Special to the Herald

SPRINGFIELD – Patsy Burgess was selected by her peers as the winner of the Effingham County Senior Citizens Center’s Easter Bonnet Contest March 28.

Burgess, a Guyton resident who sported a lavender hat with flowers, emerged from a field of six contestants to claim the $25 prize.

Evelyn Martin placed second with her homemade creation that featured carrots, dyed eggs, and a bunny tail. (Submitted photo.)

Eagle-eyed Nancy Nelson was the big winner in the Easter egg hunt also at the Effingham County Senior Citizens Center.

Center officials liberally distributed 340 candy-filled plastic eggs throughout the building. Most were dropped in conspicuous places in the main hallway, exercise room, library and ceramics room.

Two special items – a toy duck and a toy bunny -- were hidden in devious spots. Nelson found them both, however, earning a $5 prize for each discovery.

“I kept looking at the (wall-mounted) hand sanitizer and thought, ‘The soap isn’t yellow.’ Then I looked in there and found the duck,” Nelson said while describing her expert sleuthing ability. “As far the bunny, I just lifted up the (key) lid on the piano and there it was.”

Nelson, a Rincon resident, found one of the main prizes last year, too. It was tucked inside a vase that held a flower arrangement.