Easter Bunny visits County
Photo by Nick Ianniello Alexandra Abbey fills her Easter basket with loads of colorful eggs behind Alberton Town Hall Saturday. Abbey won a stuffed bunny rabbit when she found a piece of paper in one of her Easter Eggs.
Saturday afternoon was rabbit season for many Mineral County families, but there was not a gunshot heard all day.
Families and youngsters in Superior and Alberton gathered at parks to celebrate the Easter holiday with good old-fashioned egg hunts this weekend.
Alberton families met behind the Alberton Town Hall for an event held by the Alberton Ridge Runners for the seventh year in a row.
Kids filled the fields to look for eggs with candy and slips of paper hidden inside. The lucky hunters who found eggs with paper slips were awarded with one of six recycled bicycles donated to the event by Dick Darne, candy baskets and other assorted prizes.
Alberton Ridge Runners Vice President Lonnie Miller said the bicycles donated by Darne were particularly useful.
“I used to be able to buy all of the bicycles, but they're too expensive now,” Miller said.
Miller said the event was also sponsored by the Valley Grocery Store, the Valley Book Store, Tracks Bar, and locals who gave money to the event. She said they raised around $300 for the event which they spent on candy and prizes.
Tracks Bar donated several cases of soda, which were scattered throughout the fields, Miller said.
Miller said the Alberton Ridge Runners recycle all of the plastic Easter eggs from the events and all of the work that goes into planning and operating the hunt is done by volunteers.
Superior children gathered at Eva Horning Park for their hunt, which was sponsored by the Mineral County Search and Rescue Team.
Larry Price, vice president of search and rescue, said they raised around $650 to spend on candy and prizes for their event. He said search and rescue has been putting on the event many years, and the hunt itself has been a town tradition for decades.
Egg hunters in Superior were looking for eggs filled with stars to earn prizes.
Price said most of the prizes, like the bicycles, were donated. He said Lucky Lil's Casino donated an electric scooter, which was their biggest prize.
Superior's Max Faydo was the lucky winner of the black, electric-powered scooter. He rushed home right after the event to charge it up and take it for a spin.
Price said around 35 people volunteered to help stuff eggs, gather prizes and run Saturday's event. He said the event was also sponsored by the Town of Superior, Women in Timber and the Mountain Lodge.
As a special treat, Rena Wilkinson filled in for the Easter Bunny by donning a big fluffy white bunny suit and painted-on rabbit teeth and passed out candy to children at the event.