The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Easter Monday Egg Roll a hit with kids
James A. Garfield Historic Site plays host to annual event
Children from all over Northeast Ohio scrambled to be the first to roll a wooden egg across the finish line in Mentor on April 17.
The annual Easter Monday Egg Roll was held at the James A. Garfield Historic Site for the second year in a row after a fouryear hiatus.
The egg roll is divided into three age brackets: 5- and 6-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds and 9- and 10-year-olds. Participants used wooden spoons, as was customary when the egg roll first started, to roll the wooden eggs across the lawn. The first child to roll their egg across the finish line received a prize.
This year’s winners were Cal Daugherty, 6 of Mentor; Andrew Brown, 8, of Eastlake; and Alex Miljanovic, 9, of Painesville.
In addition to the egg roll, the Easter Monday event featured activities that included an Easter
“Today, our Easter Monday is always the same day that they do the roll at the White House in Washington, D.C. It’s a chance for local kids to do something that mimics the events at the White House.” — Todd Arrington, James A. Garfield Historic Site supervisor
egg hunt for toddlers, face painting, crafts, story time with radio personality Dee Perry, a prize wheel and an origami artist.
Appearances were made by Slider, the mascot of the Cleveland Indians; Lake County Captains’ mascot Skipper; the Easter bunny; and a re-enactor portray- ing former first lady Lucretia Garfield. Attendees also were able to take a tour of the Garfield house and view a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the White House Easter Egg Roll.
According to Todd Arrington, site supervisor of the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, the site holds the egg roll for a couple of reasons.
“Today, our Easter Monday is always the same day that they do the roll at the White House in Washington, D.C.,” Arrington said. “It’s a chance for local kids to do something that mimics the events at the White House.”
Arrington explains that there is a historical and interpretive tie-in for the site to the White House.
The egg roll dates back to the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, Arrington said.
“(Garfield) wasn’t president for very long, so there aren’t many traditions we can say we know for sure Garfield participated in,” Arrington said.
“This is one we know for sure he did in April 1881. He even wrote about it in his diary and it makes for a good tie-in to his home here in Mentor.”
Garfield, who holds the second shortest presidential term, had only served 200 days in office when he was assassinated.
Joyce Pesek of Euclid attended the event last year and brought her daughterin-law, Karen Pesek, with her this year.
“I thought the event was really fun for the kids,” Joyce said. “This year was nice because of so many activities outside. The kids stood in line for the origami guy and thought he was worth it and we got to view the house.”
Kim Balach of Maple Heights thought the event was well organized.
“It was really fun watching the event and the weather was perfect,” Balach said.
Holly Curtis of Mentor attending the previous egg rolls before they stopped having them because of budget cuts. She was glad to see the program return.
“It’s a fun, free event,” Curtis said.
Curtis’ son, 7-year-old Aiden, came in third for his age bracket. He thought the Easter egg roll was a lot of fun.
Park ranger Mary Lintern said the weather for this year’s Easter egg roll was perfect, and contributed to an exceptional turnout.
“Last year, we had all the events inside because it was raining,” she said. “There is nothing like getting out into nature and enjoying the fresh air and playing games and activities with the little ones much like they do at the White House every year.”
Arrington added, “It was great. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and it was sunny. It looks like we had about 650 people here today, which is a successful day for us. It looks like everyone had a great time and I hope everyone who came enjoyed it.”