April 2, 2026
Introduction: In this article – to help celebrate Easter this Sunday – Melissa Davenport Berry shows photos of our ancestors celebrating the holiday. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Here are glimpses at Easter celebrations from days gone by, found in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives and other special collections.
Photo credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html
1921: American Greek Easter in New Jersey
These are members of the Metsopulos and Gianaris families during an Easter celebration on Bank Street (now West Market St.), Newark, New Jersey, in 1921. All the children shown in the photograph were baptized in St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
In this photo we see: (front row, left to right) Gus Matzaris (holding skewered lamb); unknown; Dimitri Metsopulos; Nicholas Metsopulos; Eugenia Metsopulos; Tini Gianaris; Martha Gianaris; Nicholas Gianaris holding Katherine Gianaris; (back row, left to right) Panagiotis Kaplanes holding Helen Metsopulos; Theophanes Lemberes holding Charles Metsopulos; baby Georgia Gianaris held by unknown; unknown; unknown; Sarantos Stathopoulos (holding skewered lamb).
1923: Prize Easter Basket on White House Grounds
In 1923 the finest Easter Basket was exhibited by Master Warren Sonneman at the annual White House egg rolling celebration.
1932: Waiting for Easter Bunny in Pennsylvania
The Reading Eagle published this cute picture of Pennsylvania children eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Easter bunny.
In this elaborate photo we see:
(Top row, left to right): Anna May Grimes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Grimes, 26 Penn Ave., Sinking Spring. Mrs. Grimes was the former Emma Gerhart; Marilyn Ann Whitlock, 3-month-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack E. Whitlock, 2333 Spring Street, West Lawn; Richard David, 3-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Kaufman, 629 North Twenty-fifth Street, Pennside; Jean Louise Kaufman, 8-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Kaufman, 629 North Twenty-fifth Street, Pennside; Rita Mae Nangle, 6-month-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nangle, 1032 Douglas Street; Joan B. LaRue, 1-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mahlon F. LaRue, 101 West Lancaster Ave., Shillington. Mrs. LaRue is the former Kathyrn Batian; Mary Reber, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Reber, 108 North Third Street. Mrs. Reber is the former Sue Obold; John Elmer Lutz, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Elmer Lutz, of Esterly.
(Center row, left to right): Vivian Claire Zechman, 3-year-old granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Abner Ludwig, 1419 North Tenth Street; Mary Ellen Keeler, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Keeler, 346 North Front Street; James Erdman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Erdman, 8 Penn Mar Court, Mt. Penn; Mary Ann Batdorf, 2-year-old daughter of Attorney and Mrs. Jonathan P. Batdorf, Sunset and Sycamore Roads, Wyomissing Park. Mrs. Batdorf is the former Elsie Lechner; Robert Reber, son of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Reber, 108 North Third Street. Mrs. Reber is the former Sue Obold; Jean Marie Frees, 4-month-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Millard Frees, 952 North Ninth Street. Mrs. Frees is the former Anna Lewars; Josephine Lutz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Elmer Lutz, of Esterly; Suzanne Risk, 2-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Risk, 116 North Fourth Street.
(Bottom row, left to right): Jean Lillian Ocksrider, 2 1/2-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warren C. Ocksrider, 1518 North Tenth Street. Mrs. Ocksrider is the former Blanche L. Ludwig; LeRoy Fowler Risk, 2-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Risk, 116 North Fourth Street; Sally Ann Mohn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Mohan of Mt. Penn; Elsa Proger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernhart Proger, of West Reading; Shirley May Sollenberger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Sollenberger, 720 Wayne Ave., West Reading; Jean Borkey Shnyder, 10-month-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde R. Shnyder of Bloomsburg. Mrs. Shnyder is the former Minnie Borkey, of this city; Miriam Sue Carlson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Carlson of New York city. Mrs. Carlson is the former Miriam Sue Moll.
1941: Chicago Blooms for Easter
The photo caption for this next picture reads:
Miss Mary I. Santomauro, 133 Pennsylvania Ave, looks over Easter lilies at the Humboldt Park Conservatory [Chicago]. The annual Easter floral displays also in the Delaware and South Park Conservatories will be open to the public from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M., beginning Palm Sunday and ending Easter. Besides Easter lilies, there are calla lilies, tulips, narcissus, genistas, calceolarias, pansies, cinerarias, hydrangeas, forsythia, Boston ferns and asparagus sprengeri, Parks Commissioner Edward G. Zeller announced.
1948: Niles Elementary School Easter Pageant
This Fremont, California, elementary school had fun celebrating Easter on 19 March 1948. This photo shows some of the entrants of the pageant (left to right): Bill Dawson, Veronica “Ronnie” Rebello, Ronald DiGulio, Diane Roeding, Beverly Souza, Arlene DiGulio, Winifred Cartnell, and Geraldine Rose.
1954: Nixon Gals Ready for Easter!
The photo caption for this next photo reads:
Vice President Nixon’s two daughters, Julie, 5 (left), and Patricia, 7, model new Easter finery as they plant eggs for an Easter hunt on their lawn with Mrs. Nixon’s obvious approval.
1959: Buffalo, New York – Prepare for the Hunt!
Buffalo, New York, had too much snow on Easter Sunday in 1959, as this photo caption explains:
Firefighter Ellsworth Rooney, Lt. Eugene Radtke, Thomas Crowley, Linda Roth, and Paula Roth, get ready for the Broadway-Fillmore merchants’ egg hunt at the Zoo, postponed from Easter Sunday for one week because of snow.
More to come…
Happy Easter!
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Note on the header image: Happy Easter. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html
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