Parade, Weapons Protest Mark U.S. Easter Activity

Americans marked Easter Sunday in a variety of ways--from promenading down New York’s 5th Avenue in their Easter bonnets to protesting nuclear weapons at an Air Force base in South Dakota.

Thousands of New Yorkers, including Mayor Edward I. Koch, strolled down 5th Avenue in their finery in the city’s traditional parade.

Those dressed in elaborate costumes kept photographers happy by pausing frequently to pose. Scores of families who sat on curbs

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waiting early in the day for the start of what they believed would be a more formal parade seemed to be the only ones slightly disconcerted.

At Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, S.D., security police detained four persons who tried to put Easter lilies on a runway, according to Air Force Capt. David Turner. He said the four would be turned over to U.S. marshals for arrest for trespassing on a military installation.

Sunrise Service

About 56 persons gathered on a ranch next to the base for a sunrise service organized by the Easter Lily Peace Project, said group spokesman Greg Spanton, who said the event was also intended to draw attention to the farm crisis. It was the fourth such protest in as many years.

“No matter how hard I stretch my imagination, I can’t imagine the risen Christ embracing a B-1 bomber or an MX missile,” said ranch owner Marvin Kammerer.

A half-hour service on the viewing terrace of Mt. Rushmore near Keystone, S.D., was attended by about 1,600 people, according to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial Supt. Bob Reynolds. The service is a tradition started in 1949.

Cherry Blossom Festival

In Washington, a 300-year-old Japanese lantern was lit to open the capital’s Cherry Blossom Festival, a spring attraction.

The Tidal Basin is lined by cherry trees that Japan sent in 1912 as a gift to President William Howard Taft and his wife.

The Easter egg hunt by children of parishioners at St. Michael’s Chapel in Piscataway, N.J., was a first for three Salvadoran youngsters.

The Flores children and their parents have been living on the grounds of the Episcopal church since August, according to the Rev. Henry Atkins.