Who’d have thought a pickle hunt would evolve into a much-anticipated community event?
It’s happening in Loudonville, where the Mohican Historical Society is gearing up for its 10th annual hun. The society, borrowing on a very old and not very well-known tradition of hunting for pickles at Christmastime, has turned it into an exciting and entertaining, tradition.
In many towns, the holidays often bring about excitement for tree lightings, parades and Santa visits. In the villages of Loudonville and Perrysville, those holiday activities are taking a back seat to pickles.
More specifically, residents are looking for pickles. The pickles, though, come with prizes.
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The Pickle Hunt is promoted by the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum and sponsored by nearly a dozen businesses.
According to the museum’s curator, Kenny Libben, the event has century-old origins rooted in a Victorian-era tradition of hiding a pickle in the tree on Christmas morning, with the first child to find it receiving an extra gift.
Pickle clues are highly sought-after by game players
Though that tradition has largely faded away, it is once again popular, at least in the Mohican area, Libben said. The current version of the pickle hunt was developed by the museum nearly a decade ago, first introduced at private events where, Libben said, “It was a fun game that quickly became the focus for attendees.”
Seeing the positive response, the museum launched a community-wide pickle hunt with new pickles hidden throughout December, leading up to Christmas, and clues to their location posted on social media.
Libben said the rules are simple: A pickle is hidden, or “dropped,” somewhere in the Mohican area and a clue is posted on the Facebook group The Pickle Hunt. The first clues are vague, only giving a general…
