A boy in Jackson, Mich., is putting the squeeze on lemonade stands after he opened a booth offering history lessons for 25 cents.
“Since I have so much knowledge and I can’t be a history teacher, I came up with this,” Gabe Fulmerhouser, 8, told WLNS, sitting in his history hut, emblazoned with an American flag on the front.
The pint-sized professor convinced his mother to let him share his knowledge of America’s military past by setting up “Gabe’s History Stories” on his front lawn.
“One day he just came down and he said ‘mom, I would like to make a booth and for 25 cents tell history and tell people stories,” said Lesli Fulmerhouser.
Dressed in fatigues and a military vest, Gabe’s cubicle of combat chronicles is garnering a lot of attention.
“They usually pay me a quarter or more,” said Gabe, surrounded by a stack of books on the Civil War and Spanish-American War. “If they pay me more, I gotta tell them a lot.”
According to Gabe’s mother, he’s more interested in talking about his favourite battles than playing with friends.
“He wants to tell war stories,” said Gabe’s mother. “But I think it intrigues them as well.”
Gabe, who one day dreams of following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by joining the military, believes there are lessons to be learned from the past.
“It’s important to everyone’s life and how America became America,” said Gabe.
The entrepreneurial educator’s idea is paying off.
“Here’s my jar for my money. And how much money I’ve made so far was seven dollars and 30 cents,” said Gabe, holding up his earnings.
But for this history buff, money isn’t everything.
All the profits earned from the stand will be donated to veterans groups or his church.