Colorful Easter Peeps

When Easter rolls around, everyone is more than ready for things to perk up a little. People start wearing more colorful clothes, and pretty flowers are popping up everywhere. It's always been a time that awakens into vibrant colors.

Years ago, it was popular to dye little chicks, or peeps, for Easter. Actually, the dye was injected into the eggs, and the chicks hatched into vivid colors. These tiny peeps would be available in every color under the sun ... purple, pink, yellow, blue, green, and orange. They were absolutely beautiful.

As a child, I remember walking a few blocks away to the local business section. There, we had a soda fountain, a news stand, a penny candy store, a corner grocery store, and a small drug store. One of the stores always displayed colorful peeps in the front window during the Easter season. The small space would be crowded with little peeps, scurrying around and peeping loudly. It was so much fun to stop outside the window and watch them hopping around, bumping into each other. On occasion, we'd go inside and watch them, reaching into the window shelf to touch them. Inevitably, my sisters and I would fall in love with one of the little peeps, and we'd just have to take it home with us. They were all so beautiful, that it was difficult to choose just one. I'm sure we changed our minds several times in the process. When we finally made a decision, we would carefully point out the one we wanted, pay for it, and carry it home in a little paper bag. It was an Easter tradition that carried on for years.

What happened to the little chicks after Easter, I have no idea. We lived in town and didn't have a chicken coup. I'm sure a few of them died, and some of them were given to friends who lived in the country. At any rate, it was not a happy life for the peeps, but it was ever so exciting as a child. One year, my sister Margie bought a peep as a gift to surprise the rest of us. She cleverly hid it in her closet for a few days, bringing it out to play with it and feed it. She was so proud of herself for keeping such a good secret.

The peeps, by the way, hatched into beautiful colors, but the color faded away as they got older. Then, there came a time when it became illegal to dye the chicks. For years, in my mind, I could still see those colorful peeps, crowded into that storefront window. It was a tradition, and an Easter memory, that will last forever.