Where the Easter Bunny Lives
As legend has it in the Mt. Davidson area, the Easter Bunny lives behind a metal door at the top of the stairs near the cross. Gladys McWood Birdsong writes, “Last Spring before Easter, my granddaughter, Adrienne Long, called my sister Diane excitedly reporting, ‘My whole kindergarten class at Miraloma Elementary walked up Mt. Davidson to see where the Easter Bunny lives!’ Imagine our surprise, because the origin of that tale lies with our grandfather, and we had no idea that anyone outside our family had heard the story.” Gladys McWood Birdsong and her sister, Diane McWood Nowland, pictured right.
“In 1945, our family lived at 254 Juanita Way, just across from the stairs leading to the cross at the top of Mt Davidson. Our athletic 80-year-old grandfather was visiting from Southern California, and he invited Diane, our friend Tommy and me to climb to the top of the mountain. As we approached the top, we saw a large metal door. We asked, ‘Grandpa, what’s that door for?’ Grandpa, who always had a twinkle in his eye, replied, ‘Why, that’s where the Easter Bunny lives!’ My sister, Diane was 6, and I was 3, and the Easter Bunny was alive in our minds. We were so excited with this news that we ran back to our street and rounded up several of our other friends to make the climb to see the Easter Bunny’s home. Apparently, those kids grew up to pass the story along to their children and grandchildren in the neighborhood.Our family moved from San Francisco in 1947. What a delight that a charming Easter Bunny story told to us by our grandfather in 1945 has been passed down in the neighborhood where my grandchildren, Julian and Adrienne Long, attend elementary school. Our grandfather, Edward DeBlois, in front of 254 Juanita Way in September, 1945. Note the empty milk bottle on the porch.”
“I know the very day we made the climb with Grandpa; he kept a diary with photos of his trips. For Sept. 21, 1945, his diary says, ‘Climbed to the cross on Mt. Davidson with Diane, Gladys and their friend Tommy.’” (Story and pictures courtesy Gladys McWood Birdsong)
