George and Lucia Simmons are long-time Weehawken residents and active senior citizens. When they heard about Weehawken High School students planning a dance strictly for the seniors of the township, they were excited.
“Most of us didn’t have a prom to go to when we were younger,” George Simmons said. “This was a chance for us to go back in time.”
Senior Lillian Laabs agreed.
“You never hear of anything good that kids do,” Laabs said. “Only the bad things make the newspapers. This was something very good that the kids did.”
For the second straight year, the members of the Weehawken High School Student Council volunteered their time and energy to organize the dance. With the gym already decorated for the school’s semi-formal dance last Friday, the students decided to hold a dance for the seniors a day later, complete with food, music from a disc jockey and dancing.
“We really had a blast doing it,” said Student Council President Miguel Hernandez. “It’s always good to give back to the community. I know after last year that the dance was something that the seniors really look forward to.”
More than 120 seniors came to the dance, which featured food donated by Mayor Richard Turner and the Township Council. There was plenty of music and good times between the senior citizens and the high school students, bridging a generation gap.
“That was the best part for me,” Laabs said. “Being with the kids who treated us so wonderfully. They asked us to dance and they couldn’t do enough for us. It really was a special time for all of us. It really made you feel proud that these kids cared that much about us.”
Richard Terpak, the school’s athletic director and the Student Council Advisor, thinks that the dance goes a long way to help communication and interaction between the seniors and the students.
“I think it goes a long way to erase misconceptions on both parts,” Terpak said. “It shows the kids that seniors are people too and shows the seniors that the kids do care about them. The older people don’t get a chance to be with the younger people that often, so it’s really refreshing.”
Carmela Facchini, the township’s director of senior citizen services, agreed.
“We called it ‘The Senior Citizens Prom,’ ” Facchini said. “I think it’s absolutely wonderful what the kids did. Last year, we did a lot of the work in organizing it, but this year, the kids coordinated everything. And our seniors just loved it. It’s really good for both sides. The seniors love anything that has to do with the kids and the kids get to see the seniors. I think they all love to interact.”
The students took a lot of the seniors out on the dance floor. They formed a conga line and did “The Electric Slide,” and “The Chicken Dance.”
“It was hilarious,” Hernandez said. “We were dancing all night long. They were teaching me moves that I never learned before.”
“It was a lot of fun,” said Karla Paula, the Student Council vice-president. “We really had a good time with the seniors.”
Simmons couldn’t have praised the efforts enough.
“When we walked into the gym, it was really going back in time for a lot of us,” Simmons said. “Our lives came alive, because of what they did. They all made us feel a million times younger. We all got up and danced. You worry about the arthritis pain tomorrow. We really could have gone another six hours.”
“It was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., but there were seniors outside at 4:30 p.m., lined up to come in,” Terpak said. “It was a nice night out for the seniors and it was really something to see them get along together so well.”
Hernandez said that he thought the night showed a lot of township residents what being a teenager is all about.
“It feels good that we were able to give back and allow them to have such a good time,” Hernandez said. “And we had a good time in doing so. It makes people see that we’re not shallow and materialistic as people think we are. It also taught us that we’re going to be in their shoes someday and we would like to have the same courtesy given to us. You could see by the smiles on their faces that they really enjoyed themselves.” Terpak said that the event has become such a success that plans are already in the works for the next senior citizen prom.
“I can’t wait,” Laabs said. “Those kids really made us feel wonderful.”