Editor,

I’m writing to make an attempt at thanking a group of Coupeville High School seniors who helped me and my two children on Saturday, March 30. I didn’t get their names, but in the course of conversation, I learned that they had helped out at a mountain bike race at Fort Ebey, one was a participant in Science Olympiad, they were dropping a friend off on an early Saturday evening.

My kids and I came up to camp at Fort Ebey from Bainbridge to camp for a night. It was a gorgeous day, and we took a long walk, ending up far down the beach with no apparent trail back up the bluff to the camp. We found our way to a long dirt road, which we knew to be south of the campground. The boys came by as we were making our way back to the highway, and when we flagged them down and told them our situation, they gave us a ride back to our campsite, saving us nearly four more miles of walking.

I’ve worked with youth for more than 20 years as a teaching artist and a museum educator, and I can assure you that I have seen a gamut of behavior. These are good guys.

I wanted to thank them for helping people from whom they stood to gain nothing, but for whom doing something simple and kind made a big difference. It is a wonderful trait to cultivate, and positive reinforcement for teenage boys is so often in short supply.

Kristin Tollefson

Bainbridge