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Walking through a local department store the other day, I heard the laughter of children coming from beneath a rack of clothing. As I approached, I then noticed two pairs of feet jutting out from under the clothes. Two young siblings were enjoying a bit of hide and seek from their anxious mother who was shopping nearby.
The antics of these little darlings reminded me of my own younger days when our mother would take us to the Robert Hall store in Elm Grove. Mom would try her best to outfit us in some Easter finery complete with little white gloves and fancy hats for the girls and matching shirts and ties for the boys.
Only my brothers balked at trying on the clothes. Instead, they enjoyed running through the store and hiding among the circular racks that filled the display floor. That trip to the clothing store was as much of an Easter tradition as coloring hard-boiled eggs with our dad.
The greatest challenge of any Easter morning was not eating any candy from our Easter baskets before attending Mass.
We learned the hard way not to leave our candy-filled baskets on the dining room table while we were at church. One Easter morning was particularly warm and the sun filtered through the bank of windows into the dining room. There is nothing sadder than a pool of chocolate where once a solid candy bunny once stood.
We were lucky to have a mother who loved candy nearly as much as we did. She knew "good" chocolate from mediocre brands. Somehow she remembered which of her 12 children liked white chocolate over milk chocolate.
She knew who would rather have chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs rather than the colorful Peeps. And no matter what our preferences, each of us was treated to a solid chocolate rabbit, some of which ended up in the freezer for safe keeping.
To this day, I can't remember who among my family likes the spicy jelly beans over the regular fruit flavors. I believe my oldest sister is the odd man out because she still likes the black licorice flavored jelly beans. They are definitely an acquired taste.
No Easter would have been complete without a homemade coconut cake, often baked to resemble a wonky looking rabbit. In those days when downtown Wheeling boasted of having a handful of wonderful bakeries, the Easter goodies found in those stores were the best around. I can still taste those unforgettable sugar cookies from Blum's Bakery.
It's funny how food memories are what makes our holidays special. It doesn't have to be a fancy meal or even chocolate eggs. It just has to be a time to break bread with loved ones. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend -- with or without chocolate!
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.