Article excerpts:

“A teenage boy’s fishing bait stand, stocked with worms, sodas and candy, is a threat to government order. Max McKinney’s home-built, 6’-by-15’ shed perched at the end of his farm driveway in Spooner, Wis., has been deemed a zoning violation and shut down by county officials.

After snapping photographs of the stand as proof of McKinney’s assault on county code, zoning officials issued a cease-and-desist letter, ordering closure under penalty of daily fines.

“It’s hard to believe,” says McKinney, 15. “I’m angry and sad at the same time. I thought I was working hard and doing the right thing. Instead, they say I broke their regulations.”

Thou shalt not bootstrap, thus declareth the county?

Red Wigglers and Bobbers

“Who threatens a 15-year-old over selling ice cream, worms and t-shirts on a farm?” asks McKinney’s grandfather, Tom Foss, 65, a retired Washburn County farmer. “The answer is bullies and bureaucrats. This story is about as un-American as it gets. We’re out in the country on a farm, so just leave us alone.”

McKinney is a workhorse: No lounging in a bedroom playing video games or scrolling an iPhone. He handles three summer jobs as a canoe rental crew member, little league umpire and babysitter. A bait stand was supposed to be his fourth job.

“I started planning for summer and thought a bait stand on the farm would be perfect to work on the weekends and maybe make a little money,” McKinney says. “I want to be a doctor in the future, and I’m willing to work hard and save money any way I can.”

“I was proud because I decided to put the stand at the same spot where my grandfather has sold crops and vegetables since he was my age, at the end of our farm driveway.”

When McKinney approached his grandfather and asked for permission, Foss was extremely proud. “We encouraged Max,” Foss exclaims. “We were excited that he took the initiative. It’s special to see your grandson following along in learning how to work.”

Link: HERE