Buckfield mill makes commemorative Easter eggs for White House

BUCKFIELD — Workers at Wells Wood Turning & Finishing have never attended the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington, D.C., but the event would not be possible without their participation.

Wooden Easter eggs sit Wednesday atop a stack of dowels at Wells Wood Turning & Finishing in Buckfield. Eggs like these will be given out to children Monday at the 2023 Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The mill, with about 30 employees, produces tens of thousands of commemorative wooden Easter eggs given to each child who attends. Eggs are also sold to collectors in packs of five.

“We’ve never attended the annual Easter Egg Roll itself, as business at the mill keeps us closer to home,” company Vice President Simon Varney said. “But it certainly looks like great fun for families, and we’re very pleased to help make the event special. We’re proud to represent Maine in supplying a beautiful little product.”

Started in 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes, the annual Easter Egg Roll is the largest annual public event held at the White House, with more than 35,000 expected to attend. Children use wooden spoons to roll colorful eggs in a race across the South Lawn of the White House.

This year’s event is Monday. A lottery is held in March to choose who can attend.

Varney would not provide an exact number of wooden eggs his company is supplying the White House, but the time commitment is exhaustive.

“It’s quite a lengthy process,” he said. “It takes several months to complete from the time we get the order to when the product ships out the door to Washington, D.C. Our employees take the bull by the horns and do a great job moving the project through the different stages in the mill.”

All work is performed at its Buckfield mill. Using a high-capacity lathe, each piece of hardwood is trimmed into an egg profile. After being sanded and painted, they get printed with an Easter and White House theme.

“The selection of colors and designs come from the White House Historical Association, which works directly with the White House on project specifics,” Varney said. “We don’t select the colors or designs, though we may tweak around the edges to make everything work and come together.”

This year’s colors are pink, orange, aqua blue, green and a color described as Biden blue. According to Varney, Biden blue is a custom color somewhere between navy and indigo.

The Biden blue egg features a special Easter Bunny imprint with paw prints on the back of the family dog, Commander, and cat, Willow. The image on the other four eggs depicts the North Portico of the White House and decorated Easter eggs. Signatures of the president and first lady are on the back.

The company also made a larger commemorative gold Easter egg that features a festive bunny.

NASA sent one of the eggs to the International Space Station where astronauts can demonstrate the effects of gravity to school children.

The wooden eggs are not used during the actual egg roll. An egg producer in Nashville, North Carolina, will supply more than 30,000 real eggs, which are cooked and dyed in the same colors as the wooden eggs.

Wood Easter Eggs like the ones that will be used at the White House for the 2023 Easter Egg Roll sit atop a stack of dowels Wednesday afternoon at Wells Wood Turning & Finishing in Buckfield. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Wells Wood Turning, which opened in 1985, has partnered with the White House for several years through multiple administrations to make the collectable wooden eggs, Varney said. The business also provides custom eggs for museums, gift shops, hotels and charitable causes, including a gold egg with an image of Hannibal Hamlin’s house that benefits the Paris Hill Academy restoration project.

“It’s quite amazing how much joy a wooden egg can bring,” Varney said.

When it is not making eggs, the mill also makes rolling pins, dowels, tool handles, knobs, baseball bats and high-end furniture parts.