Stranger things continue to happen in Heflin, following the release of Season 5, Volume 2 of the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
When the season trailer was released this summer, Suzanne Payne noticed that one of the show's main characters, Jim Hopper, was wearing an ACE Hardware – Heflin, Ala.- trucker hat. That hat came from her father’s store, and although the store closed after a fire in the late 1980s, Payne knew she had a mission.
A screenshot of the trailer showing the hat was shared on social media. People from all over East Alabama and West Georgia shared the image and wanted a hat.
So, Payne began searching for a way to turn the moment into an opportunity.
SEE ALSO: Heflin's lost ACE Hardware store spotted in ‘Stranger Things’ series finale trailer
While searching for that opportunity, Payne’s nephew, who was named after her father, was diagnosed with leukemia. The only place for treatment was St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In a heartbreaking turn of events, the child passed away before he could go to St. Jude, but Payne found her purpose.
“I thought, ‘What better way to commemorate my dad's store and also honor all those children who did make it to St. Jude's, even though our loved one didn't,” Payne said. “So, every penny of profits from these caps goes to St. Jude's.”
Payne has sold a total of 192 hats, and the cause continues.
“I'm just amazed at how this has developed and why I ever question, I guess you might say, Providence, God, or whatever about why things happen, I’ll never know,” said Payne. “I don't anymore because they happen, and it's meant to be.”
Payne said she is thankful to honor her dad’s store while giving back to the community he loved so much.
“He was not a man of eloquent words, but he said more in a sentence than some people do in a whole paragraph or a whole page,” said Payne. “He would be proud of me. I know he would, because but he would be proud of me if I picked up a stick and put it out of the sidewalk. He wasn't a man of many words, but his words counted and he would be so proud.”
Caps are $30 and can be ordered online through December 31.
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