Hi-Line Living: Hopping good time

Janie Randles stood at the starting line at Eagles Park Saturday.

Her two sons, Quinten, 9, and Zeke, 6, were in front of her, as were a horde of other young people. They were ready to pounce on hundreds of eggs that were placed around the field for anxious youngster to pick up. Some were having a hard time staying behind the starting line.

It was the annual Easter egg hunt put on by Havre Jaycees and the Havre Eagles Club. Similar hunts were held by the Havre High School Key Club, the Optimists Club and the Walleye Tavern.

A Jaycees member stood in the middle of the field and gave the signal the hunt was about to begin.

Fortunately, the path was clear and no one was trampled by the children who ran out to seize as many eggs as they could.

"They were like a wave of zombies," Randles said, laughing.

There was candy inside the plastic eggs, and children who got glitter-colored eggs won a special prize they could redeem at the post-Easter egg hunt party at Havre Eagles Club.

No one was certain just how many years this annual rite of Easter had been going on, but many adults in the crowd remembered taking part as children.

Many programs for young people have changed over the years as times and traditions change. Technology has replaced many games.

But Easter egg hunts have stood the test of time, remaining extremely popular with the young people of 2016.

"I think it's a tradition," Randles said. "They see the other kids doing it, and they want to."

"They get enough of their electronics they have today," she said. "When I was young, all we had was play dough."

The Optimists Club, Walleye Tavern and Key Club egg hunts were as well received as the Jaycees' event.