Maine co. makes wooden Easter eggs for White House

BUCKFIELD, Maine (AP) — A Maine company is supplying wooden keepsake Easter eggs that will take center stage at Monday's 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

For the sixth straight year, the eggs are being manufactured by Wells Wood Turning & Finishing Inc., a wood products company in the central Maine town of Buckfield.

The eggs are made of birch and painted yellow, blue, purple and green. This year's eggs show a cartoon image of a bunny swiveling a hula hoop inside a seal that says White House Easter Egg Roll 2012. The signatures of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are stamped on the back.

This year's batch also includes a custom red egg showing Bo, the Obama family dog, with his paw print on the other side.

Wells Wood Turning manufactured 85,000 of the eggs this year, said co-owner Alan Chesney. The eggs are included in gift bags that are given to children at the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn.

The National Park Service is also selling the eggs as collectibles for $7.50 each or a five-pack of all five colors for $29.95.

Making the colorful eggs for a high-profile event is a nice change from the wooden toy parts, tool handles, knobs, handles and other products the company makes for other manufacturers, Chesney said.

"These are the most visible and colorful products we do," Chesney said.

Wells Wood Turning was founded in 1985 and has 28 employees.

The White House is expecting more than 35,000 people to take part in Monday's event for games, stories and the traditional egg roll on the White House lawn.

President Rutherford B. Hayes started the annual event in 1898. The collectible wooden eggs became part of the tradition in 1981.