Hopping down memory lane

June Casagrande

Every bunny who knows Helen Smith will tell you she’s some bunny

special.

For example, the dozen friends who showed up for Smith’s annual

luncheon on Friday didn’t bat an eye when they were greeted by 73

stuffed rabbits of every size and color imaginable. The tight group

of friends expected as much. Smith told them they no one would be

allowed to enter her Newport Beach home unless they were wearing

bunny ears. So they did.

“This is classic Helen,” said Barbara Ward, one of the longtime

friends who attended Smith’s “bunny party” on Friday.

Every year, Smith holds a get-together luncheon for the group, who

know their former classmate as someone who loves to go over the top

when it comes to holiday decorations.

But what’s most extraordinary is that is that these friends have

been getting together on a regular basis since they graduated

Fullerton Union High School together -- in 1949.

“We’ve just always managed to keep in touch and stay together,”

said Phyllis Munn, a Palm Desert resident.

This year, Smith outdid herself by putting on display the 73

bunnies she’s bought for her granddaughter over the years.

“They’ve been packed away and this year I figured, why not put

them on display?” Smith said.

Smith has been buying the bunnies for her granddaughter Jade Smith

since she was born 21 years ago. Many of the plush rabbits have names

that Jade bestowed on them at various points in her childhood. A

large, lime-green bunny was dubbed “Green Bean.” When Jade was 8, she

named a purple bunny “Blackie.”

Smith said that when the party’s over, she’ll probably leave the

bunnies on display for a while then pack them up and ship them off to

her granddaughter.

In the meantime, her home will continue to be Easter Central, with

huge plastic eggs decorating her lawn and an “egg tree” Smith made

herself of smaller plastic eggs containing $2 bills for neighborhood

children.

“There are so many kids in this neighborhood it makes it really

fun for them,” Smith said. “Sometimes children come peek in the

windows at the bunnies. It’s just a lot of fun.”