Oysterville Tradition Alive & Well!

A Thirsty After-Vespers Crowd at the Oysterville Lemonade Stand

As the adults spilled out of the Oysterville Church a few Vesper Sundays ago, they were greeted by the youngest generations of village entrepreneurs — my Red House Cousins of  the Alpha Generation and Generation Z (the “Zoomers”) — otherwise known as Oysterville’s Sixth  Espy Generation.  They had set up their lemonade stand right across from the exiting hoards, just as their parents had done years ago.  And probably their grandparents before that.

They were doing a booming business — especially with the Blackberry Lemonade.  “We picked the blackberries ourselves!” we were told.  I was mortified that I didn’t have any money with me.  “That’s okay.  You can have some anyway,” they chorused.

Red House Cousins’ Lemonade Sign from 2013

I demurred.  They had a lineup of thirsty buyers and I thought it would be yet another family story if Cousin Sydney got a freebie that could have been sold at the going rate — $1.00 a glass.  Besides, I really enjoyed watching their casual salesmanship (it was all about the blackberries!) and their even more casual handling of the cash flow.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the next generations — Beta and Gamma — will be using Bitcoin or some sort of cryptocurrency as yet unnamed.  Or perhaps they’ll just take plastic.  But it probably goes without saying that the blackberries will still be picked by hand and the cousins will still be full of giggles at their accomplishments!  And the lemonade will still be Oysterville’s finest!

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