Girls' lemonade stand saved by the city

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Two St. Louis girls who stood up for themselves when their lemonade stand was threatened found business sweeter than ever Thursday.

Mim Murray, 10, and Marisa Miller-Stockie, 12, had been selling lemonade from their curbside stand for three summers to buy laptop computers before starting the seventh grade.

But, an unneighborly neighbor who didn't want them on his property blew the whistle and the city health department shut them down because they had no business license, the St. Louis Post Dispatch said.

Mim's mother, Germaine Murray, called a local television station and their Catholic pastor, Monsignor Salvador Polizzi, who complained to Mayor Francis Slay.

The next day, the girls were back in business and business was good. Health Commissioner Melba Moore stopped by to apologize, adding the vendor permit law makes exceptions for kids' lemonade stands.

"You don't have to sit there and take it," Mim said. Marisa added, "We learned to stand up for ourselves."