Many years ago, soon after I moved to town, I joined a quilting group comprised mostly of older women. One of those women was Thelma French. She was vivacious and fun loving, with a rough, gravelly voice and a mischievous sense of humor. She was kind and thoughtful, and possessing a can-do attitude, did lots of volunteer work around town, particularly with the church. Everyone loved Thelma.
One of her annual traditions was hosting an Easter egg hunt on her front lawn. She gathered older kids and friends together to dye dozens of eggs, which were then hidden under bushes and in the gentle slope of tufted grass in her yard.
Young children of the town were invited to join the hunt and prizes were awarded, but everyone went home with something, usually chocolate candy eggs, which were more popular than the hard-boiled ones! I brought my own children there when they were small and recall the fun watching the dash and search for the eggs, particularly the coveted “Golden Egg,” which yielded a special prize to the finder.
The coveted Golden Egg.
Those of us who knew Thelma still miss her friendly cheer and speak of her fondly. In her honor, the church has kept up the tradition she started so many years ago. The Annual Thelma French Memorial Easter Egg Hunt no longer takes place on her lawn, but at the Town ball field, where volunteers hide hundreds of dyed eggs.
Jan ready to hide eggs.
The young children of the town gather at the appointed time and with great excitement, hunt for eggs hidden at the base of trees, in tufts of grass and even around the play structure, dugout and bleachers.
This year, over 300 eggs were hidden and 23 children participated, in three age categories.
The winners for the most eggs collected were: Age 0-3 years – Finn, age 3, collected 17 eggs. Age 4-6 years – Gus, age 5, collected 39 eggs. Age 7-10 years – Patrice, age 8, collected 42 eggs. The golden egg was found by Ben, age 10.
Happy Easter everyone!
Eliza Waters 
Happy Easter to you too!
Thank you, hope your day was festive!
Happy Easter Eliza!
Thanks, Maria. Blessings!
Thank you for sharing such a fine tradition. Happy Easter
Thanks, Carole, and the same to you. Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather!
What a terrific way to be remembered – with smiles, joy and laughter. Beautiful bright eggs too.
I agree. Thelma is still with us in spirit!
Happy Easter. What a beautiful blog post. Well done Ben and God Bless your dear Thelma x
Thank you Eily, Happy Easter to you as well.
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What a lovely tradition – and a perfect spring day! Happy Easter, Eliza 🙂 :)!
How wonderful, fun, and festive!
Another great posting Eliza- love the pictures.
Thanks, Kim. Kids can bring such joy to life.
Oh what fun! I smiled from the first picture to the last word. What a sweet gift you’ve given us for Easter. Thanks Eliza!
Thanks, Michael, for your kind comment! It was so fun watching those kids!
love that story!!!! All the colors + what fun for the kids. How neat that she left a part of herself to share each easter:-)
A wonderful memory relived every year!
Eliza; May I have your permission to reprint your text in the May issue of The Visitor?-Marcus
Yes, absolutely!
Lovely idea! Thank you for posting this 🙂
Thank you!
Beautiful way to honor Thelma’s heart!
I agree!
That’s absolutely great!
Thanks, Michael, it is a great tradition. 🙂
This is lovely and a great tribute to Thelma x thank you for posting xx
Thanks, Sophie. Have a wonderful rest of the day!