Making the best of an Easter tradition

Two-and-a-half-year-old James Cobby of Wheatley, keeps track of the number of Easter eggs he saw during his trip around the village this past weekend. Although James didn’t finish among the top ten ‘hunters’, he most certainly had a lot of fun looking for eggs in the windows.

WHEATLEY — When the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled all gatherings and events, the Wheatley Legion Ladies Auxiliary put out the call on social media for local families to participate in a virtual Easter Egg Hunt.

The auxiliary usually puts on the annual hunt in downtown Wheatley each year.

Jami-Lee Church spearheaded the movement after she was sent the idea from Sophie Jefferson. The idea was simple and it grew from there.

Aubrie, 7 and Keagan Hatt, 10, show off their egg tally.

Families were asked to make Easter Eggs from paper and put them in their front windows, large enough to be seen from the sidewalk or street. The hunt started on Thursday and wrapped up on Sunday.

Families could walk or drive around Wheatley, keeping the social distancing guidelines in mind, and mark down all of the addresses where they spotted an egg in the window.

They then emailed Jami-Lee Church their tallies and prizes were given to the top ten families.

Church had help from Charlee Cabral, who shopped and put the prize baskets together.

The top ten egg hunters were Keagan and Aubrie Hatt, Evelyn Niehus Altenhof and family, Cedar and Silas Ferguson, Cooper and Miller Lamb, Lisa Martens and family, Larissa and Michaela Bento, Lucy and Emily Dobson, Tegan, Grady and Gannon Grubb, Jen, Chris and Ryan Drummond, and Taeya Mulder.

Eight-year-old Rhiannon Harrocks-Ives adds up her egg count.

Taeya Mulder, 9, is wishing everyone a Happy Easter.