Tea time took on new meaning for two very different groups of ladies on Tuesday afternoon as eighth graders from Polson Middle School visited the St. Joseph Retirement Community for tea, cookies, and conversation that spanned generations.

PMS gym teacher Cindy Templer often spends her Saturdays at the facility and has been getting to know the ladies of the older crowd for the past five years. It’s a group that includes artists, doctors, mothers and trail blazers for womens’ equality. They’ve lived through the great depression and seen their husbands go off to fight in a World War.

Templer knew she wanted to share that opportunity with her students, but she never thought 40 of them would show up.

“I wanted the girls to understand that courage to walk through life, no matter the hardships,” Templer said. “It turned out really great.”