Hilary Godard, Gnesen Township, Minn.

When people who don’t know disparage North Dakota, I reply “Let me tell you a story…”.

On July 3rd last year we were headed west from Duluth, Minn., on a three-week trip. As we were leaving Minot on westbound US 2, we ran over one of those black rubber bungee cords. It punctured a tire and beat up the fender of our Subaru.

We had barely pulled off on the left, when three men from a gas patch equipment shop came across to help put on the spare and a state trooper arrived to slow down traffic. The men offered to try and patch our tire at their shop. While ultimately unsuccessful, they would accept nothing for their efforts from us grateful Duluthians.

They did recommend Harry’s, who had us on the road with four new tires in 100 minutes. Folks at Harry’s sent us to Ebeneezer’s for an excellent lunch.

What could have been a horrible start to the trip was instead a three-hour education in the kindness of the people of Minot. On this first year anniversary, we’d like to say thanks again.