Link :
http://stillwatergazette.com/articles/2008/08/08/news/news120.txt

Lemonade stand now a bittersweet fundraiser

By ANDREW WALLMEYER
awallmeyer@acnpapers.com
(Last modified: Friday, August 8, 2008 1:08 PM CDT) LAKE ELMO - Though cancer took Kyle Tierney's life in March, the 7-year-old's spirit still drives a unique fundraiser to help make life better for other young patients at Children's Hospital in St. Paul.

Kyle's Lemonade Stand will return to Gorman's Restaurant in Lake Elmo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Last year's effort brought in about $3,000 that his West Lakeland family used to buy toys and electronics for the hospital's oncology ward.

The idea grew out of a simple request: after Kyle's ependymoma took a turn for the worse last year, he told his parents Kris and Rick Tierney the two things he most wanted to do were to hold a garage sale and have a lemonade stand. They happily obliged, and the resulting roadside business drew hundreds.

Kris Tierney said she expects Saturday's follow-up will be emotionally difficult for the family, but she can't think of a better way to honor her son.

"It's going to be hard, but we're excited to do it. It's something Kyle really enjoyed, and we were able to get a lot of neat things for the hospital with the money that we raised last year," she said.

Among the items purchased with last year's proceeds were an iPod, toys for a couple of play rooms, small prizes for the oncology unit's "treasure chest" and a digital camera and printer that kids now use to take pictures to illustrate the journals they write about their respective experiences.

Ed Gorman, a longtime friend of the Tierneys, told the family he would be happy to host the fundraiser at his restaurant as long as they wanted, and they are considering making Kyle's Lemonade Stand an annual event.

Of course, it will never be the same as it was last year.

"It's going to be bittersweet, since Kyle won't be there, but I think there is a large network of people who he helped bring together who will be happy to see each other and celebrate his memory," Gorman said.

This year, Kyle's 5-year-old brother Ryan will be pouring the lemonade - at least as long as he can sit still - said Tierney, who is expecting another child in mid-October.

No matter who pours the lemonade, Tierney said it will be difficult to find a better pitch man than Kyle.

"He had such a good time last year," she recalled. "One thing I keep remembering is that he would ask people, 'Would you like some lemonade?' and he'd push a cup towards them. And then they'd ask how much it was, and he'd say, 'It's free!' and then he'd tap his donation bucket. He was quite the little salesman."