Easter in Riverhead

June and her brother Teddy
with the family house in
the background.

The wandering holiday of Easter came early in 1950, falling on the second Sunday of the month, April 9.  June was on vacation from school the entire week preceding Easter.  She had made plans with Art to see him every single night of the vacation.

Easter was June’s mother’s favorite holiday.  She loved the fancy hats that she and other women would wear to church in the morning (an old-fashioned tradition celebrated in the 1948 musical Easter Parade).  She appreciated the opportunity to make a proper Virginia-style Easter dinner.  And she always had a sweet tooth so she liked to have plenty of Easter candy around, too.

The family would dye and decorate the eggs the night before, with a dozen eggs put aside for each.  After attending church on Easter morning, the family returned to the house where June and her younger brother Teddy would participate in an Easter Egg hunt.  They had a big yard with bushes lining the house, creating plenty of places to hide the eggs.

After the Easter Egg hunt, June’s mother served Easter dinner at mid-afternoon in the dining room.  In addition to the ham, there were green beans prepared Southern style and mashed potatoes with milk gravy.  Everyone relaxed after the big feast – except perhaps for June, who would probably have started preparing for the anticipated late afternoon arrival of Art.

(For Sunday – Easter in Southampton.)
 

© 2011 Lee Price