By Olivia Shumaker
Review Intern
It was the seniors? night to have a party’though not in the usual sense. On Thursday, June 7, from seven to eight-thirty p.m., 30 residents of Autumn Ridge Senior Living in Clarkston were treated to their very own Senior Citizens Prom.
‘It was nice to see everyone having fun and enjoying themselves,? said junior Emily Locke, the student in charge of the event. ‘I thought it went really well.?
The event was run through Lake Orion High School’s National Honor Society branch, as a service project available for all members. Originally, a recently deceased Lake Orion student, Marissa Romsek, started Senior Citizen Prom; this year’s group modeled the event as a memorial to her.
The building was decorated with bright streamers, Chinese paper lanterns, balloons, confetti and colorful tablecloths, with separate areas to dance and eat. Students brought punch, lemonade, and various desserts, including a cake which read ‘Senior Citizen Prom 2012?. Among the many guests enjoying the prom were various married residents, including one couple that celebrated their 70th anniversary two days prior and one resident who used to work on roller coasters at Cedar Point several decades ago.
Residents received corsages at the start of the night and were serenaded by an accordion player. He played songs including ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame? so the residents could dance or clap along. One woman got up and did a little jig with her walker, earning applause from her housemates for her bravery and athleticism. Another resident learned, with the help of the visiting students, how to do the chicken dance, an amusing sight for all to see.
At the end of the night, the students crowned a prom king and queen, choosing a couple that had been married for over six decades. In addition, they had a prize giveaway for the residents to remember the night. They brought in artwork donated by the Orion Art Center for the residents to hang up in their rooms, consisting of various nature pieces including a photograph of bleeding hearts flowers and a farm painting.
The Lake Orion National Honors Society members who took part in putting on the Senior Citizen Prom look forward to repeating the success next year, and being able to see how happy it made the recipients of their goodwill’as well as being able to teach the chicken dance again.
‘My favorite part was probably crowning the king and queen,? Locke said. ‘They’d been married a really long time and it was nice to help them celebrate it.?