It’s amazing to watch kids throw caution to the wind when they hear the word “go” at the Kiwanis Club’s annual Easter Egg Hunt in Hartselle. With baskets, pails and feet flying, they charge through their designated hunt area like a hungry hound dog chasing the trail of a scared jackrabbit.

The multi-colored plastic eggs are scooped up quickly because hiding the eggs so they can’t be found easily is not the object of the hunt. Within 15 minutes, the hunt is over for the most part. The kids have picked up all the eggs they can carry. If they’re lucky, they have a prize egg and can cash it in for a goodie-filled Easter basket. Otherwise, if they don’t want to keep the eggs they’ve found, they can dump them in a 55-gallon drum and receive a consolation prize.

An Easter egg hunt offered much more anticipation, excitement and fun when I was a kid growing up on the farm.

We used real hen eggs fresh out of the nest. Each of us seven kids had six eggs each. Our mother boiled them in a large pot on a wood cook stove. After they cooled down, we decorated our own with natural dyes and the colors we used at school. Boiled broom sage produced yellow, beets produced red, etc. Each egg was initialed to prevent any question about ownership.

We hunted eggs on the church grounds during Sunday school, again in the yard at home after Sunday dinner and again later in our pasture with neighbors, relatives and friends participating.

The kids stayed out of sight while adults did the hiding. Hunts lasting 30 to 45 minutes were customary and special recognition was extended to those with the largest number of finds. At best, a few eggs would remain hidden until we turned our dog loose and allowed him to sniff them out while someone followed close behind.

Obviously, the eggs took a beating after having been hidden several times. However, there were always plenty of leftovers to make hard-boiled deviled eggs for supper.

Clif Knight is a staff writer for the Hartselle Enquirer.