Last week, Skagway’s Mayor proclaimed this past Saturday would be Lemonade Day. He said it was a chance to teach kids the value of running a business and learn the power of the almighty dollar.
It’s been a rare occasion to see 70 degrees in Skagway this year. But on Lemonade Day, the sun broke through the clouds and the town smelled like lilacs and summer made a brief visit. The conditions were perfect to sample some of the town’s myriad of lemonade stands.
The first stop was on Broadway and Eighth Street, where a couple of young entrepreneurs were learning the lemonade business.
“I’m Booker. And I’m Vinya.”
There was a group of parents and little ones sipping and chatting, and the boys walked me through their menu.
“Pink Lemonade, free flowers, and cookies,” said Booker Klug.
The soon-to-be second graders had already cleared $60 on the day.
As I sipped my pink lemonade, I strolled down the street a block and stopped by the next stand run by Logan. His menu was inspired by Harry Potter.
“This one is normal lemonade. This one is called Love Potion. It’s with natural roses from my garden. Pink Lemonade, and then this one’s Liquid Luck, which is a mystery flavor,” said Logan Rupprecht.
Logan wouldn’t reveal the secret ingredient that made the Liquid Luck lemonade look forest green, but he did walk me through his food offerings.
“This is a monster cookie. This is an M&M brownie. These are peanut butter cookies. And this is chocolate chip,” Logan said.
Mr. Rupprecht said he was the salesman and his brother was the chef and they planned to split the proceeds.
Over to State Street next, which is the busiest road in town. Dane and Waylon only had lemonade on the menu, but it was selling fast.
“That’s strawberry lemonade and normal lemonade,” said Waylon Bricker.
The boys said they had some direct competition from Dane’s sister down the block, but they thought their net sales were already over a hundred dollars. When asked what they were going to do with the profits…
“I’m probably going to save it. I’m probably just going to save it,” said Dane Ames and Waylon Bricker.
Those are some responsible young entrepreneurs helping to solve Skagway’s thirst problems on a warm, sunny Lemonade Day in June.
