Easter Bunny brings joy to Trafford neighborhood
Genevieve Delsignore waited excitedly in the driveway of her Hillcrest Drive home, ready to show off her blue and pink dress to the Easter Bunny leading a parade of firefighters and Trafford Elementary School teachers through the neighborhood.
“I’m excited to see the Easter Bunny, because I like when he leaves us eggs,” the 6-year-old Trafford resident said.
Genevieve and her brother, Gabriel, 9, were two of many kids waiting patiently in their driveways Saturday afternoon for the event put on by the Trafford Fire Department. The sight of the pink-nosed bunny wearing a polka-dotted bow tie and vest was a break from the new reality of stay-at-home orders and online learning introduced to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
“We weren’t expecting it, so it was a nice surprise after being secluded and isolated for so long,” Dana Mastroianni said. “It was nice for them to make the effort and come out and see everybody today. It brightened our day.”
Mastroianni, 40, of Bradford Square Drive stood with her 11-year-old daughter, Juliet, waving to teachers and their dogs as they drove by holding colorful signs encouraging students to keep reading and telling them they are missed.
Students have been out of school since March 16 when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all districts to close for 10 days to help curb the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19. Last week, Wolf closed schools for the remainder of the academic year.
The idea for the event came from a resident who asked whether the fire department would be interested in being involved, fire Chief Brian Lindbloom said.
“Everybody thought it was something neat, and the kids will get to see the Easter bunny,” Lindbloom said.
Teachers missing their students asked to be involved, Lindbloom said, and the event grew from there. He noted his only concern was that those who attended followed social distancing guidelines.
All the firefighters wore masks, but most of those watching from their driveways did not.
For Gabriel Delsignore, social distancing is taking its toll.
“You can’t really do anything more than come outside and play a lot,” he said. “At least people can still go out and swim in their pools, but you can’t really be with your friends anymore or have sleepovers. Hopefully, this thing ends soon.”
He added he and his sister will be unable to attend the usual egg hunt at his aunt’s house because of the virus but said, “We’ll still have an Easter egg hunt, so it will still be really fun.”
For other kids, seeing the Easter Bunny was a reassurance that the egg hunts and baskets of goodies will still appear on Sunday morning.
“I think it was so nice to put together all the kids and the neighborhood, to see them get to see the Easter Bunny,” said Katie Kutz, 19, of Bradford Square Drive. “I’m sure they’re all worried if he’s an essential worker or not.”
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