SEQUIM — Cruising home from work earlier this week, some Sequim motorists faced a half-dozen 12-year-old boys, waving signs for all they were worth.
It was a classic fresh-lemonade stand at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Prairie Street that they strove to make passers-by aware of Tuesday afternoon.
And these kids weren’t about to hang back and wait for people to notice them.
Any time a car approached, they charged up the street, signs held high over their heads, until drivers saw the table loaded with just-baked chocolate chip cookies and a cooler full of lemonade.
It wasn’t that hot a day, after all, so some salesmanship was called for if the boys were to raise real money.
And in their first hour or so, Adam Dickson, Ethan Richmond, Matthew Richards, Nick Faunce, Kregg Thaens and Quintan Johnson, all 12, had reaped $21.
A small lemonade went for 50 cents, while a large cup — a grande, Quintan prefers to call it — went for a dollar; cookies were 50 cents apiece.
Matthew’s mother, Branette Richards, baked the cookies, and after a woman in a red Honda returned for seconds, Branette replenished them with a fresh batch.
Matthew, the youngest of four, “has a good business head,” his mom said.
Manning the stand, he sold about four dozen cookies along with the lemonade, after recruiting his friends to do the sign-waving.
The boys said they will probably set up again in a few days, since they’re helping Matthew raise the money for a week at Camp Firwood near Bellingham.
He’s off to camp on the Fourth of July weekend, so he has about two weeks to supplement his parents’ outlay.
The boys made the lemonade, Branette said as she brought out another plateful of cookies.
She also served as lemonade taste tester, and said she’ll be happy to bake and taste again next time.
A fitting touch on the table: a rock painted with “I love Mom,” to keep the napkins from blowing away in the evening breeze.
Matthew’s sister Angela, now 19, painted the paperweight many years ago, Branette said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
