Open season on Easter eggs

Saline County had its share of weekend Easter egg hunting.

Churches held hunts in their lawns. Civic organizations held hunts at Harrisburg and Eldorado football fields and Harrisburg Masonic Lodge held a new event at the Saline County Fairground. Various nursing homes held events for the amusement of residents.

The Harrisburg Town and Country Lions Club sponsored its annual Easter egg hunt at Taylor Field on Easter Sunday. A crowd of some 30 to 40 children, parents and relatives gathered under a slightly cloudy sky to enjoy the hunt for the Easter Eggs.

The children were grouped in five different age groups and at the word go dashed across the field, scrambling for the brightly colored eggs. In minutes it was over, and the kids were intently examining their loot, exclaiming over candy treats and "I got a quarter" moments. One egg in each age group had a prize ticket in it and the child with that egg was awarded with either a fluffy Easter Bunny stuffed toy or a Easter Basket filled with treats.

The Eldorado American Legion Easter Egg Hunt was on Eldorado High School's football field in four age groups.

In Eldorado, each egg contained money. The Legion raised $350 per age group through road block and penny pitch drives and soliciting businesses for donations.

Fire Chief Mike McKinnies chauffeured David Tate in the Easter Bunny costume to greet the kids.

Legion members asked at the end of each hunt for any children not lucky enough to find any eggs for a consolation treat.

The hunt was a departure from those of Easters past - described as a "free-for-all format" - that had been held in Mahoney Park. The Legion felt a need to organize the event in age groups so the youngest children could compete against the faster older children.