Senior citizens reminisce at prom night

ELKHART, Ind.— It may have been some years since your high school prom, but today at an Elkhart assisted living facility, a different kind of senior class has its own prom party tonight.

For some it was their first time.

At Brentwood at Elkhart Assisted Living Facility, the average age of residents is 87, and they have two centenarians, but that’s not stopping them from dancing the night away.

Thursday was a first for many.

Some couldn’t attend their high school proms because they were busy working or starting a family, others simply could not afford to go.

Thursday afternoon, they got to experience the big night and reminisce on the past.

Surrounded by good friends, music, and a photo booth.

The event was postponed due to the Covid outbreak, and this is just the second large event the facility has been able to have since the pandemic turned the world upside down in 2020, leaving many senior citizens feeling isolated.

But this event that had been planned for months gave them the chance to dance like they were young again.

"We were kind of upset when they postponed it but then when they found out they were going to do it later, that really made us happy,” said Jim and Ruth.

The love birds got to be each other's first prom dates, after 21 years of marriage.

"It's wonderful being able to get our seniors out of isolation, and being able to participate and be together and not be distanced from each other and have their families come in and just get back to normal,” said Stephanie Maupin the Executive Director of Brentwood at Elkhart.