the Easter bunny before the Easter egg hunt at Milford School. Wyatt attended with his great-grandparents Sharlene Miller and Dennis Carroll of Milford. InkFreeNews photos by Ray Balogh.
By Ray Balogh
InkFreeNews
MILFORD — Precious little whirlwinds swept through North Webster and Milford during the towns’ annual Easter egg hunts Saturday, April 3. A combined total of about 150 children descended on ball fields and playgrounds, picking up pastel treasures hidden in plain sight.
North Webster
North Webster Lions member Monty Lackey poses with one of the grand prizes in the town’s Easter egg hunt.
North Webster Lions Club again sponsored the town’s egg hunt on the four baseball diamonds adjacent to the Mermaid fairgrounds.
“This started in the 1960s and I have done it for roughly 25 years,” said Dan Thystrup, a member of the Lions club.
The young scavengers were divided into four age groups: toddlers under 4, preschool and kindergarten, grades one through three, and grades four and five. At the starting whistle at 9 a.m. they raced through the dugout gates and completed their mission within five minutes, afterward trading the plastic eggs for money.
The numbers tell the story:
• The temperature was a chilly 38 degrees with southerly winds of 17 mph, according to the North Webster office of the National Weather Service.
One little scavenger keeps his eye on the prizes while waiting for the starting whistle in North Webster.
• 40 dozen hard-boiled and 10 dozen plastic eggs were scattered in the outfields of the ball diamonds by 10 Lions members who started at 7 a.m. A dozen or so extra eggs were held in reserve in the bed of a member’s pickup truck “in case someone doesn’t get any eggs,” said Lions member Monty Lackey.
• Two $10 bills were hidden in plastic eggs for each of the three older age groups. The grand prizes for the toddlers were a $10 bill and a stuffed Easter bunny.
• “At least 50 kids” participated in the event, according to Lackey.
Milford
MIlford Kiwanis placed “900 to 1,000” plastic eggs, each filled with candy or cash, around the Milford School athletic field and playground for the 11 a.m. hunt.
Sue Wert, treasurer of Milford Kiwanis, gives the Easter bunny a helping hand in debarking from a Milford Fire Department fire engine.
A fire engine siren heralded the arrival of Easter bunny at approximately 10:45 a.m. She was escorted courtesy of the Milford Fire Department and chatted and posed for photos with the children.
In a departure from tradition prompted by pandemic regulations, children took all the eggs home instead of trading them in for money. “That way we don’t have to collect them and sanitize them,” said Kiwanis member Paula Stokes, who publishes the club’s weekly newsletter and “helps out wherever.”
Children were each given a number upon arrival and were released in little flocks of 15 to scoop up their limit of 10 eggs apiece. The final count: 90 children, divided into age groups of 5 and under and 6 through 10.
Sue Wert, the club’s treasurer, dispatched the eager little hunters by megaphone. “I have been part of Kiwanis since 1983 and we have done this every year for at least that long,” she said.
The serial processions were frantic but orderly. “They did really well,” said Stokes. “That’s one thing to love about a small town. Everyone is courteous and polite.”
Photos from North Webster below
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- Toddlers rush through the starting gate in quest of hard-boiled and plastic Easter eggs.
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- One little hunter goes airborne running toward the treasures scattered in left field on one of the North Webster baseball diamonds.
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- Samuel Rutan, 3, son of Jesse and Pearl Rutan of Syracuse, smiles through the translucent pail he intended to fill with Easter eggs.
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- Brystal Bower, 5, daughter of Joel and Racheal Bower of Leesburg, pauses in anticipation of filling her bucket with Easter eggs.
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- Paige Cripps, 3, zeroes in on a prize during the North Webster annual Easter egg hunt. Paige is the daughter of Savannah Cripps of North Webster.
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- An unidentified toddler scoops up a treasure.
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- Colton Lawson, 3, shows off his treasure trove of Easter eggs. Colton is the son of Scott Lawson and Courtney Cox of North Webster.
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- Nina Hart, 3, won the stuffed bunny by collecting one of the special eggs. She is shown with her grandmother, Liz Brock of North Webster.
Photos from Milford below
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- The Easter bunny waves to the crowd from aboard a fire engine, courtesy of Milford Fire Department.
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- The crowd greets the Easter bunny with waves and picture taking.
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- The Easter bunny poses with her escort, Steve Farber, assistant chief of the Milford Fire Department.
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- Camden Deak, 4, and her sister, Caraline, are all ears as they pose with the Easter bunny at the annual Milford Easter egg hunt. The girls are the daughters of Mike and Angie Deak of Milford.
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- The Gingerich family attended the Milford Easter egg hunt. Standing from left are Ethan, 7; mom Zoe; Emma, 6; and Savannah, 5. Seated is John, 3. Joining them is the family’s four-legged member, Peaches. Not shown is dad, Scott. The family lives in Milford.
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- Shandy Himes, left; and her sons, Levi Savage, 5, and Zeke Savage, 6; along with grandmother Vicki Van Curen, await their turn to gather Easter eggs. The wait was painful for Levi. “My legs hurt,” he said. “I gotta move.”
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- Kyndalyn Chaffins casts a joyful smile and a jaunty wave at the Milford Easter egg hunt. She is the daughter of Brad Chaffins and Kayla Garber of Cromwell.
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- Xander Garcia nabs a prize on the fly during the Milford Easter egg hunt. He is the son of Ian and Jessica Garcia of Milford.