Bush Top Bunny for a Day--at White House Egg Roll

Vice President and Mrs. George Bush, with granddaughter Marshall in tow, dropped by the White House today to wave and smile at thousands of youngsters and their parents at the annual Easter Egg roll.

Before strolling out to the back lawn, Bush and his wife greeted President Reagan’s son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Colleen, and their two children, Cameron, 7, and Ashley, 4, in the diplomatic reception room.

The President and Nancy Reagan, after a weeklong vacation in California, were on their way back to the White House aboard Air Force One.

Michael and his family stayed at a hotel while sightseeing in Washington for the last several days and planned to head back to their home in California after the egg roll.

White House officials said 40,000 youngsters and their parents and relatives poured through the southeast gate of the White House, starting at 10 a.m. for the four-hour frolic.

Bush carried the 1-year-old Marshall, dressed in a pink dress and white bonnet, out to the sunlit south lawn to greet the throngs. Marshall is the daughter of Bush’s son Marvin and daughter-in-law Margaret. As they appeared the Air Force band struck up “America.”

Bush shook hands with children, signed his autograph on eggs and Easter coloring books the youngsters thrust at him and obligingly posed for pictures.

Bush joked that “I don’t know what my role” is at the egg roll but soon found that glad-handing, smiling, greeting the entertainers and waving to the crowd were all that was asked.

White House chef Henri Haller had colored about 2,000 Easter eggs that were distributed to the children, along with multicolored balloons, comic books, jelly beans and chocolate eggs.