Click to enlarge
Today, we set the controls on the wayback machine to minus 50 years for a journey back in time to a prom night when I drove a different machine, my Uncle Walter’s ’55 Chevy. We didn’t drink alcohol, we kept all our clothes on and we had a blast.
The girl on the left, the one with the big smile and bigger eyes is Joanne. Yours truly is standing next to her. I don’t remember the names of the other couple. The other girl was a friend of Joanne’s. The occasion was West Catholic Girls HS Senior Prom that was always held in December. Joanne and I both worked at Woolworth’s. When she asked me if I would be her escort I said of course. We had such a good time that I asked Joanne to my senior prom (West Catholic Boys) a month or so later.
Joanne and I dated on and off during our senior year. One time I borrowed my father’s 1951 DeSoto for a night out to a play at West Girls. That car was a beast and it had a short somewhere in the electrical system. I carried a wrench so I could disconnect one of the battery cables each time I parked the thing. Joanne had a terrific sense of humor and thought this was funny, so funny that our adventure became the talk of West Girls. Good thing my Uncle Walter was kind enough to lend me his super cool, reliable ’55 Chevy for the prom(s). LOL
The photo was scanned from a drugstore print I found in our family album a few months ago. The print had been sitting on my desk since. When I looked at it on Saturday night I realized that prom night was 50 years ago. I think it’s a neat photo so I tuned it up using PWP for a fun Monday Musings.
It is a neat photo. Wonder what became of Joanne?
Thanks. I was wondering the same thing. 50 years is a long time, eh?
OMG, John, I thought reading this and seeing the black and white photo–from 50 years ago–that you must be so much older than me! Truth told, only two years separated our proms. My picture was in color. Oh my, look at the fur–look out for red paint!
Hi Kathleen. I have a color photo from my prom but it was damaged in some bad places and I haven’t been able to fix it. People respected each other 50 years ago — no red paint then.
Nice Uncle! The girls *all* looked like princesses, quite the contrast from today!
Yeah Wayne, my Uncle Walter was a neat guy. I think the ’55 chevy was the best one of all from the ’50s. Princesses indeed and the prom was held in the ballroom at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel. I don’t know if I spelled that right. LOL
Great story, John. By telling it, you may have indirectly inspired a future blog post.
Thanks Kerry. I love stories, both reading them and telling them. Future blog post?? Yours?
Yup, mine. (Sorry for being so cryptic.) It will be the subject of my next entry (almost certainly within the next five days or so).
Well, you were easy to pick out of the photo even before I read it. And indeed, they do look like princesses. I love formals. Such fun. Thank you for sharing!
Red.
Thank you Red. The last time I wore a Tux was for Sue’s wedding. Did we ever have a grand old time that day. And the time before that was for Erin’s wedding, another great time.
John
[...] on his blog, demonstrates this underlying photographic principle on a regular basis. In a recent entry, using a photograph as the visual inspiration for a story about a senior prom circa 50 years ago, [...]