Scottsboro, Alabama — Many children in the United States want to run a lemonade stand, but few feel obligated to do so. That wasn’t the case for Emouree Johnson, 7, of Scottsboro, Alabama, who started her business a few weeks ago after a nightmarish tragedy.
“I woke up to the worst news of my life,” Emouree said.
Emouree’s mother, Karli, died suddenly at the age of 29. She was a single mother and all for Emouree.
The first time Emouree went to the cemetery with her grandmother, Jennifer Bordner, she didn’t understand why everyone had received a giant granite headstone, while her mother had just received a tiny one made of metal.
“It felt like she was being left out,” Emouree said.
Jennifer tried to explain that the family couldn’t afford a headstone.
“She had tears in her eyes and wanted to help,” Jennifer said of her granddaughter.
So Emouree did the only thing she could think of to raise money.
“I made a lemonade stand,” Emouree said.
At first, she made no mention of her cause. But soon word spread, and before long, Emouree said it seemed like almost everyone in Scottsboro was craving lemonade.
The price was $1. But she says people loved it so much they often paid more.
“The most we got from a cup of lemonade was $300,” Emouree said.
So far, Emouree’s lemonade stand has raised more than $15,000, all of which will go toward savings because a monument company is now donating the headstone. But more importantly, Emouree took the lemon that life gave her and made her lose all hope.
“Her comment was that when all these people came, she couldn’t believe so many people cared for her and loved her mom,” Jennifer said.
A few weeks after opening her lemonade stand, Emouree also lost her uncle, Steve, to a heart attack. They say it takes a village to raise a child. But sometimes it also takes a village to cry. The people of Scottsboro take this role seriously, offering Emouree comfort by the cup and all the love she can drink.
Steve Hartman
Grub5
