Easter Egg Hunt draws hundreds

Some were surprised that the hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and lemonade by the American Legion Club were free to everyone who attended. Legion Manager Shorty Deutsch said they had planned to charge a nominal fee for the food, but then changed his mind to give it away.

“I thought for the kids, we’ll give away the food,” he said.

CornerStone State Bank sponsored the hunt. President and organizer, Connie White-Tupy, was surprised when she was planning the hunt that the American Legion Club donated its building for the event.

Everyone was surprised at the amount of people who attended the hunt. There were so many who attended, that while people registered for prizes, a line of people waiting to enter snaked around the building outside.

As the approximately 500 to 600 people kept filling the Legion, organizers worked at keeping the crowd assembled before the hunt.  The photographer, who took photos of children with the Easter Bunny, then professionally printed them for families at a reasonable cost, worked on keeping up with the flow.

The Legion worked at keeping the food coming, but the massive amounts of people depleted its supply, forcing Deutsch to run to Fred’s IGA to purchase more hotdogs.

Tupy was also surprised at the large number of people who came to the hunt. After everyone had eaten and played the games, she gave children and parents instructions on where to line up for the hunts. She admitted that more people came to the hunt than what they had expected.

“I thank everyone for their patience. I hope the children are having a good time,” she said. “We have a way bigger turnout than I expected, but it’s fantastic. This is a huge success!”  

After each age group of children hunted for their three eggs and winners were announced in the gift drawings, Tupy had all the children line up at the entrance to the hunt. They were then treated to an extra stuffed egg and a treat bag filled with candy and toys.

Tupy later said since this was the first time CornerStone State Bank sponsored the hunt, they didn’t know what to expect, but they’re already planning on making next year’s hunt bigger and better. 

“With so many people in attendance, we apologize for any inconvenience to anyone,” Tupy said. “Since this was our first egg hunt, we didn’t know what to expect, but next year it will be bigger and much better.”

Tupy said the entire event was made possible from the help of volunteers who stepped in to help with the event: Dawn and Chris Anderson, Darlene Wondra, Sandy and Shorty Deutsch, Roger Newbauer, John and Mary Schleis, Shirley Scheffert, Rita Thornton, Shirley Rynda, Jean Waugh, Cathy Herrmann, Ramona McGuire, Dick and Mary Jane Grundhoffer, Zeke Zahratka, Maynard Kaderlik, Dave Winge, Maureen Gunderson, Susan Hayes, Lynnea and Annabelle Daleiden, Kolacky Royalty (Chelsea Skluzacek, Kayla Malecha, Bailey Gare, Alyssa Bergs), Sue Prchal, Melissa Baringer, Pete Mladek, Pam Edel, Masopust King Geoffrey Mladek, Zhalman Harris, Annette White and Anna Kochevar.