Kids strike it rich in candy at Easter egg hunt in Niles

By Jordan Cohen

news@vindy.com

NILES

Joey Lehman raised his Easter basket in victory after striking chocolate gold on the lawn of First United Methodist Church on Saturday.

“Yeah,” the 6-year old shouted as he displayed his fairly full basket of plastic eggs loaded with candy or other goodies. “This is fun.”

No doubt, the estimated 200 children who showed up for the annual event agreed. They stood eagerly waiting for the Rev. Nathan Howe, church pastor, to give the signal. “Come on,” he said, and that was all they needed.

The youngsters swarmed the hilly grounds making short work of nearly 2,800 colorful plastic eggs in less than 10 minutes. A few parents accompanied the very young on the hunt, while the other adults wisely stayed off to the side to watch the egg-grabbing spectacle under sunny skies.

“I keep getting candy,” said 4-year-old Caryn Morgan as she examined her captured treasures, while Alex Yost, 2, studied his haul after finishing his first Easter egg hunt.

“He was a little hesitant at first, but then he embraced it,” said his father, Andy. His son proceeded to give a low-five hand slap after being congratulated on his success.

Unlike his younger counterparts, Ryan Longberry, who, at 12, is a veteran of Easter egg hunts, was a bit less enthusiastic as he checked out each egg he had grabbed.

“I’d say it was fair,” said Ryan, a Dayton resident spending the holiday weekend with family in Niles. Ryan made it clear that he views egg hunts as a very competitive sport. “I feel like crushing my enemies,” he said to the chagrin of his mother, Maribeth.

Patrice Kish, church youth director, said planning for the hunt begins as early as the previous June. “We buy the eggs on sale,” she said. “Then, in January, we have retirees come in to stuff the eggs with candy and [restaurant] coupons, and it takes them two months to do it.”

There is more work for Kish and her staff of volunteers. They prepare hundreds of free hot dogs in the church kitchen for the youngsters and their parents after the hunt is over.

“Next year, it will be more of the same,” Kish said. “We’ll have even more eggs, and we’ll hope that Mother Nature treats us right.

“The kids love it,” she said.