Hailey Fuchs Photo
Prom king and queen share a dance.
At 92, Herbie Mermelstein finally made it to the prom. And he made the most of it.
In fact, he was the prom king at an annual “senior prom” for elderly residents of the Tower One Tower East complex.
Memelstein never attended his high school prom, because he was drafted first. “I went to Uncle Sam, and Uncle Sam and I had a prom,” the World War II vet said with a chuckle.
At Tuesday night’s prom, Mermelstein swayed and bopped to the beat of the reggaeton hit “Despacito.” He was the life of the prom — so much so that his fedora was later replaced with a shiny red crown.
At Tower One Tower East’s prom for seniors — retirees, that is, not high schoolers — Freddy Ramirez, or “the Salsa King” as the tower’s CEO Jackie Carl called him, led participants in a Mexican dance routine they had practiced for weeks before the annual event.
The seniors laugh as Freddy, the salsa teacher, cracks a few jokes.
Guests sipped Mardi Gras margaritas, and the ladies clasped flower barrettes in their hair. Men in fedoras clapped along to the pulsating salsa music. Boys and girls from the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization joined the seniors on the dance floor.
Many others besides Mermelstein had had to miss their high school proms and were making up for lost time. For many of the elders, Tuesday evening’s event was their first prom. According to Carl, the community’s average age is 87; the country was in the thick of World War II just as most of the facility’s current residents were entering adulthood.
“I feel like I’m doing my senior prom at age 99!” exclaimed Grace Davis, a graduate of Hillhouse High School.
Seniors follow along to Freddy’s dances.
For others, who had experienced prom as teenagers, the night evoked memories of young adulthood. Charles Atkinson did not return home until five in the morning after he and some buddies danced their high school prom away 77 years ago. Norm Feitelson, a World War II veteran, experienced his senior prom in 1942 just before he left for a two-year deployment.
“The boys had just come back from service,” recalled Marjorie Rubenstein, who later married her high school sweetheart and prom date. “We had cocktails, but we weren’t supposed to!” she added with a giggle.
Eva Cooper, 93, described her 1941 high school prom as a quiet night of dancing where the women were dressed in gowns “all covered up” — unlike Tower One Tower East’s prom where “the music alone is wild.” She said her high school prom had “none of this wild stuff.”
Pearl Karnasin, 99, reminisced about a night spent entirely on the dance floor — so special that she still keeps a photo of her grey chiffon gown on the wall of her apartment. Margarita in hand Tuesday night, she could still recall her date, Seymour Kendall, a cousin’s best friend. And though Karnasin may not have hit it off with her date that particular night, she and Mermelstein found love at the tower’s senior prom last year. The couple held hands even as Karnasin swayed in her chair and Mermelstein hit the dance floor.
The prom king and queen share their first dance.
Mermelstein was eager to dance with his prom queen too. Esther Brochin, a native of Mexico City, had not even planned on attending the prom until her daughter brought her a bright blue gown. But once she arrived, Brochin never stopped swaying to the beat, even as friends congratulated her off the dance floor.
Nancy Durholz found the music “a little repetitive” but still relished the energy in the room. A singer and dancer her whole life, she said that music allows people to truly be “alive.”
“It’s vital to the heart, mind, and soul,” Durholz explained. “Life isn’t worth living without music. It doesn’t matter what kind.”
