In my early years with this newspaper, spring fashion sections were produced prior to Easter with the intent to help the clothing stores spark sales as the holiday approached. We wanted our readers ready for the annual “Easter Parade” of new fashions.

Our readers, who were also customers of the local clothing stores, were tired of winter and eager to buy and wear spring fashions. Superior had at least eight stores which sold clothing and we also sold advertising to clothing stores in neighboring towns. Store keepers wanted snow before Thanksgiving to spark the sale of winter wear and warm sunny days prior to Easter to encourage the purchase of summer attire.

Many of our readers planned to wear their new clothing to their church’s Easter service. As a youngster, I often got new summer shoes, trousers and shirts before Easter. My mother expected me to wear to the new clothes to church on Easter Sunday. I was okay with most of it but I hated wearing white shoes.

Easter was a time for the women to show off their finest “Easter Bonnets,” summer dresses and sandals.

I didn’t like writing the fashion stories but I enjoyed taking the photos which accompanied the stories. The photography was different from regular news photography and gave a refreshing change of pace.

For the fashion issue, we got to pick our backgrounds, select the clothing that would be worn and the time when the lighting would be best.

Though we expected a brilliant blue sky, warm temperatures, calm winds and flowers bursting into bloom on Easter, that was not always the case.

Unlike other holidays which have fixed dates, Easter is based on a lunar cycle and can come as early as March 21 or as late April 25. Last year it was observed on April 21. Unpredictable weather seems to be the norm.

I prefer the later dates because the weather is usually more pleasant but not always. Once when Easter came in March, I went sailing that afternoon on Lovewell Lake. Other years when Easter arrived in Mid-April, I had to deal with cold and snow.

As a man told me Saturday, “I’ve got to get my yard mowed today because it is going to snow tomorrow.”

When I was in high school and taking pictures for the school yearbook and newspaper, a church announced plans to hold an Easter sunrise service at Lovewell Lake. Though it had rained overnight I expected the service would be held as planned. I navigated a muddy road to the lake only to find I was the only one present for the service. Members of the congregation knew the service was being held at an alternative site. When I arrived late at my church, the parking lot was so muddy, I parked on the county road.

Soon after the Courtland Canal crossed north of my home, one congregation erected three wooden crosses on top of the spoil pile and members gathered below the crosses for a sunrise service.

The day and location made for an impressive service.

I once attended a sunrise service held in a cemetery with a replica of the empty tomb for the youngsters to investigate.

For another service, an empty tomb treat was prepared for those attending. The pastry had been baked with a marshmallow inside. According to plan, when the parishioners bit into the treat, they were to be surprised to find it was nothing but an empty shell which symbolized the empty tomb. Their first bite was accompanied by a loud crunching sound as the hard shells broke.

This year we added another memory to the Easter bank. Sunrise services held while sequestered in our motor vehicles, afraid to get out for fear of contacting COVID-19.

Saturday Red Cloud High School held a graduation service for the nine members of the senior class. The seniors maintained the required six-foot separation and were seated on an outdoor stage composed of flatbed trailers. Supt. Brian Hofh was the only other person allowed outside of a vehicle during the ceremony. A maximum of four persons were allowed in each vehicle and the vehicle’s windows had to remain closed. A microbroadcast allowed the spectators to hear the ceremony, Parents were not allowed to leave their vehicles but pictures were taken of each graduate receiving a diploma replica and the event streamed and archived for viewing via the internet.

Delivery of the actual diploma is being delayed until the school year is formally completed in May.

Hofh said the small class size made the ceremony possible. The next smallest class at Red Cloud has 19 members which would have exceeded the guidelines established by the governor. It was decided to hold the ceremony early before there were more confirmed COVID-19 cases in Webster County.