Seniors and seniors pair up for a party

ERIC SUCAR staff Jack Keller joins in a dance with several Freehold Township High School students during the Senior/Senior Prom, which brought together members of the Freehold Township Senior Center and students in the FTHS class of 2009. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Netty De- Pasquale took extra care primping for her date with her husband, Nick, on May 7. She wanted everything to be just right. After all, it was a senior prom they were attending.

Netty is 79 years old and her husband is 80.

Dressed in black palazzo pants and a dressy black and white blouse, Netty prepared herself for a night of fun at Freehold Township High School, where the annual Senior/Senior Prom was being held.

It would appear that proms are not just for young people anymore — at least not in Freehold Township.

Individuals age 65 and over had their own version of a prom at the high school on Elton-Adelphia Road. If they missed their high school prom years ago, this event may have made up for it.

The event was coordinated by Freehold Township Senior Center Director Arlene Golub and Freehold Township High School teacher Alexander Dohan. The dance also welcomed members of the FTHS class of 2009 to mingle with the senior citizens.

"We wouldn't miss it," Netty said. "We love the way the kids interact with us. We try to do their dances and they try to do ours."

Although Nick DePasquale said he prefers to do slower dances such as the fox trot, he did join a line dance to make his wife happy.

"No one wanted to stop dancing," Golub said as the event wound down. "The seniors and the high school students look forward to this event every year."

The high school students provided the decorations, gift baskets and held fundraisers to buy accessories, and also used their own money to make the event a success. They also served the food to the seniors.

Golub said Investors Savings Bank in Freehold Township donated the bulk of the catered food from Raintree Super Foodtown, which included an Italian buffet, while La Dolce Bakery in the Raintree shopping center provided pastries, cakes and other sweet desserts to top off the meal. Ice cream sundaes were supplied by Larry Goldberg, who owns King Scoop.

The teenagers chose the prom's theme of Casino Royale and set up the high school cafeteria to make it look like a casino. Decorations were done in black, white and red and the students used balloons imprinted with designs of playing cards.

Music for the event was provided by Good Vibrations. DJ Jeff Holstein spun tunes from the 1940s and 1950s, all the way up to current music.

"And they line danced to all of it," Golub said, adding that, "they (the senior citizens) would line dance to 'The Star- Spangled Banner' " if necessary.

Golub said aerobics instructor Peg Cosgrove, who teaches line dancing at the senior center, gave the high school students a crash course in line dancing before the prom so they would be ready to participate on the night of the dance.

The prom included the selection of a prom king and a prom queen chosen from among the senior group. The high school students selected Grace Martin-Culet as the prom queen and Jack Keller as the prom king.

For their part, the senior citizens chose a prom prince and a prom princess. Julia Freire and Nick DiMaria were named to those honors.

"It's a very exciting event," Golub said.

This marked the second year that Dohan, who teaches a peer leadership class at the high school, worked on the event with Golub.

Dohan said more than 100 students are part of the peer leadership program at the high school.

"They had a great time," he said. "They all talked about it in school the next day."

Students used a donation of $75 from Village Silver of Freehold Township, and then added their own money to buy the decorations for the prom.

"They had fun shopping for all the decorations and they loved serving the food and mingling with the seniors," Dohan said.

The peer leadership program students have raised more than $20,000 during the year and donated funds to organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association.

Honored guests at the prom included Deputy Mayor Anthony Ammiano and Golub's husband, Township Committeeman Eugene Golub, Freehold Regional High School District Superintendent of Schools James Wasser, Freehold Township High School Principal Elizabeth Higley, and Freehold Township Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Sue McGough.