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First-ever Senior Prom shows that fun knows no age limit |
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Written by Tom Chapin
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Wednesday, 28 May 2008 |
 These Senior Prom-goers danced to a number of different songs from a number of different time periods. In this case, however, everyone circled up for “The Chicken Dance.” (Photo by Tom Chapin/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY -- There was neither a theme nor a curfew, and there were no chaperones. After all, these prom-goers have spent their lifetimes as the adult supervision, keeping children, grandchildren and sometimes even great-grandchildren in line.
And Saturday night, it was their turn to cut a rug and let loose, just like way back when.
The Beta Sorority’s first-ever Senior Prom -- for only those 50 and over -- attracted many people Saturday at the Pantall Hotel’s Rooftop. There were couples, some who attended stag and others who arrived in groups.
“One of the ladies was in her 80s and said, ‘I was never to a prom when I was in high school, but now I’m going to get a chance,’” Beta Sorority President Marlene Shaffer said.
“We would go dancing a couple times a week, and people would start talking about a prom,” said John Zizak, a Pittsburgh native who was accompanied by his wife Wonita -- she in a red dress and a red corsage, he with a red tie and rose on his lapel. “It didn’t mean anything to me.”
“He was a wild man,” Wonita added.
And thus, Wonita accompanied John Zizak to his first-ever prom -- high school or otherwise. Better late than never, they reasoned, since the Zizaks will celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary in August.
Saturday’s event was also Tucker Carlson’s first-ever prom.
“Oh, it’s fantastic,” he said, fashioning a purple boutonnière on his lapel to complement the purple corsage he had purchased for his guest, Irene Grube. “It’s the only one I ever had.”
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said, adding that she, like many others in attendance, had read about the event in The Punxsutawney Spirit or heard about it via the radio. “We were all excited about it.”
Not all of the prom-goers attended as part of couples, and not all of the revelers hailed from Punxsy, including some who traveled from Saltsburg, Tionesta, Phillipsburg and Treasure Lake.
Six friends -- members of Red Hat clubs in Brookville and Treasure Lake, as well as the Brookville Area Senior Citizens -- attended stag, as five of the six ladies’ husbands have passed on. They jokingly referred to themselves as “The Widows’ Club.”
Betty Keth’s husband didn’t make it to the prom, she said.
“He doesn’t dance,” said Keth, of Summerville.
“It is wonderful,” said Shirley McCoy of DuBois, while Kay Akerly, also of DuBois, added, “I thought it was marvelous.”
Not that there weren’t some good-natured shenanigans going on. Akerly said one of the members of The Classics -- who provided the music -- introduced himself as Fred Astaire.
Nice try.
The only concern for Amy Roberts -- who traveled from Barberton, Ohio, on the invitation of Shirley Stellabuto, whose son is married to her daughter -- was the woman-to-man ratio.
“It’s just the girls,” Roberts said, sitting at the friends’ table which was closest to the band and the dance floor. “We need a few more men. It’s off a little, but it’s not bad.”
Roberts -- who claimed that Barberton is the “Chicken Capital of the World,” which may or may not explain her exquisite “Chicken Dance” performance -- said the guys who skipped the Senior Prom don’t know what they were missing.
“It is a smorgasbord for a man,” she said.
Other friends at Stellabuto and Roberts’ table were the first to the dance floor and the last ones off, and for good reason.
“We’re young at heart,” explained Kathy Bodenhorn of Punxsy. “We have grandchildren that keep us active” -- and some even have great-grandchildren.
The “senior” prom concept isn’t new, as many organizations have hosted events similar to Saturday’s event in their respective communities. In some cases, high school students will either host a prom exclusively for senior citizens, invite local senior citizens to their own high school prom, or pair high school students with older adults as an intergenerational activity.
Shaffer said she heard about the senior prom idea after a trip to Erie, where her son’s mother-in-law described a similar event that has been held for several years at the Rainbow Garden.
She took the idea back to the Betas, who agreed that it could be a good fund-raiser for the group, which awards two annual scholarships to a male and female PAHS senior. The group also hosts an annual Salad Luncheon during the Groundhog Festival and contributes to the Punxsutawney Memorial Library and the fund to maintain lighting along the dike mural, among others.
The Beta Sorority first announced its plans to hold its own Senior Prom several months ago, but some of its members acknowledged that they were a bit concerned about the initially-slow response. There were plenty of tickets available two weeks beforehand, Shaffer explained, but no one was buying.
That changed Saturday, when most of the couples chose to buy tickets at the door, and about 90 guests filled the Rooftop.
Shaffer said when calling to book The Classics for the dance, one of its members was surprised.
“He said, ‘What took you people in Punxsy so long? We have three in DuBois,’” she said.
“Everybody there were strangers to each other, but everybody was so congenial, before they left, they were all friends,” Shaffer said.
Friendly enough to even weave their way through a huge conga line during one song.
“Someone said to me, ‘I can’t believe people in their 70s still act that way,’” Shaffer said.
The Betas hope to host a Senior Prom next year, but probably not over Memorial Day weekend again. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 May 2008 )
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