It’s not talked about as often as EIU’s bigger accomplishments, but EIU actually had just as big a hand in creating Easter as the bunny itself. 

The story starts long before our time, when EIU was just getting its feet off the ground under our first president, Livingston C. Lord, back in 1899. 

The United States had a problem. That same year, the Great Arctic Outbreak occurred and kept families inside. The cold was so terrible that when spring rolled around, no one wanted to go outside. 

The U.S. economy came to an absolute halt; the country was crushed by fear. 

To break this fear, the 25th president of the United States of America, William McKinley, got together the greatest minds of his cabinet and notable scholars of his time to solve this problem.  

Although not originally included in these discussions, Lord was invited by his longtime friend and president of Harvard, Charles William Eliot.  

It was then that Lord, in his genius, found a way to bring the families back outside and to enjoy the season to its fullest. 

He created a holiday called Eastern that would then become Easter. Taking inspiration from the school, Lord came up with the name and brought on the president of Hershey’s, Milton S. Hershey, to create the candy that was used inside the eggs.

Hershey’s was a new company at that time, having only been created in 1894. The company had long struggled with figuring out how to make chocolate work as a candy. But spurred by the crisis, he put together the recipe that made it work. 

This milk chocolate he developed then debuted the next year in 1900. 

While the true history of this legendary event has long been forgotten by time, there are still some hidden signs of its history. 

The color that Easter is represented by, baby blue, is actually passed down from its original version, EIU’s navy blue. Extended sun exposure has caused the color to lighten. 

While the original name of the holiday was Eastern, through time people took off the n, turning it into Easter.  

That key exchange between Lord and Eliot is why Eastern is now known as “The Harvard of the Midwest.” 

EIU has its hands in many different moments of history.

Old Main was the first U.S. Capitol building. Old Main held the record for the largest rooftop pool and EIU’s president in 1954, Robert G. Buzzard, brokered the first contact between aliens and humans. 

We just don’t hear mention of EIU’s greatest accomplishment, the holiday of Eastern. 

Maybe the next time you think of Easter, you should think of Eastern. 

Emerson Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].