by Lisa Schauer
Berkeley Springs State Park was a picturesque setting for the annual Easter egg hunt sponsored by the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 60 and supported by Post 60 Legionnaires and Unit 60 Auxiliary on Easter Sunday, April 9.
Pink blossoms scattered under the cherry trees lining Warm Springs Run, sparkling under an azure sky.
Dozens of colorfully clad children and adults in their Easter best toted baskets and bags across the grassy lawn, searching for plastic neon Easter eggs filled with treats.
After years of practice, the Sons of the American Legion have become adept at cleverly hiding eggs in tree trunks and bushes, under benches, around picnic tables and cans in the park.
Generations of locals can recall attending American Legion Post 60’ s annual Easter egg hunt at the town park. So devoted to the event was one member, Darcy MacLachlan, that he mentioned it in his will.
MacLachlan served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. When he died at 59 in 2005, the annual egg hunt on Easter Sunday in Berkeley Springs was named in his memory.
Member of the American Legion and the Auxiliary still serve as volunteers and masters of ceremonies from the gazebo.
Persistence paid off on Sunday for children who drew out the hunt, searching until every last egg was dis- covered.
After the last photos were snapped and candies collected, small groups of families darted back to their vehicles, en route perhaps to a waiting feast.
They’ve checked the box on Easter, Christianity’ s holi
est holiday, its secular rituals still intact, for another year.
