The original site of the Easter Monday Egg Roll was the grounds
of the United States Capitol. By the mid 1870s, the egg rolling
activities on the West Terraces had gained notoriety as the children
turned the Capitol grounds into their Easter Monday playground. The
first egg rolls, largely family affairs, seem to have been held during
the administration of President Andrew Johnson. Youngsters of the
President's family dyed eggs on Sunday for the Monday rolling, which the
First Lady would watch from the South Portico. A family member has
attested to hearing the stories of such activity from Andrew Johnson
Patterson, the President's grandson, who lived at the White House while
his mother served as White House hostess on behalf of her invalid mother,
First Lady Eliza Johnson. Although small groups of egg rollers were
reported on the White House grounds under the presidency of General
Ulysses S. Grant, the majority of egg rolling activity and all day
picnics took place at the Capitol. The workers and tourists watched in
fascination as the children rolled both their hard boiled eggs and
themselves down the lush green hills.
The egg roll activity of 1876 took its toll on the grounds, a
fact that did not go unnoticed by members of Congress. With an already
inadequate budget to complete the landscaping and maintenance of the
grounds, Congress passed a law forbidding the Capitol grounds to be used
as a children's playground. The law was to be enforced in 1877. But
that Easter Monday rain poured down, canceling any outdoor activities
sending the egg rollers indoors to play.
On Easter Saturday of 1878, a small announcement in the local
press informed the egg rollers the new law would be enforced. President
Rutherford B. Hayes, taking his daily walk, was approached by a number of
young egg rollers who inquired about the possibilities of egg rolling on
the South Lawn of the White House. Unfamiliar with the activity [his first
Easter Monday as President had been rained out the proceeding year]
President Hayes, upon his return to the White House, inquired amongst his
staff who briefed the attentive Chief Executive. The smiling President
issued an official order that should any children arrive to egg roll on
Easter Monday, they were to be allowed to do so. That Monday, as
children were being turned away from the Capitol grounds, word quickly
spread to go to the White House!
President Hayes and his wife, Lucy, officially opened the White
House grounds to the children of the area for egg rolling that Easter
Monday. Successive Presidents continued the tradition, and the event has
been held on the South Lawn ever since. The event has been canceled on
occasion only because of poor weather conditions and during World War I
and World War II. During the war years egg rollers were spotted on the
grounds surrounding the Washington Monument, at the National Zoo, and
even returning to the grounds surrounding the Capitol!
By the late 1800s such games as "Egg Picking," "Egg Ball," "Toss
and Catch," and "Egg Croquet" were popular Easter Monday activities. The
children attending the event take part in many newer activities, but
rolling a hard-boiled egg across the lawn is still a highlight of the day.
Presidents and First Ladies have personally greeted the egg rollers as
have members of the Cabinet, athletes, musicians, celebrities from film,
television, and theater and the official White House Easter Bunny. At the
end of the day as egg rollers say goodbye, each receives a special
presidential wooden egg complete with the signatures of the President and
the First Lady and departs with fond memories of this happy tradition at
the White House.
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