Easter Monday at the White House

This vintage site has been designed for those intrigued by the White House Easter egg roll. Here YOU can discover Easter Monday's HISTORY, ROLL through the VINTAGE EGG MUSEUM, and read about the unique children's BOOK - the first children's book published by the White House Historical Association.

Since 1878 the children of Washington, D.C. have been gathering at the White House on Easter Monday. With the blessings of the President Rutherford B. and Mrs. Hayes, the children turned the White House South Lawn their personal playground. Only during the two World Wars, and an occasional rainy date were the festivities cancelled. In 2002, the White House Easter Egg Roll became the first event open to the public following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Attendance at the 2003 Egg Roll was limited to members of military families.

Throughout the years Presidents, First Ladies, and White House pets have made personal appearances.

Above Left: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, daughter Mrs. Anna Dall and granddaughter six-year-old Sissie mingle among the 1933 crowd.

AS THE EGG ROLLS
This segment generally starts out as a simple, innocent question about Easter Monday at the White House then rolls you into a stream of other facts.

Can you name the two Roosevelt dogs that appear in the picture above?

That cute little Scottie Mrs. Roosevelt escorted on a leash across the South Lawn was Meggie. The handsome police dog was Major. Did you say the Scottie's name was Fala? No, it's a wee bit too early. You see Fala was not born until 1940.

Mrs. Roosevelt was unable to attend the egg roll in 1941. The hostess that year was the wife of the Vice President. Can you name her?

Isn't history fun? Hum, let's see - Vice President, hum ......., 1941, hum ......... , wives of vice president of the United States, hum......

Vice President of the United States in 1941 was Henry A. Wallace. He was married to Ilo. Mrs. Wallace's maiden name was Ilo Browne.

Rabbit's FOOTnote: Researchers, we started our search at www.vicepresidents.com where we located a listing of Vice Presidents and their wives. Next it was on to www.google.com. By typing in "Ilo wife Henry Wallace vice president United States" a number of sites appeared. (Our favorite site was "Rogers on Henry Wallace.") Along the way do you know what we found out? Henry A. Wallace's dad was Henry Cantwell Wallace. He too served as a Vice President of the United States. Yes it's true. Henry C. was Vice President under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Students let us know if you impress a teacher with this bit of history! Don't forget you can read more about it at your local library!

While this site deals with the HISTORY of Easter Monday at the White House, you may want to keep up with future White House egg roll information. The EGG LINKS page will direct you to OFFICIAL information regarding a variety of related topics. Please note that official information is often not available until ONE WEEK PRIOR to Easter Monday.

We hope you enjoy a look back at this special presidential event. Questions, suggestions, and 'egg sightings' of unusual White House eggs are welcomed. Just email your ideas and discoveries to eggmaster@whitehouseeaster.com.