I recently had the opportunity to take a step back in time.

My husband and I came home for my 50th Friday Harbor High Class Reunion. Imagine walking into a room and being transported back to 1964 where you felt you were continuing a conversation that you had started 50 years ago.

Sadly, out of a class of 20, three were no longer with us but they were there in our hearts, and three couldn’t make it but they were with us in our minds.

I laughed, I cried and I remembered the most amazing times of my youth. I love you all so much.

Part of this wonderful week included spending four days at the San Juan County Fair. During those four days I realized that, while many of the faces of the people I talked to have changed, what hasn’t changed is the friendliness of the islanders, and I realized that it is the people that create the magic of the islands.

Everyone I talked to had a common goal, that is the care and concern for their community. Strangers became friends and friends became better friends, and I remembered Fairs of long ago, the smells, the fun and the safety.

I am proud to be a 2nd-generation islander, with a son who is a 3rd-generation islander and who gives so much to the community, and who loves it so much. My parents, Brian and Fern Ingoldsby, would be so proud, too.

I want to thank my classmates for welcoming us all home. I plan to come back to the Fair next year and I hope that I can spend all four days meeting and making new friends.

You all gave me one of the best weeks of my life, in a place that holds my heart.

Juanda Ingoldsby Krebs/Union Gap, Wash.