Golden egg brings joy to 5-year-old

A group of teenagers went on the hunt for the New Rockford Chamber's golden egg, but it wasn't for the $50 prize, or the bragging rights. Rather, their goal was to brighten the day of a little girl who had unexpectedly lost her dad. In that endeavor, they succeeded grandly.

Friends of Macey and Lora Wobbema came up with the idea on Tuesday, May 30, after they learned that the girls' cousin, Addison Wobbema, was grieving the loss of her dad Tyler. During every break in class, as well as after school until dark, the girls looked everywhere they could think of, using the clues provided. Finally, on Thursday, April 1, they retrieved the egg that had been partially buried in the ground next to a rock. The clues at that point were heavy metal, SE/6-W, dirt and rocks. They had determined the day before that the "SE/6-W" clue had some reference to railroad tracks, and it seemed fitting as Tyler had been employed by BNSF Railway at the time of his death.

On Thursday afternoon, they returned to a spot near Hager Excavating's lot along 13th Ave, an area where they had been the day before with no luck. It was friend Hallie Brown who actually found the egg. Once it was in hand, they contacted Addison's mom Megan, to ask if Addison could come hunting for the golden egg with them. They put the egg back in its place and sent Addison on the hunt, capturing her reaction on video as she jumped and screamed with excitement at her find.

Addison came to the Transcript office with her entourage of helpers to retrieve her $50 prize, and she insisted that they all take a picture with her. Afterward, the girls took Addison to local businesses for ice cream and Easter treats of her choice.

The annual community Easter Egg Hunt is sponsored by the New Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce.