By Bill Reynolds

La Conner Community News

La Conner High sophomores took a short field trip on Friday that went a long way toward building meaningful relationships and gaining insight into life’s many opportunities.

The teens spent much of their school day interacting with La Conner Retirement Inn residents as part of the high school’s annual Career Choice and Community Service Week ahead of dismissal for summer break.

While at the inn, the students met with residents to read stories, join them (and quite often their pets) on walks downtown, provide nail care, play dominoes and board and card games, work on art projects, and, most importantly, share mutually beneficial quality time.

A major bonus was gleaning wisdom and hearing life stories shared by inn residents.

For sophomore Landon Summers, his time with resident Al Ferari, who regularly strolls around town, will be forever etched in his mind.

“He’s such a cool guy,” Stevens said of Ferari, with whom he visited at length. “His room is full of Seahawks stuff, but the coolest thing he has there is a nickel Coke machine.”

As Stevens chatted with Ferari, his sophomore classmate Finley Hancock did resident Deanna Scot’s nails. Nearby stood resident couple Brad and Barb Bradford, who served as grand marshals of the 2023 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Parade on La Conner’s First Street.

When Brad, a retired teacher, was asked if he had shared with the La Conner students any anecdotes from his days in the classroom, he responded with one of his trademark quips.

“No,” chuckled the witty nonagenarian. “They don’t have all day.”

The students and teachers Peter Voorhees, Joel Hingston and Jacob Naegeli were able to spend a good portion of their day at the inn, however. They stayed through lunch, a taco bar prepared by the inn’s kitchen staff. Student Angus Poprycz provided dessert with a pecan pie he bought from the Pie Dive Bar on the waterfront.

Student Xavier Keo knew from the get-go what his role at the Retirement Inn was going to be.

“I’ll be walking with grandma Mary Ann and her dog,” Keo said, referring to Mary Ann Lowell, who recently moved into the inn from her La Conner home.

Making new acquaintances and connecting with relatives and longtime family friends was just one aspect of the June 12 student field trip to the inn. Voorhees said it was also an opportunity to learn about the past careers of residents as well as finding out from Allie Kester, the La Conner Retirement Inn’s Life enrichment director, the variety of jobs now filled in the caregiving industry.

Voorhees said the students earlier in the week had visited the Warm Beach Senior Center in Stanwood and toured the Western Washington University campus in Bellingham, all part of a week designed to introduce local youth to multiple career options and the value of community service.

La Conner students also volunteered at the La Conner Sunrise Food Bank last week, among other off-campus Career Choice and Community Service opportunities.

La Conner Schools staff planned much of the week’s schedule, focusing on developing a broad range of visits and activities.

“The school district has been really wide open in how the staff puts this together,” Voorhees said.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.