AN IDEAL FUN WAY FOR A COMMUNE TO MAKE HEAVY BREAD
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The really interesting thing to me was the fact that SnoKone and other refreshment stands at the fair were doing only a so-so business while the Fabulous Furry Freaks were serving up a storm of lemonade.
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Why? Well, I can't answer for all the other folks who were plunking down their thirty-five-cent pieces, but I know why I bought a couple of shots of lemonade: (1) It was good and tangy and thirst-quenching whereas most of the prepared colas and other plastic drinks were (bleah!) sticky sweet, (2) There was no question about it . . .the lemonade was made fresh right in front of my eyes and (3) That cutting and mixing and shaking was downright fascinating compared to the bored pushing of a tap at the other booths.
There is no secret formula to making lemonade the way these kids were doing it:
(1) The bearded fellow sliced both nub ends off a lemon and cut it in half.
(2) He took one half of the lemon and quartered it. (The other half is then quartered for a second glass.
(3) The quartered half a lemon was then put in a heavy 16 oz. glass (it looked like a laboratory beaker) and mashed with a wooden pestle or cut-off potato masher. The Rockford family used a metal container from a drugstore milkshake maker and a small hand lemon squeezer).
(4) The glass was next handed to one of the kids who ladled in about a quarter cup of sugar and 8 oz. of ice. The glass was filled brim full of water.
(5) A 16 oz. paper cup was then placed upside-down over the glass and the whole thing shaken vigorously for 15-20 seconds.
(6) The glass-cup assembly was inverted and the brimming cup of icy lemonade handed to the customer.
I priced this operation out the other day and I found that fresh lemons are available from wholesalers in cases of 120-140. Each case costs, in the Cleveland area, about $6.00. This means that an individual lemon runs 4.3 to 5-cents each and-since one lemon makes two servings - the lemon for each cup will cost you about 2.5 cents.
The sugar will run about a 1/2-cent a serving. As will the ice. The cup costs two cents and the water will be included in the price of your location rental. Raw materials for a 35-cent cup of lemonade, then, cost you about 5.5 cents.
A typical fair or carnival will charge you 12% to 30% of your gross for allowing you to set up your "grab". And you'll have to write off the capital expense of your tent and figure in transportation costs and other miscellaneous expenses.
Actually, the tent isn't that big a problem. I checked three suppliers that specialize in carnival tops and found old but serviceable 10 x 14 tents complete with side wall, bag, poles and stakes for as little as $25.00 complete. A brand new tent of the same size can go as high as $200.00. Here, if you're interested, are the names and addresses
Garber Canvas Products Co.
P.O. Box 36 74
Hollywood, Florida 33023
