Easter egg hunt

Clarke County’s first annual Easter egg hunt was in 1948 at the Osceola High School athletic field. A total of $50 in cash prices was distributed to the participants in addition to thousands of candy Easter eggs. The Osceola Chamber of Commerce and participating merchants furnished the prizes.

Printed slips telling of amounts of cash prizes were hidden among the eggs in hundreds of nests sprinkled over the area. The finders were to call for their cash prize at the store named on the printed slips. Separate age group areas were marked on the field. No fighting or scuffling was permitted. Boy scouts assisted in the running of the event and highway patrolmen were on hand to handle traffic.

The second hunt was also held at the athletic field. The eggs were in cellophane packages, and children were told they may want to take baskets in which to put their eggs. There was an egg rolling contest where an egg was rolled over a designated course by the participant using only his nose. The first to roll his egg across the line without using his hands was declared the winner.

On Saturday, April 8, 1950, the third annual affair was held at the Country Club. The Easter Bunny hid nearly $200 in cash prize awards with the nests of eggs. The selection of the club site was to present a more challenging egg hunt for the children in the older age group. At the old athletic field there was little cover for the eggs. The Boy Scouts, city police, patrolmen, Lions and Rotarians were on hand to direct traffic and patrol the grounds. Anyone seen fighting over nests, striking another child or otherwise conducting himself in an “ungentlemanly” fashion was ejected from the grounds and relieved of whatever nests they may have already found.

An eight-inch snow on Tuesday, April 5, turned Clarke County into a winter wonderland, but spring returned by the week’s end.

The annual Easter egg hunt traditional continues on today.