Debbie Kahre, Heather Cortellesi, Melinda Woodell, Pam Gregory, and Belinda Minor mold cherry nut eggs. (Photo courtesy of Forrest Burdette UMC Facebook Page)
Making Easter eggs is a time-honored tradition at Forrest Burdette Memorial United Methodist Church in Hurricane. For the past fifty-six years, the United Methodist Women at the church have lovingly crafted chocolate covered eggs in a variety of flavors for the Easter season. Many people in the congregation and local community have grown up eating these eggs, and have shared their love for the candy creations with their own families.
The very first batch of eggs was “hatched” in 1969. They were made in the kitchen of the late Karen Lily, a very prominent and highly esteemed member of the church. Around 300 eggs were made that first year, but as the years went by, the number increased with demand. In 1970, operations moved to the church kitchen, with more volunteers helping with the project.
This year, a team of around 50 – 60 volunteers helped make 3,200 eggs. While many volunteers are members of Forrest Burdette, others are friends, neighbors, and members of the community. Everyone is welcome to come help out with the project. One volunteer, Evelyn Gregory, is 90 years old, and was a member of the original group of egg makers from 1969.
Volunteers started on the morning of Monday, April 7, and finished on Wednesday, April 9. Everyone has a job to do when it comes to creating the delicious candy eggs. The men of the church run the big mixer, while both men and women work at the smaller mixers. Once all the ingredients are blended together, the gooey mixture goes to the volunteers who mold the egg into shape. The eggs are molded, weighed, dipped in chocolate, and then decorated with candy flowers. The now finished eggs are then put into plastic boxes.
The eggs come in peanut butter, cherry nut, maple nut, coconut, and vanilla, with the peanut butter flavor being the most popular. While the majority of sales were pre-orders, a good number of eggs were sold at the church’s annual Spring Fling craft fair, which was held on Saturday, April 12. There are still some eggs available for sale; call the church office at 304-562-5903 for more information.
The money made from egg sales goes to support the United Methodist Women and various projects within the local church, community, and state.
