Gavin Slusher was once again drawing people to the Canyon Area Library Tuesday afternoon. For the second consecutive year, the eight-year-old boy set up his lemonade stand in hopes of giving more money to the library.
When Slusher first moved to Canyon, he went to the library only to find some of his favorite books were not yet available. Rather than wait and hope for them to arrive, he took matters into his own hands.
Slusher went to the owners of the library and requested permission to set up a lemonade stand in the parking lot. His request was approved, and he raised around 400 dollars in donations. And, of course, the library used some of that money to order a few of Slusher's favorite page-turners.
Still, Slusher wanted more books for more kids to get their hands on. So, he was at it again Tuesday morning. Library workers, volunteers and locals brought animals to entertain the children while they drank lemonade and explored the aisles of the public library. Goats, rabbits, kittens, ducks, dogs (some of which performed tricks; all of which are therapy dogs), a chicken, a donkey and a cow provided laughs for the children, as well as some "petting zoo" education.
No stranger to interviews, Slusher finished his conversation with a shout-out to a well-known person in Canyon.
"Mayor, I'm a huge fan!"
The boy wants to be a mayor some day. Perhaps that is where he gets his love for books. And perhaps his love of reading will continue through his career down the road.
But one thing is certain now: Eight-year-old Gavin Slusher put his mind to something and reached the goal he was aiming for. That is a quality of any aspiring mayor!
