Communities create Easter fun with egg hunts
Linda Sappington
Families gather to take photographs with the Easter Bunny Saturday in Ronan’s Bockman Park
Linda Sappington
Jaidon Mahkuk, 6, scrambles for eggs in Ronan.
Linda Sappington
A lone camo egg waits the rush of children in Ronan's Bockman Park.
Linda Sappington
Kaydynce Dunkerson, 7, juggles a paper mug and two Easter baskets she won at Ronan’s egg hunt
Linda Sappington
A baby cuddles with the Easter Bunny in Ronan's Bockman Park.
Linda Sappington
Plastic eggs were recycled in Ronan for next year's hunt.
Linda Sappington
The Easter Bunny had candy for every child that visited in Ronan.
St. Ignatius Cub Scout David Michell checks out the results of a color he created.
St. Ignatius Cub Scout David Michell checks out the results of a color he created.
St. Ignatius cub scouts Landry Leishman and David Michell hold a carton of colorful eggs.
Karen Peterson photo
St. Ignatius Cub Scouts color dozens of eggs for children to collect during the annual egg hunt. Scouts, from left, include Harlon Leishman, Dylon Schock, Billy Long, David Michell and Landry Leishman.
Karen Peterson photo
Mikey McCrea, 3, leads the pack collecting eggs in St. Ignatius.
Berl Tiskus
Still wearing her bunny ears, Ziya Walker enjoys some swing time after the Beta Easter Egg Hunt at Boettcher Park.
Berl Tiskus
The Easter bunny is not the only one sporting a fluffy bunny tail at the Beta Easter Egg Hunt.
Berl Tiskus
Vance Means enjoys his first bite of Easter candy
Berl Tiskus
EmiMae Yamada-Morigeau cracks a plastic Easter egg to see what’s inside.
Linda Sappington
The Easter Bunny makes a quick getaway when the Ronan event is over.
Young Easter egg hunters race to collect eggs at the Beta Easter Egg Hunt at Boettcher Park.in Polson.
Easter colors illuminate Spring Creek in Ronan's Bockman Park.
Linda Sappington
Berl Tiskus
Randy Schmeusser, 8 months, grabs an Easter egg in Dayton at his first ever Easter egg hunt.
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If children picked up their toys as quickly as they snatched up Easter eggs on Saturday, busy moms would clearly be less fried. The Easter Bunny was also a busy critter throughout Lake County Saturday, leaving eggs lying around grassy fields in at least six communities and posing for portraits.
In Polson, Anthony Guardipee, 3, explained the Easter egg hunt at Boettcher Park.
“You pick up the eggs, and they have candy in them,” he said.
He was prepared with an Easter basket decorated with cars and trucks as he waited for the fire siren to sound so he could run after some eggs.
With the sun shining and anticipation high, the fire siren sounded, and kids in different age groups swarmed the park, picking up eggs. The child who found the golden egg in each age group received a special prize, and the Easter Bunny was available for photos.
The Alpha Upsilon chapter of Beta Sigma Phi put on the Easter egg hunt, which began promptly at 9 a.m. and was over at 9:01 or possibly 9:02 a.m.
Alpha Upsilon member Tessa Hupka said the group filled more than 5,000 eggs with candy and prize slips and had been working on the eggs for a couple of months. The ladies got to Boettcher Park early Saturday morning to hide the eggs and put up strips of tape to keep the eager egg hunters in check until the hunt began.
Up the valley in Dayton, preparations for Saturday’s egg hunt began last year after Easter when Dayton Elmo Association members bought decorations and bunnies at after-Easter ceremonies. On April 17, the ladies had an egg dyeing party at the Elmo Community Hall, which resulted in 55 dozen eggs to hide for local children to hunt.
The Easter egg hunt began around 11 a.m. or as soon as all the children were registered for drawings for an Easter basket filled with a bunny, candy and a gift certificate. The Simonson boys had new Easter baskets and were excited to pick up eggs.
For the babies and toddlers up to age 3, a special egg hunting area was set up. Babies could sit and reach a few eggs, and toddlers could take time to examine each egg and maybe even bite it.
Along with an egg hunt, there were door prizes, special prizes, an Easter bunny handing out eggs, duck walk and egg and spoon races, a few rounds of run and scream and even an Easter bonnet contest. In a rectangle of hay bales, filled with loose hay, kids scrambled for quarters.
RONAN
At Bockman Park, kids sweeped the grass clean in less than 30 seconds. When asked who has the most eggs, Jaidon and Durai Mahkuk, ages 6 and 7, both said, “I do.” The trick, Durai said, was quickness.
“I ran as fast as I could,” Durai said. “I just dashed over there.”
Kaydynce Dunkerson, 7, snatched two special eggs; each held a little piece of paper that paid off in big rewards — two baskets stuffed with toys and candy. Her 6-year-old brother lucked out as well, snagging one of 20 Easter basket prizes.
“You have to look at the eggs closely,” Kaydynce said.
Individuals from Mission Mountain Enterprises started stuffing 1,500 plastic eggs on March 1, according to Jeannie Jackson of Mission Mountain Enterprises.
“It takes a lot of talking and planning, and then we hope for the best,” she said. “It’s just like Christmas.”
To avoid tears from less aggressive egg hunters, each child that comes to Ronan’s egg hunt leaves with a goodie bag stuffed with candy and small toys.
“It’s our wonderful sponsors that make it happen,” Jackson said. “This is a beautiful spot, and it’s a beautiful day.”
Before children left, they took photos with the Easter Bunny. As the day winded down, a gaggle of children tried to catch him as he bounced out of the park.
ST. IGNATIUS
Before the Easter Bunny could hide them on the Mission football field last Saturday, the St. Ignatius Cub Scouts pitched-in to color the eggs Thursday evening.
“We like to help the Easter Bunny,” said Cub Scout Landry Leishman, 10.
It took three and a half hours to boil 60 dozen eggs that the scouts dipped into various liquid colors spread across a table in the basement of the Mission Catholic Church.
“Part of being a Cub Scout is doing a community service,” Cub Master David Orr said. “We’ve been doing this every year for close to ten years.”
Orr learned a few tricks to boiling eggs over the years.
“Vinegar in the water makes the color absorb better,” he said.
Cub Scout David Michell, 10, decided to mix the colors to see what would happen.
“This is my favorite kind of artistic work because you get to see the color when you take the egg out,” he said squeezing a few more drops of food coloring into a cup to get it just right.
Cub Scout Harlon Leishman, 7, was anticipating the end results of the project.
“I like it when I cut the egg open and put salt and pepper on it,” he said.
Cub Scout Billy Long agreed that eating the egg was the best part.
Cub Scout Dylan Schock, 9, decided after looking at an egg in a cup of color for a few moments that he liked the shape of the eggs best.
“I like the feel of them and the shape,” he said.
A day after the scouts finished their work, the Easter Bunny stepped in to do his part. He watched as kids quickly ran across the football field to collect real eggs and 30 dozen plastic eggs filled with candy and gift certificates provided by the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses.
“It takes an hour and a half to hide the eggs and four minutes for the kids to pick them up,” said Stuart Morton, Chamber of Commerce member.
As far as Morton could recall, the egg hunt is more than 30 years old. Steven Gore has been the “bunny’s helper” for the past five years.
“This is just one of the things we’ve always liked to do for the community,” Morton said.
ARLEE
Children gathered at the Arlee Fitness Center for the 12th annual Arlee Community Easter Event on Saturday, where prizes included baskets, toys, and even bikes.
Wendy Adams (406) 203-2163
Easter egg hunts were also held in Big Arm and at Salish Kootenai College, helping create Easter fun for families.
Editor’s note: Berl Tiskus, Linda Sappington and Karen Peterson contributed to this story.
