C Cleveland

For the last 53 years, Ron and Betty Manolio of Lyndhurst, the suburb of Cleveland that I grew up in, have created an Easter wonderland of painted eggs in their front yard. In 1957, the first display was a simple cross fashioned out of 750 eggs.

Cleveland weather can be unpredictable in April, but yesterday was the perfect day to head down the street to check out this year's display which numbers 32,740 eggs.



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The preparation for each year's display begins in January when Betty creates the design and then transfers it to grid paper. Ron then calculates how many eggs will be needed and what the colors will be.













For the next several weeks, they collect eggs. Yes, real eggs! Ron cleans the shells and then hand paints each one. Most restaurants don't use fresh eggs anymore but there's one in town that donates the shells to the Manolio's every year to help them continue the tradition.



Their children and grandchildren pound the stakes that will hold the eggs and then volunteers and friends place the eggs according to Ron's master plan.



This labor of love was documented in the film, Eggshelland, The Movie. It not only documents their annual tradition, but showcases this large, close knit family and their dedication to each other and the community they love.



The most fun thing was seeing the Manolio's 1950 DeSoto parked in their driveway. They had their first date in it and then used it as their honeymoon car.