By Logan McHenry
Lamp staff
CHATHAM — Senior citizens who reside at the Villas of Holly Brook got to relive their teenage days at the Seniors Citizens Prom on Friday, March 17.
The St. Patrick’s Day prom acted as a service project hosted by the Lincoln Land Community College Honors Program.
“The best thing about it was dancing with hot college girls,” said one of the residents in a conversation with Alicia Windisch, a member of the Honors Program.
Windisch mentioned one resident kept saying, “Life is good.”
The families of the senior citizens were also in attendance for Family Day. Dinner and cake started being served at 5 p.m. while the dance followed shortly after from 6 to 8 p.m. Balloons, streamers and other St. Patrick’s Day-themed decorations filled the room.
A photo booth was available for the residents to capture the good times. A lot of the residents loved taking pictures with other residents and the Honors Program volunteers.
Music of the 1940s and 1950s was played throughout the evening. Periodically, a popular dance song of today’s time would come on. Some of these songs included the “Chicken Dance”, “Macarena” and the “Cha-Cha Slide”.
Some of the residents danced, and some of them didn’t. However, it was evident that everyone had a good time.
“It was so nice to talk to each of the residents and learn about the lives they had and the family they grew up with,” said Katherine Hoppe, another Honors Program member. “It was also fun for some of them to teach us some dances from when they were our age.”
Another Honors Program student that helped with the dance, Will Acton, commented on his experience Friday night: “I really liked the service project overall, though it really didn’t feel like a project to me. It felt the same as throwing a dance like I helped with back in high school. The elders were laughing and dancing and it truly was like they were in high school again.”
“I liked this service projects more than others because it was more than just cleaning up highways,” Windisch said. “You got to see everyone’s reactions and see how much fun they were having.”
Flowers were given to all the residents at the assisted living facility, not just the ones that participated in the dance.
“I had a blast and would love to do it again,” Acton said.
Logan McHenry can be reached at [email protected].
