May 13, 2009

Senior Citizens Prom brings back memories for guests

By Anna Maria Basquez

Lillian Montgomery attended her first prom during the Great Depression when each year became more of a luxury to attend, when an expensive dinner out beforehand wasn’t in the plans, and when, she said, “we walked there.”

That was in New Britain, Conn., in 1936. Montgomery was 16. The event was at her school’s gymnasium.

“I had my first long dress, silk hose and heels that my uncle bought me,” Montgomery said. “Back in the Depression days, my mother was a widow and they didn’t encourage people to go to school. She wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy anything for me to go to the prom.”

As the Depression deepened, she and her three siblings left school early to go to work. She worked waitress and factory jobs and whatever would “make ends meet” so she could help her mother. She later would earn a GED and moved to Denver.

On Saturday, May 2, Montgomery made up for many high school proms missed by attending for her third yearly Mullen High Senior Citizen Prom and was given the highest designation of any girl at the dance. She was crowned Prom Queen.

“It was a shocker,” said Montgomery, now 89. “I was numb. It was quite an honor for me.”

She was adorned with red roses, a crown, and a basket of gifts.

About 376 senior citizens from throughout the Denver metro area attended the 16th annual Mullen High Senior Citizen Prom.

A hundred student volunteers put the event together. They made corsages, took 20-minute dance lessons to learn the Fox Trot and the Waltz an hour before the dance, and escorted each senior down the red carpet for “The Stars Are Out” Hollywood tribute theme prom.

Movie-star photos adorned the gymnasium and Dave Bell and That Great Little Band performed.

“It’s a way to honor them and help them re-live their younger years,” said Suzy Buglewicz, spokeswoman. “You see women in fancy ball gowns just dressed to the nines. There was a woman who came in her mink coat. She had to be over 80. They love that this is all done to honor them.”

Prom King Glen Beichley, 92, said it was a dance that started an entire lifetime with his late wife Mary Beichley.

“I met my wife at the famous Aragon Ballroom in Chicago,” he said. He recalled the exact date: Oct. 18, 1945. “I was an officer in the Navy and I was stationed up at Great Lakes. I was there for only six weeks. Two weeks before my tour of duty ended, I went down there to the ballroom and I’d seen this cute little girl and got nerve enough to ask for a dance.”

Less than seven months later, they married and were together 57 years and had six children together before her passing.

“I always loved to dance,” he said. He attended with three people from his senior community.

The “Tennessee Waltz” and the “Electric Slide” were among the songs played through the night.

“It’s just a heartwarming, positive environment, and a nice interaction between the generations,” said Cherie Gilbert, 45, of Lakewood, whose daughter Brittany, 17, volunteered.

“Most of them end up dancing,” said Brittany Gilbert. “When they’re leaving they’re all smiling.”

Ryan Newton, 15, a first-time volunteer at the event said it’s “the joy on the peoples’ faces,” that he would remember most.

The event was free to the seniors and the majority of seniors attending were couples. But curfew for them was short as compared with the youth of our day. The prom lasted two-and-a-half hours, closing up by 9:30 p.m.