White House Easter Egg Roll: Four Kids Who Killed It on the South Lawn

NIntellectual/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The White House’s biggest public event began, improbably, with a couple of whiny kids.

In the spring of 1878, the story goes, a group of local schoolchildren, indignant that Easter egg hunting had been outlawed on the Capitol lawn, confronted President Rutherford B. Hayes while he was out for a stroll. The president promptly ordered the White House grounds flung open for the first annual Easter Egg Roll.

The event The Washington Post once called “the jolliest sort of gathering” ballooned into a 137-year tradition, with children from around the country converging on the South Lawn to decorate eggs and mingle with the leader of the free world.

This year’s celebration, slated for Monday, will feature actress Connie Britton, Washington Redskins player Robert Griffin III, chef Bobby Flay, and scores of other celebs. More than 35,000 guests will be treated to a yoga garden, an outdoor kitchen, and even an apiary tour.

So in honor of those 19th-century belly-aching young’uns who approached President Hayes, here are ***** children totally #killingit at past Egg Rolls:

1. One kid, whose meltdown scored him an audience with the president. (Hey, it worked on Rutherford B. Hayes!)

When Obama spotted 5-year-old Donovan Frazier distraught after losing his egg roll in 2013, the president gave him a hug and advised him to “shake it off.”

2. This little boy, who in 1923 was overjoyed to win the bunny tchotchkes now cluttering up your great-grandmother’s china cabinet.

3. This kid, who, during the Eisenhower administration, endured a semi-humiliating bunny costume in exchange for his own set of wheels — and an awesome bow-tie.

4. These kids silently wondering why First Lady Grace Coolidge brought a pet raccoon to the 1927 Egg Roll.

Here First Lady Grace Coolidge shows off her pet raccoon at 1927 White House Easter Egg Roll: #LOC pic.twitter.com/XuYv7zpV5S

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) April 21, 2014

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