1. The White House Easter egg roll was originally in front of Capitol Hill. That site was closed off after President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill in 1876 banning egg-rolling because it caused too much wear and tear to the lawns. The law was so strictly enforced that the Capitol Police had to eject some die-hard rollers.
2. President Rutherford B. Hayes' wife, Lucy, was the first person to bring the egg roll to the White House. In 1878, she let in a group of rollers who were waiting at the gates, hoping to take advantage of the White House's sloping lawn. She made sure liquor and wine were banned, but not the eggs!
3. Dolly Madison is said to have started the egg roll in front of the Capitol in 1814.
She's also considered the first to have served ice cream at the White House. That, along with her love for egg rolling, makes her quite the farm products queen.
4. Grover Cleveland was the first President to join the egg roll. In 1885 a group of kids demanded a personal audience with the president after walking into the East Room of the White House (security clearly wasn't as tight then). After that, the rollers were allowed indoors.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katharine-zaleski/white-house-easter-egg-ro_b_185415.htmlWho knew??
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