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The
annual Sabina Easter Egg
Hunt will celebrate its
54th anniversary this
year (2008). It was
started and sponsored by
four businessmen, who
chose to remain
anonymous then and I
will respect that now.
They began this
tradition at their own
expense. It was
originally held at the
Sabina Methodist
Campgrounds. The Sabina
Girl Scouts were
responsible for coloring
and hiding the eggs,
while the Boy Scouts
helped with traffic and
kept the three age
groups in their areas.
The
three age groups were
walking through 5 years,
6 - 9 years and 10 - 13
years. The first place
winners each received a
live Easter bunny,
second prize was an
Easter basket full of
candy, third place won
$.50 and several
youngsters won quarters
and dimes. The winners
over the years have been
many, the first prize
winners that first year
were Joe Beverly, Jackie
Morgan and George
Wilson. It is not
recorded how many dozen
eggs were colored and
hidden, but they vowed
that next year there
would be 75 dozen! Over
the years they hid 90
dozen and in later years
it has grown to 120
dozen.
While
researching this, I have
found several people
with vivid memories of
the big pots of boiling
water, the bowls of dye,
the vinegary smell, the
dozens of eggs
everywhere! It was a
job, it was fun but it
was a lot of hard hot
work! Several people
said they had the same
reaction upon arriving
home, "Oh no, not the
eggs!"
Several
persons remember the big
baskets filled with
chocolate Easter
goodies. They knew they
came from Miller's 5 and
10 Store and they knew
the morning of the egg
hunt where they were
kept before being
delivered. These
youngsters could only
drool and wish that they
would find a prize egg
and win these wonderful
baskets, but much to
their dismay, they never
won!
Two
winners, youngsters in
the early '60's, found
the first prize egg in a
very large mud puddle.
They had searched and
searched, ready to give
up, they looked at the
big puddle and each
other, they decided to
go for it! Yes! They
found first prize.
Over
the years, the girl
scout leaders and
mothers of the girl and
boy scouts along with
other women in town
colored a lot of eggs,
but two ladies and their
families did it for a
lot of years. Kermith
Hiles, along with her
son David and his aunts
and cousins began in the
early 60's and colored
many an egg! She was
responsible for lots of
eggs for lots of years.
David remembers canners
and any big pot they
could find being on the
stove with boiling
water. The smell of
vinegar would almost be
unbearable..collanders
full of eggs would be on
the table covered with
newspapers and mixing
bowls of red blue and
green, coloring a dozen
at a time. There of
course was always an
"expert" on mixing
color, their eggs were
some of the ugliest!
In
1974, Debbie Stiff was
asked to color one third
of the eggs. She gladly
accepted them. The next
year, she took all of
them.. .all 120 dozen!
Everyone in the Stiff
family volunteered to
help. They allowed
approximately two weeks
for production. Ten
dozen a day, an assembly
line with two big pots
of boiling water, into
the coloring bowls, when
the color was "good" the
eggs were placed into
the cartons and placed
on the back porch where
it was cool to cold
(depending on the spring
weather).
In
1986, after Debbie's
death, Kate took over.
At this time, the
wonderful plastic egg
was used. Originally,
jellybeans would be
placed in the eggs. Mrs.
Stiff thought this was
unsanitary, returning
the jellybeans for
wrapped candy, which is
still done today.
Keeping with tradition,
Pam Pendleton filled the
plastic eggs. The Stiff
family continued this
tradition for 25 years.
Their era ended in 1999.
April Stiff said, "the
Lions Club provided
glasses for us when we
were young, coloring the
eggs was our way of
showing our appreciation
and saying thank you".
The
Sabina Lions Club has
sponsored the egg hunt
for many years. The
Sabina Camp Grounds was
the site from 1954 until
1971. In 1972, they
began "hunting" at the
Sabina Elementary
School. In 1996 it was
moved to the Village
Park where it remains
today.
I
would like to dedicate
this article to April
Stirr, without her
insight and stories and
getting the facts
straight, this article
would not have been half
as fun to research and
write. Thank you, April,
you were to read the
final draft, but that
was not to be, here's
hoping it is correct and
the way you wanted it
told!
I
have enjoyed reminiscing
and sharing memories
with a lot of wonderful
people associated with
Sabina's Annual Easter
Egg Hunt. Several
persons, who worked long
and hard and contributed
to its success, are no
longer here, so their
families have shared
their thoughts and
memories. I enjoyed
reading the Sabina News
Record aka the Sabina
Advertiser, full of
pictures and articles. .
I
hope I have accurately
recounted the story of
the Sabina Easter Egg
Hunt. If I have
inaccuracies, please
help me set the record
straight. I have enjoyed
researching and writing
the story. I hope
everyone enjoys reading
it and reminiscing about
your egg hunt
experiences.
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