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BISBEE — In less than 45 minutes, 4,800 or so beautifully colored, hard-boiled eggs were gone from the field at Warren Ballpark in Bisbee, tucked away by little hands in all manner of Easter baskets and bags.
Some eggs were donated by the community, but most were donated by Bisbee firefighters and the Bisbee Fire Department Local Union # 2146 and dyed by the Bisbee firefighters.
Bisbee Fire Capt. George Castillo said the station was bustling Saturday as the crews tried to get all the eggs dyed and ready for the traditional Easter event.
“We’ve been so busy with the fire, it was hard. And we’re all pretty tired. The 100 dozen from the union we ended up halving and sent them home with one of the off-duty guys,” he said.
 Julie Velk helps scatter Easter eggs on Sunday for Bisbee’s annual egg hunt at Warren Ballpark. This is Velk’s 18th year volunteering. (Suzanne Cronn•Herald/Review) |
The firefighters have been fighting the Moon Canyon fire since Thursday, and the personnel are worn out, he added. That did not stop them from giving Bisbee children the Easter Sunday they’ve come to expect.
Amanda Sanchez was there with her niece, Emma Lightfoot, who is 3 years old. Emma’s basket was filled with eggs, and there was one with a big “P” on it. That meant Emma won a prize, also provided by the firefighters, the community and the firefighters’ union.
When asked what she was going to do with all the hard-boiled eggs, Sanchez replied with a big smile, “Our grandmother makes all sorts of things — potato salad, deviled eggs, egg sandwiches ... We’ll be eating eggs for a while.”
Running around the field with a cast on her leg was 2-year-old Elizabeth Jayden Serrano, gently picking up the brightly-colored eggs and placing them in her basket.
Her dad, Aaron Serrano, said the toddler was jumping on the couch and fell off. The spiral fracture of her leg bone had to be in a cast, but she’s getting it off soon. He was there with his 9-month-old baby Cynthia and his son Jordan, 8. All are from Sierra Vista.
Back at the prize giveaway tables, anxious little faces watched as the volunteers divvied up the spoils handing over quarters, stuffed animals, books and for the grand prizes huge baskets filled with toys, balls and all things kid-inclined.
Firefighter Kenny Delk noticed two women and three kids coming onto the field. They were from Sierra Vista and arrived too late for the children to get in the hunt.
With only a suggestion from his grandfather, Delk’s grandson Andrew Moots, 6, and a first grader at Greenway School, walked over and gave Angelo Fiallo, 2, Jasmine Glasgow, 8, and Courtney Galsgow, 6, some of the eggs he had gathered.
Wendy Fiallo had brought her son down and Penney Farmer had brought her two nieces for the fun.
“We didn’t know what time it started,” said Farmer. “We’ll know for next year. It’s one o’clock!”
The children didn’t seem to mind missing the hunt, as within minutes they were all running bases on the ballfield laughing and having a good time.
Now, in any egg hunt, there are those eggs that don’t make it to the basket. They end up a smooshed mess from hasty feet.
The tired firefighters again stepped up and patrolled the green field for the messy blobs, carefully picking up the cracked shells and tossing them in garbage bags.
Firefighter Tom Van Driel was one of the clean-up crew and said there were fewer smashed eggs than usual and possibly fewer people than usual. A police officer estimated the crowd of around 1,500 kids and adults.
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
n wrote on Mar 24, 2008 7:29 PM: