Senior prom: Brings back the good years for residents of care facility in Tremont

Jul. 1—TREMONT — The Dixie Cups were singing "Chapel of Love" and, for a little while, it was 1964 once more and Lucy Blickley was at her senior prom in the gym at Nativity BVM High School.

"I wore a white gown with red gloves and shoes to match," recalled Blickley, 76, a resident of Tremont Health & Rehabilitation Center.

Blickley's deja vu moment came at a senior prom — emphasis on "senior" — Thursday afternoon in the center's Gathering Room.

About 50 of the long-term care center's 135 residents got to dress up, listen to oldies-but-goodies and step back in time to when they were young and the world was theirs to conquer.

Coming after long periods of isolation courtesy of COVID-19, the prom's party atmosphere brought a renewed sense of normalcy to people who grew up in post-World War II America.

"Our residents needed a pick-me-up," said Cari C. Kohr, the center's life enrichment director, who was moderator and host. "The past couple years have been hard on our residents, and they needed to get out and party."

The center went all out to create an atmosphere reminiscent of high school proms in the 1950s.

The women wore wrist corsages and glittery tops, and the men sported red roses on their dress shirts. The room was decorated with balloons and emblems of the decade, including a poster of a '57 Cadillac.

No prom would be complete without a king and queen, and this one, the center's first ever, was no different.

King Richard Wertz and queen Mary Snyder wore crowns and were accorded a position of honor beneath an arch of balloons as the DJ played "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."

Wertz confided, however, that he never got to attend his high school prom in Northumberland County.

"I dropped out of high school and joined the Navy," said Wertz, who's 67. "I spent a few years refueling aircraft on the USS Kitty Hawk late in the Vietnam War."

Unfortunately, the king and queen were unable to dance. But they were served, along with everybody else, a generous slice of red velvet cake with buttercream icing.

DJ Tanya Erdman, of Carbon County, kept the party and patter going with quizzes and one-liners.

In honor of residents celebrating birthdays, she played Johnny Maestro singing "16 Candles" and asked if anyone could name the group that backed up the singer.

When Erdman hinted, "It's the name of a toothpaste that's not Colgate," someone responded, "The Crests."

Blickley, who said she was a waitress at the Distlefink Restaurant, near Schuylkill Haven, back "when I had long black hair," worked out on the dance floor to Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On" and Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba."

She was joined by Lisa Wolfgang, a center licensed practical nurse, who wore her prom dress from 1989 at North Schuylkill High School.

"I believe the prom ended with Bon Jovi's "Never Say Goodbye," Wolfgang said. "Bon Jovi was big back then."

Jackie Robinson, the center's administrator, said the senior prom was part of a concerted effort to energize residents following the COVID-19 crisis.

Last week, residents attended a carnival in Pine Grove. Future outings include trips to Hollywood Casino in Grantville and the Schuylkill County Fair in Summit Station.

"It's important to get them up and going and enjoying themselves," Robinson said.

Smiles of recognition spread across the room when the DJ played the theme songs from "Laverne & Shirley" and "All In The Family."

Some in the room sang along with character Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor): "Boy, the way Glenn Miller played, songs that made the Hit Parade. Guys like me, we had it made. Those were the days."

It took Arlene Nester, who turns 79 on Friday back to when she graduated from Blue Mountain High School in 1961.

Growing up in New Ringgold, she had a record collection of 45s and albums, and she remembered dances featuring the Jordan Brothers at Renninger's near Orwigsburg.

"It takes you back to the good years," said Nester, a retired garment worker at Argo Mills in Orwigsburg.

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007