It is believed that Dolley Madison mentioned hosting an Easter egg roll and Abe Lincoln apparently hosted a private party. Here is the chronology for what is now officially held the Monday after Easter Sunday.
1872 – the first public Easter egg roll was held on Capitol Hill in 1872. Originally, the roll was to determine which egg would roll the furthest before cracking.
1876 – after 10,000 kids demolished the turf on Capitol Hill, Congress passed the Turf Protection Law to end the roll. It is otherwise known as the “Get Off My Lawn” Act.
April 2, 1877 – supposedly a group of kids was turned away by Capitol Hill police, so they went to the Rutherford Hayes’ White House to beg for a lawn. Regardless of why, the Hayes did host the first public Easter egg roll at the White House that year. One year later, he made it official.
1889 – John Philip Sousa’s Marine Corps Band played and there were vendors on the grounds (photo below is from 1889)
Some of the games played included egg picking (hitting eggs to see which would get a dent), egg ball, toss and catch, and egg croquet. The children were integrated, but that gradually ended.
1929 – Lou Hoover had folk and maypole dances
1933 – Eleanor Roosevelt broadcast the event over the radio
1953 – the roll was back after a 12 year hiatus for WWII and the White House renovation. Mamie Eisenhower reintegrated it after seeing African-American kids watching through the gates.
1969 – Pat Nixon began the appearance of the Easter Bunny. It has usually been a White House staffer.
1974 – The egg-rolling race was inaugurated using spoons from the White House kitchen
1977 – Rosalyn Carter had a circus and a petting zoo
1981 – antique cars, performances from Broadway shows, giant balloons from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade; there were egg hunt pits with straw concealing wooden eggs autographed by Hollywood stars, athletes, and politicians. (“I got Mickey Mantle” “I got Clint Eastwood” “Who did you get?” “I got Strom Thurmond” “Ha ha ha ha ha!”)
1980s – Attorney General Edwin Meese’s wife Ursula enjoyed being the Easter Bunny so much that she did it for six years. She loved calling herself “The Meester Bunny”
2016 – Idina Menzel performed, celebrity chefs cooked, sports clinics, a yoga garden, and a Fun Run
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/curious-history-white-house-easter-egg-roll-180962842/
https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/easter/history.html
https://www.history.com/news/a-brief-history-of-the-white-house-easter-egg-roll
0 Comments