Special Easter Sundays…

As early as I can remember, my family would go to church on Easter Sunday and then head straight for Aunt Susie and Uncle Dave’s farm. To get there, we would travel by car for about fifteen miles, drive down a single lane dirt road as far as possible, then park the car and hike the rest of the distance. When their home ground came into view, their house was visible up on a grassy hill. We made our way there and visited with our special relatives until dinner was served.

Meanwhile elsewhere on the property, all the young people from the church were searching for eggs. The egg hunt was an annual event for Uncle Dave’s Sunday School classes. We children who were part of the family were invited to participate but we had a lot of interesting things to do at the house.
I remember huge dahlias on the fence in front of the house. Inside we would find a large jar of pickled eggs, colored by a beet juice vinegar. So pretty and so good!
Then as soon as we had eaten our Easter dinner, we young ones would run to the area where the big swings were mounted. If you were lucky enough to find an empty swing, your entire afternoon could be filled with excitement.
A recurring memory was of the swings that were made from trees on the property. They were begun with two very tall trees that stood side by side on a slight slope of a hill. A third tree of the same strength was placed horizontally from one tree to the other at their tallest height—could’ve been twenty feet or more. Next, instead of rope, they had long cables coming down to the swing seats. What a sight to see!
Behind the swings was build a set of stair steps. If you wanted to swing high and for a long time, you simply took the swing up as high as you could go, seated yourself and have the ride of a lifetime!
Kids tried to be nice and share time on the swings with each other. One thing is certain, the simplest ride lasted a very long time.
Easter was our yearly visit to the farm but it was always an unforgettable time for all the neighboring children as well as all the relatives. Those who won the Easter egg hunt got huge colored, decorated eggs as their prizes… an awesome experience for all!
Kitty Maiden is a staff writer for Seniors Today.