BENTONVILLE - The winds were high, the sun was out and the white bass were biting at War Eagle Mill on Easter Sunday.
The mill was a far cry from where it was only five days ago, when the three-story structure was 46. 5 inches under water.
But Sunday, the floors were cleared and mill employees were ready to celebrate Easter.
The Bean Palace restaurant on the third floor was open for business, serving up ham steak, potatoes au gratin, green beans and rolls on Easter Sunday.
It was all in the spirit of tradition -although plans for the mill's annual Easter Egg Hunt had to be moved indoors.
After the floods receded, employees found fish hooks and other debris in the ground. It was deemed unsafe for children to head out there for an Easter Egg Hunt, said Mill Manager Sunday Mininni.
So instead, on the third floor the Easter Bunny sat in a chair, posed for photographs with the children and handed out Easter eggs and toys to the visitors.
Kristen Sofsky of Bentonville brought her children to the mill to spend their first Easter in Benton County. Her son, Jakob, was eager to receive treats for the holiday.
Sofsky said she didn't mind the changes in plans. "This is fine. The kids enjoy it, so this is great," she said.
One parent came in, disappointed in having driven an hour and a half expecting an Easter Egg Hunt. Mininni tried to explain the amount of debris left in the field after the floods. The disgruntled parent abruptly left, but Mininni explained to the Daily Record that safety comes first.
"This is our tradition just as much as it is for the visitors," she said. "It's fun for us to do this every year."
Just then, one-year-old Olive Zweig walked up to the third floor and ran into the arms of the Easter Bunny for a great big hug.
"That's what it's all about," Mininni said.
Zweig's mother, Katie Zweig, said she'd never been to War Eagle Mill, but that she grew up in Bella Vista and had heard about the tradition. "I was a little bit shocked"to find that the plans had changed, Zweig said, but after seeing her daughter delight in seeing the Easter Bunny, location didn't seem to matter.
Mininni said mill employees are continuing to work to clean up the debris along the grounds. "It's a daily process," she said.
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