Seeley-Swan High School Leos Club member Cora Stone hands a basket to an excited child from Seeley Lake. Families walked or drove through Seeley Lake's Hop-n-Bop Saturday, April 3 and stopped at the age appropriate station. If their egg included a ticket for a chocolate bunny or prize, they continued to the next station.
Seeley-Swan High School senior Garrett Saalfeld (left) directs drivers after picking up their basket at one of four stations. Some children received a $1 coin, others received a chocolate bunny and the really lucky ones were able to pull up to the prize table and choose a toy.
Lion Michelle Saalfeld holding a basket that was given out to any child 12 years old or younger at the event. This was Saalfeld's first year organizing the event
Lion Boyd Gossard hands Jezzy Palmer the new bicycle helmet she chose after receiving a prize ticket in her egg.
Lions helping one of the lucky prize winners chose a toy from the prize table. The prizes were organized by age and were first come, first served.
SEELEY LAKE – There were a lot of smiling children Saturday, April 3 as they traveled through the Seeley Lake Elementary School parking lot and received an Easter basket at the Seeley Lake Lions Club Easter Hop-n-Bop. While the Lions hope they can return to the traditional Easter Egg Hunt and Scavenger Hunt next year, they were happy to be able to offer this to the community.
Organizer Lion Michelle Saalfeld said the biggest challenge was figuring out how they could still hold the event and get approval from the Missoula City-County Health Department. They decided to do the drive-thru method when restrictions were not eased.
"This was the quickest most sure way to get it approved," said Saalfeld. "It is kind of sad that we don't get to have a hunt but I'm just excited that we get to do something for the kids since last year was canceled. It went very smoothly."
The Lions put together 250 baskets Friday night. Each basket included an egg and candy. The egg contained a $1 coin, a ticket for a chocolate bunny or a ticket for a prize.
On Saturday, more than a dozen Lions and one member of the Seeley-Swan High School Leos Club volunteered at the event. They helped direct traffic around School Lane and through the school parking lot, handed out baskets and gave out prizes. Toy prizes were arranged on tables by age category. The children that received the chocolate bunny or a toy drove through and chose their favorite.
SSHS Leo Cora Stone had a lot of fun handing out baskets to the four- to six-year-olds. She said the students haven't been able to reach out to the community and be involved with community projects like in the past due to the pandemic. While there are many other members of the Leos Club that would have liked to help, the event conflicted with the track meet in Big Fork.
Stone said, "It is cool to be able to do this just to help out."
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