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This is a photograph taken from the South Portico on April 2, 1923, of the crowds gathered on the South Lawn for the White House Easter Egg Roll. Dating back to 1878, the Easter Egg Roll is a cherished springtime tradition in Washington, D.C., with children and their families gathering to enjoy festivities on the South Lawn. This photograph is from the Herbert E. French Collection, of the National Photo Company at the Library of Congress, which captured life in Washington, D.C., from the Wilson to the Hoover administrations.

Library of Congress

As the Easter Monday event became more of an attraction, a rule was fixed to limit the number of people coming into the enclosed South Lawn. The rule stated that a "grown person would be admitted only when accompanied by a child" and vice versa. As a result, unescorted egg rollers and childless adults began teaming up at random so that each could gain admittance. Enterprising children even charged a fee for parading a series of unrelated "grown persons" past the security guards. The situation grew so scandalous that on Easter Monday 1939, the Evening Star reported that Secret Service men were stationed at the White House gates to "break up the kids' rackets."

A group of happy children who rolled their Easter eggs on the White House lawn on April 17, 1922.

Library of Congress