What do Austin Swanson and Aisley Anna Zimmerman have in common? Yes, they are both Swansons.

Aisley was named after her great-great-grandmother, Anna Swanson, Austin’s mother. The uncanny fact is that Aisley attends first grade in La Conner, exactly 100 years after Austin, who died at age 101 in 2013, attended first grade in La Conner.

The Swansons have attended La Conner schools for generations. But to start school exactly 100 years apart is a milestone.

In the winter, Austin trudged through snow, sleet, and rain. Leading his three brothers, Vincent, Vernon, and Kermit along the dike, they a...