Senior Momentous: Fort Frye students bridge generation gaps with special prom
From left, Fort Frye High School juniors Hannah Weiker, Hazel Baker and Zoey Miller talk with Belpre resident Nancy Emerick, seated, Weiker鈥檚 grandmother, and her sister, Joe Frye, at the Senior Citizen Prom organized by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club on Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Marietta resident Cindy Ward, left, chats with Fort Frye High School junior Kallie Boley at the refreshment table during the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Fort Frye High School senior McKenzie Schaad stands at a table and talks with, clockwise from left, her grandparents Richard and Karen Best of Vincent and great-uncle and great-aunt Ray and Doris Schaad of Waterford during the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Students and senior guests take to the dance floor in the Fort Frye High School gym Friday during the Senior Citizen Prom organized by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo Provided)
Doris Schaad and Randy Trotter share a dance after their names were drawn as the king and queen of the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the Fort Frye High School Students Solving Problems club. (Photo Provided)
Fort Frye High School student William Thompson, left, dances with Francis Wright during the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo Provided)
From left, Fort Frye High School juniors Hannah Weiker, Hazel Baker and Zoey Miller talk with Belpre resident Nancy Emerick, seated, Weiker鈥檚 grandmother, and her sister, Joe Frye, at the Senior Citizen Prom organized by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club on Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Marietta resident Cindy Ward, left, chats with Fort Frye High School junior Kallie Boley at the refreshment table during the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Fort Frye High School senior McKenzie Schaad stands at a table and talks with, clockwise from left, her grandparents Richard and Karen Best of Vincent and great-uncle and great-aunt Ray and Doris Schaad of Waterford during the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Students and senior guests take to the dance floor in the Fort Frye High School gym Friday during the Senior Citizen Prom organized by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo Provided)
Doris Schaad and Randy Trotter share a dance after their names were drawn as the king and queen of the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the Fort Frye High School Students Solving Problems club. (Photo Provided)
Fort Frye High School student William Thompson, left, dances with Francis Wright during the Senior Citizen Prom put on Friday by the school鈥檚 Students Solving Problems club. (Photo Provided)
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BEVERLY - Little Hocking resident Jo Frye only had one suggested improvement for Friday's Senior Citizen Prom at Fort Frye High School.
"I think you need to change the name from 'senior citizen' to 'vintage,'" she told members of the school's Students Solving Problems club.
Frye attended the event with her husband Gary and sisters, Nancy Emerick and Doris Decker. They were invited by Emerick's granddaughter, Fort Frye junior Hannah Weiker.
"I love it," Emerick said of the event. "I think it's really cool."
The Senior Citizen Prom was a tradition at Fort Frye for years when Pam Bennett was a student there. It had fallen by the wayside when she returned in 2020 as an American history teacher, but she told kids in the Students Solving Problems club about it and they brought it back in 2023.
"I think it's great to get the seniors into the building," Bennett said. "It tends to connect the two generations."
It's also a proven way to generate interest in the club, a service organization that takes on projects like answering letters to Santa and preparing birthday kits for elementary school students. Bennett said she always gets questions about the group from other students after the event.
Senior Julia Harper said the Senior Citizen Prom is one of her favorite activities and helps show the impact even small things can have on a person's day.
"I love seeing people that we see at work come in and bring out their fun side," said Harper, who works at a local pharmacy.
The school's food science classes make the refreshments for the event, where bingo and card games are played and, yes, there is inter-generational dancing as well, Bennett said.
About two dozen senior citizens attended this year's event. Marietta resident Cindy Ward said she usually comes with a group of friends but they were under the weather this year so she went solo.
"We've come before and always had a good time," Ward said. "They always do such a good job. ... I know they put a lot of work into it."
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.