Close Your Eyes and See Your Teachers at Their Proms
By Emily Ellington, Courtney Emond, Amber Lauze, Gavin Bourgoin and Bailee Kinney
As we get closer to the PRHS 2018 prom, the talk of school constantly veers toward plans of dates, “promposals,” and about what everyone is going to wear. Believe it or not, many of our teachers were at one point standing in our shoes. However, many things over the generations have changed. The stories and memories that are left behind become oddly familiar to our own. Here is what we learned by getting nosy about our teachers' prom experiences.
From Tom Chaisson, art teacher and PRHS icon:
"Her name was Allison Bibber. She was a goddess. A blonde goddess." Mr. Chaisson is talking about his prom date.
From Jayne Ray, attendance secretary and PRHS icon:
"I'm sitting at the table between dances, and he (her date) was a loser, and he was so excited about what he was talking about that he elbowed me in the nose."
A good prom depends on, among other things, the idea of people talking to each other face to face. It's the reality of a time-honored tradition, an event anticipated by high school students all over the country, especially in this generation. It's fair to ask, “So, what was it like back then?” From what we have gathered, prom can be an exceptional time of beauty, humor and love. Or not. Some teachers disliked the prom experience and what it stood for. One teacher, who wishes to remain nameless, said, “I was pressured into going by my mother and older sister, and I hated every minute of it.”
Mrs. Ray was willing to share her story with us. Back in her high school days, one of the most important things in the grand scheme of prom had not been invented: the promposal. High schoolers had to actually ask each other for dates in a face-to-face conversation. Can anyone say “boring?”
In truth, this generation needs promposals (if you’re too old to understand, a prompposal makes the request for a date a creative event by itself). But back in Mrs. Rays’ time, it was different. Maybe that’s why she remembers her date so vividly. Her date was named Scott, a 6-foot, four-inch-tall young man who wore an elegant brown suit with a pink tie. Mrs. Ray herself, at 5-foot-two-inches tall, wore a homemade off-white gunny-sack dress adorned with little pink flowers. They stole the show, as far as we know. Our source is Mrs. Ray.
PRHS teachers and their dates may have been just as fashionable as Mrs. Ray at their proms. Jennifer Williamson, math teacher, went with a young man named James Wolfe. James wore “a tux with black pants, a white jacket, and a black bow tie,” while Mrs. Williamson wore “a long, white, satin dress with spaghetti straps.” Nicely done.
Many girls in our school hope for a promposal. Most of the teachers we interviewed did not do a promposal. Maybe it’s a social media thing. If you search on Youtube, or any social media is general, you are able to view thousands of promposals. Even though some promposals have become elaborate, Katrina Seeley, a special education teacher and also a graduate of PRHS, told us that she received a love letter that served as a promposal, and she still owns that letter today.
Some other responses we received were very simple and nothing spectacular — but it’s still fun to hear our teachers talk about their proms. In the past, most people just asked their date by simply saying “Will you go to prom with me?” Perhaps a few were even more casual, such the experience of Jasmine Bowen, Spanish teacher. Her date, now her husband, came up to her and, assuming they were going to be prom dates, said, “So what color tie should I get.?” Not very romantic per-say, but memorable nonetheless.
Unfortunately, we all know that not everyone enjoys their prom. Also, not everyone goes to prom. Teachers who are outgoing now may have been shy in the past. Chad Petherbridge, a special education teacher, was shy as a teenager and went to the drive-in movie theater instead. Charlie Franklin, math teacher, did not go to his prom because he “was very antisocial in high school, and there was no way you were gonna get me into a tux.” Many teenage boys must feel the same way, now and in the past. Some high school traditions are not for everyone, and that's OK.
Mr. Franklin went on a date with his girlfriend anyway because she didn’t want to go to the prom, either. Ironically, the folks who don't go to prom often wind up doing something special on prom night anyway They create their own tradition and make the night fun for themselves. And it’s …. memorable.
By Emily Ellington, Courtney Emond, Amber Lauze, Gavin Bourgoin and Bailee Kinney
As we get closer to the PRHS 2018 prom, the talk of school constantly veers toward plans of dates, “promposals,” and about what everyone is going to wear. Believe it or not, many of our teachers were at one point standing in our shoes. However, many things over the generations have changed. The stories and memories that are left behind become oddly familiar to our own. Here is what we learned by getting nosy about our teachers' prom experiences.
From Tom Chaisson, art teacher and PRHS icon:
"Her name was Allison Bibber. She was a goddess. A blonde goddess." Mr. Chaisson is talking about his prom date.
From Jayne Ray, attendance secretary and PRHS icon:
"I'm sitting at the table between dances, and he (her date) was a loser, and he was so excited about what he was talking about that he elbowed me in the nose."
A good prom depends on, among other things, the idea of people talking to each other face to face. It's the reality of a time-honored tradition, an event anticipated by high school students all over the country, especially in this generation. It's fair to ask, “So, what was it like back then?” From what we have gathered, prom can be an exceptional time of beauty, humor and love. Or not. Some teachers disliked the prom experience and what it stood for. One teacher, who wishes to remain nameless, said, “I was pressured into going by my mother and older sister, and I hated every minute of it.”
Mrs. Ray was willing to share her story with us. Back in her high school days, one of the most important things in the grand scheme of prom had not been invented: the promposal. High schoolers had to actually ask each other for dates in a face-to-face conversation. Can anyone say “boring?”
In truth, this generation needs promposals (if you’re too old to understand, a prompposal makes the request for a date a creative event by itself). But back in Mrs. Rays’ time, it was different. Maybe that’s why she remembers her date so vividly. Her date was named Scott, a 6-foot, four-inch-tall young man who wore an elegant brown suit with a pink tie. Mrs. Ray herself, at 5-foot-two-inches tall, wore a homemade off-white gunny-sack dress adorned with little pink flowers. They stole the show, as far as we know. Our source is Mrs. Ray.
PRHS teachers and their dates may have been just as fashionable as Mrs. Ray at their proms. Jennifer Williamson, math teacher, went with a young man named James Wolfe. James wore “a tux with black pants, a white jacket, and a black bow tie,” while Mrs. Williamson wore “a long, white, satin dress with spaghetti straps.” Nicely done.
Many girls in our school hope for a promposal. Most of the teachers we interviewed did not do a promposal. Maybe it’s a social media thing. If you search on Youtube, or any social media is general, you are able to view thousands of promposals. Even though some promposals have become elaborate, Katrina Seeley, a special education teacher and also a graduate of PRHS, told us that she received a love letter that served as a promposal, and she still owns that letter today.
Some other responses we received were very simple and nothing spectacular — but it’s still fun to hear our teachers talk about their proms. In the past, most people just asked their date by simply saying “Will you go to prom with me?” Perhaps a few were even more casual, such the experience of Jasmine Bowen, Spanish teacher. Her date, now her husband, came up to her and, assuming they were going to be prom dates, said, “So what color tie should I get.?” Not very romantic per-say, but memorable nonetheless.
Unfortunately, we all know that not everyone enjoys their prom. Also, not everyone goes to prom. Teachers who are outgoing now may have been shy in the past. Chad Petherbridge, a special education teacher, was shy as a teenager and went to the drive-in movie theater instead. Charlie Franklin, math teacher, did not go to his prom because he “was very antisocial in high school, and there was no way you were gonna get me into a tux.” Many teenage boys must feel the same way, now and in the past. Some high school traditions are not for everyone, and that's OK.
Mr. Franklin went on a date with his girlfriend anyway because she didn’t want to go to the prom, either. Ironically, the folks who don't go to prom often wind up doing something special on prom night anyway They create their own tradition and make the night fun for themselves. And it’s …. memorable.