I suppose the traditions surrounding an Easter egg hunt are about the same today as they were in the 1930s when I took part in one.
The eggs today probably are not the real thing as basically they were back then, but the idea was the same. Essentially a Sunday school group, mainly the pre teens and perhaps others would be invited by their teachers to go to a site where the boiled and colored eggs were hidden.
The aim was to try to find them before someone else beat you to the prize.
This spring time seasonal activity was to remind children of Christian believers’ rebirth through their acceptance of Jesus as their savior and consequently the promise of eternal life.
I lived near the Hamer Mill Village which had its own church building with services provided by the local Presbyterian Church as a mission outreach. Formal worship services were held in the afternoon usually monthly. In addition to the church building, a two room mill house was used for the Sunday school classes. Sunday school was held in the morning.
Usually the Easter egg hunt was on Saturday at a place a short distance from the Village in fact it was ordinarily reached by walking about three city blocks away to a wooded area of pine trees and scrub oaks. It was an ideal place to hide the eggs since there was ample ground cover and pine straw in the area.
Earlier the adults would have hidden the eggs, some hidden more discretely than others for a very good reason. Since many of the children were very young, it was important that they be given the first chance to find the eggs otherwise the older children would have had an unfair advantage. For this reason the little ones were allowed to hunt for the eggs first. Other eggs were hidden in places less obvious for the older children to find.
Since it was a ‘church’ activity, some of the children were dressed for the occasion in their Easter outfits, some even having their own Easter basket in which they might save their newly found eggs.
There were some ‘store bought’ Easter things available such as candy items. In Dillon at that time there were two ‘dime’ stores which carried an ample inventory, Mack’s and Andrews 5&10 cents stores. Today similar inventory is sold in other retail outlets but mostly for one dollar or more.
At the Hamer Easter egg hunt there was hidden a unique ‘golden’ egg whose finder would be given a special prize usually a bag of candy. To be this lucky person was the aim of every participant.
The activity of finding the eggs themselves was the most fun; no one particularly cared for a boiled egg.
And for the unlucky child, who was unable to find even one egg, there was always someone present who made sure he or she left with at least one to take home.
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Bill Lee, PO Box 128,
Hamer, SC 29547
