GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The timeless nature of the suit and tie was again proven on Saturday by senior promgoers at Holland Home as they danced with their longtime dates at the Grand Rapids retirement home and hospice care facility.
"Been a while since we've been dancing," said Peter Weidenaar, holding the hand of his wife of sixty-plus years, Elsbeth. "But I'm willing to take a stab at it."
When the two met, their Christian high school didn't have a prom but rather "annual meetings," according to Peter. At choir concerts back then, he showed off his voice to the accompanist, his future wife.
"Any song you start, he knows how to sing it," Elsbeth said. "It's just been a wonderful, musical experience for both of us."
Donning formal wear donated by Belding Beauties & Bro's, residents walked and wheeled down a fourth floor hallway in Holland Home, gathering in a room decorated with streamers and disco balls.
“This is our first prom," said John Knight "We like to call it the senior prom as we're just a bunch of seniors."
When German paratroopers touched down in the Netherlands during World War Two, John's dad woke him up early in the morning, telling him, "War is here."
Later emigrating to North America, John met his would-be wife, Gayle, in Canada. She, too, was a Dutch immigrant.
“Her oldest brother was my best friend," John said. "When I went to visit him at his home, I fell in love with his younger sister.”
Dancing to the beat of classic music (with modern hits mixed in for the children and grandchildren in attendance), Saturday's prom stood as a reclamation of the past.
"There are not many people here that are still married to each other," John said, looking at his wife. "That's a privilege."
The blessing of life is not taken for granted at Holland Home. There's loss here, too.
"One does not be lighthearted about lots of things at this point in my life," said Wilma Knoll. “A lot of good things, but there are also the distressing things in our society.”
But with disco ball spinning from the ceiling, prom was a "positive," according to Knoll, and a reason to have another dance.
