The back yard of Grandma & Grandpa Merrill's house at 814 Cragmont (Berkeley, California) was perfect for Easter egg hunts. It was a jungle of trees, flowers and beautiful bushes. And so, it was prime location for hiding Easter eggs. I remember being enchanted by the hunt when I was a little kid.
The Easter egg hunts in the back yard were
internationally acclaimed! Or, at least, the first pictures I have of the Easter egg hunts are of Malcolm & Thelma's friends from Guatemala, Lilly and Carlos Perez, and their children.
 |
| Lilly and Carlos Perez from Guatemala, and their children (Maria on the left). April 1957. |
You may recall Lilly & Carlos from my write-up on the trip Linette and I took to Guatemala in 2011 (I highly recommend taking a look at at least that
first episode if you're a Merrill-ish person and haven't read it). We had breakfast with their daughter Maria (leftmost child in the picture, now in her 60s) and then visited with Lilly and Carlos, who were by then in their 80s. They were charming and gracious, and spoke lovingly of Don, Bruce and "Jeanie".
 |
| Lilly Perez and Thelma Merrill. April 1957. |
Easter 1959
Grandkids, neighbors and relatives joined in the fun over the years.
 |
| Robin |
 |
| Robin, (neighbor Mary Traversaro), David |
 |
Robin, Debbie Hickenlooper (back), Cheryl Lynn Hickenlooper (front),
probably Angela Hodgeson (neighbor Marye Traversaro's granddaughter), David |
Easter 1960
 |
| Debbie & Cheryl Lynn Hickenlooper, David, Robin |
 |
Back: Don, Kay, Frank Nelson (Kay's father), Monte Hickenlooper, Sue Hickenlooper (Kay's sister), Thelma.
Front: Robin, Cheryl Lynn & Debbie Hickenlooper, David |
 |
| David lost in the jungle. "There's got to be one out here somewhere!" |
Easter 1961
Mark joins the scene!
 |
| "Markie" |
 |
| Robin scratches her head in bewilderment. "I've looked EVERYwhere!" |
 |
| "Here, Mark, put them in the basket!" |
 |
| "I prefer to just hold onto them, thanks." |
 |
| Robin in the jungle. |
 |
| Jean, Robin. |
 |
| David |
 |
| Bruce, (Kay...), Don, Mark |
Easter 1962
 |
| David and Mark set out on the hunt. (Above are Frank and Gertrude Nelson, Kay's parents) |
 |
| Robin goes down the mysterious path. |
 |
| Mark battles the underbrush. |
 |
| Robin with Deborah and Cheryl Lynn and Hickenlooper |
 |
| David, Robin; Cheryl Lynn, Debbie and Kent Hickenlooper; and Mark |
 |
Back: Sue Hickenlooper, Bruce, Don, Kay, Gertrude Nelson, Jean, Frank Nelson
Front: David, Kent H., Debbie H., Robin, Mark, Cheryl Lynn H. |
Easter 1964
And, of course, even on Easter you can still get more pictures on the front porch...
 |
| Leslie, Jean, Malcolm |
 |
| Leslie, Jean, Mark, Robin, David, Kay |
 |
| Leslie, Jean, Robert |
Easter 1970
Skip ahead 6 years, and now things are getting serious! (because I'm in there :)
 |
| Jean, Randy, Robin, Karen |
 |
| Don with his ever-present camera |
My grandparents, Collie Bryan ("C.B.") and Gladys (Gray) Wilson, often visited us in California from New Orleans.
 |
| (Leslie), Gladys Wilson, Jean, Randy, Robin, David |
 |
| Leslie, Mark, Bobby |
The big kids had to help find the ones the little kids missed.
 |
| David, Mark |
 |
| Robin, Bruce, (Mark), David |
 |
| Randy, Devin, Bobby. |
 |
| Karen |
 |
| Craig |
 |
| Leslie, Robin, Gladys |
 |
| C.B. Wilson, Don, and, er, a bunny |
 |
| Easter pandemonium. (Robin), Kay, Bobby, Devin, Thelma, Leslie, Randy, (Jean) |
 |
| My two grandmas: Thelma Merrill and Gladys Wilson |
 |
| Robin, Don, Kay, Mark, David |
 |
| Jean and Bob; Randy, Bobby and Leslie |
Easter 1971
The last pictures I have of Easter with Malcolm & Thelma's grandkids are in 1971. By then, my parents (Bob & Jean) had moved out of 814 Cragmont and bought a house in Kensington; Malcolm & Thelma had returned from Washington, D.C. and moved back in; and shortly thereafter they sold this house and moved to Rossmoor in Walnut Creek.
 |
| Big kids helping to hide the eggs. (Robin, Don, David, Mark) |
 |
| Don, David, Robin, Mark |
 |
| Devin |
 |
| Mark, Randy, Leslie, (Craig?) |
 |
| Devin, (Leslie) |
 |
| Bobby |
 |
| (Robin), Leslie, Devin |
 |
| Bobby, Randy |
 |
| Craig, Randy, Robert, Leslie, Devin |
 |
| Randy |
 |
| Craig, Leslie ("Found one!"), Randy |
 |
| Bobby |
 |
| Jean with baby Sharon |
 |
| Robert |
 |
| Karen checks out the pink Easter cake |
 |
| Jean presents the Easter cake. (Watch out for David over your shoulder!) |
 |
| Bruce and baby Diana! |
 |
Baby Diana and Beth
|
The Easter egg hunts were a lot of fun, and a great tradition. Sometimes it doesn't matter exactly what the tradition itself is, whether it is hiding eggs, following strings around the house, singing silly songs around the guitar, or singing "Oh Come, All ye Faithful" on Christmas Eve. The best part seems to be having an excuse to come together and spend some time with those you love.
See you next time, when we look at Malcolm's early years, and who taught him to play the violin.
