Another long time tradition has fallen victim to the COVID-19 crisis. For the first time in 89 years, there will not be an Easter Egg Hunt at Wallace Park this year, due to the pandemic. The Annual Miami Post 156 American Legion Easter Egg Hunt at Wallace Park in Paola has been canceled by order of the Adjutant Mike Welter.
According to the Miami County Republic, the Miami Post 156 Easter Egg Hunt has been the prototype for many Legion and Community Egg Hunts throughout Kansas, and the framework of the first 1931 Egg Hunt has been copied and spread to many other States. The egg hunt has evolved over the years. In the beginning, fresh eggs were boiled and colored by Legionnaires. They were marked with sponsors’ names, and the eggs had to be returned to the sponsors to obtain prizes.
A children’s picture show at a local theater preceded the hunt in the morning, and admission was two raw eggs, which were used to offset the cost of obtaining eggs for the event. The closing of Paola’s movie theaters ended that feature of the Legion’s Hunt. Time changed, and real eggs were replaced by the plastic ones.
