A Look Back at the Schoharie Easter Egg Museum

SCHOHARIE — An Egg-straordinary Folk Art Museum: The Amazing Creations of Mildred Vrooman is a 2019 book by retired rocket scientist Joseph S. Heyman and research librarian Berna L. Heyman exploring the now-closed Easter Egg Museum by Schoharie’s wooden bridge. Mildred Vrooman’s quirky collection of handmade eggs on display, housed in the 64-foot-long Morton building at the intersection of Routes 443 and 30A, closed its doors for good in 2019 after opening for only the second time in a decade as a fundraiser for the Schoharie Free Library. The previous opening had been in 2014 as a fundraiser for the library in response to damage from Hurricane Irene. Mildred Vrooman passed away on December 9, 2012, at the age of 103, leaving behind her unique collection. Remarkably, it was only roughly a decade earlier, at the age of 92, that she opened the Easter Egg Museum. 

The Heymans became owners of Vrooman’s 3000 eggs in 2013 when they purchased the Colonel Peter Vroman property that it resides on (Mildred was the Colonel’s great-great-great-grandniece). The Heymans used their access to the delicate collection to document it with the photographs that fill the pages of their book. “This book was created to address part of our newly discovered responsibilities,” writes Joseph Heyman in his introduction. “The superb egg collection deserves to be shared with the world. It is unlikely the fragile eggs can endure without extensive preservation and restoration.” The museum is closed, but for those of us who never set foot inside, the Heymans ensured that the work is at least preserved on some level. 

The photos are separated by category, just as they would have been in the museum; categories include children’s stories, like Snow White or The Wizard of Oz, fantasy, like The Egg Brothers Circus or Magic Forest, and historical depictions, including The Old Stone Fort and American Presidents. Anyone who has watched Dave Letterman’s traveling funny-man Biff Henderson’s visit with Mildred Vrooman in 2002 will remember their discussion about which of the egg presidents was the handsomest (Henderson thought Polk was “one handsome dude” while Vrooman agreed Clinton was “probably” the most handsome). 

While the photos of the exhibits offer a glimpse into the collection currently unavailable for viewing, it’s the Heymans’ well-researched history of the museum and its origins that is equally as valuable. Vrooman’s fascination with decorated eggs began when she was the librarian at the Schoharie Free Library (which was then located in Lasell Hall). She and her good friend Elizabeth Warner were enamored with a 1951 book called The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhouse. Shortly after, they began creating displays of hand-decorated eggs on the trees in front of the building (with occasional winds wreaking havoc). Initially, the plan was to draw more attendees to the library with their displays, but much to their surprise, the eggs themselves became an annual Easter attraction. The Heymans trace the saga of the egg collection, from shifting homes, ownership of the collection changing hands, and the sad passing of Warner, to Vrooman’s final act of securing her own museum for her beloved collection. 

An Egg-straordinary Folk Art Museum: The Amazing Creations of Mildred Vrooman is on the shelves at the Schoharie Free Library and is available for purchase through most online book sellers.