Lemonade sweetens 2nd grader’s gift

Leon County 4-H Gold Star Winner Cassie Ferguson with CEA-Ag Tommy Neyland, CEA-FCS Wendy Neyland, and Intern Cayla Christianson. AgriLife photo A cute kid with a lemonade stand on a sweltering summer afternoon is a sight to bring a smile, and maybe tempt you to pull over. Last week Samantha Pate, sevenyear old daughter of Mandi and Kevin Pate, parlayed that reaction into a very successful fund-raiser for Texas Chil- dren’s Hospital.

The Buffalo Elementary School second grader set up her stand at the end of her family’s driveway on FM 1848 on Thursday and Friday, July 23-24. Samantha offered fresh-squeezed lemonade and homemade cookies, priced at $1 and fifty cents, respectively.

“Samantha’s wanted to do a lemonade stand forever,” Mandi Pate explained, and when Mom finally agreed, Samantha delivered a punchline. She wanted to give the money to the Children’s Hospital. “She had seen a commercial on TV about the hospital, the children and their parents. She told me she wanted to go and color with them. It was on her heart to do this.”

Preparation for the sale included a lot of baking and squeezing of lemons, and the project became a family affair. Samantha’s big brother Shelley came on board and “Grammy” Sherry Gloor and “Neenaw” Gail Pate were recruited and both pitched in and helped. “We made cookies and cookies and COOKIES -- and Samantha was right in the middle of everything,” Mandi explained. “She squeezed lemons and she mixed every glass by herself.”

A good-sized stand was erected and decorated with flags to catch the attention of folks driving down the rural road, and Miss Pate’s idea took wings. Her mother described the scene: “People up and down the road that know Samantha came by. One neighbor stopped every time he came by and even bought lemonade and cookies for other folks and took it to them. We had very sweet people stop by and when they knew what it was for they put in a little extra.”

Over the course of two days, Li’l Samantha and her crew sat outside for about eleven hours. The youngster had set a goal of $1000 and at the end of her two-day sale she had raised $1009.