A special type of 'senior prom': Pleasant View Communities residents dance the night away

The conga line started right after the band began belting out a Johnny Cash song. Seniors Mark Winters and Esther Brosey joined other dancers as they snaked through the prom venue, passing balloon arches, a punch bowl fountain and the cupcake table. Most of these prom-goers, however, haven’t taken a final exam in decades. They recently attended a senior prom — senior as in “senior citizen” — for residents of Pleasant View Communities in Manheim. Volunteers from the Interact Club from Manheim Central High School helped stage the event.

“I think it’s about honoring old memories and creating space for new ones,” said Jonathan Hollinger, the retirement community’s president and CEO.

“It doesn’t matter how old you get,” Brosey said. “This is exciting.”

She would know. The 92-year-old attended her first prom 75 years ago with the same person — Winters, now also 92. Back then, the campus was called Manheim High School.

Harry Truman was president, gas cost 27 cents a gallon and people paid 3 cents to mail a letter in 1949 when Winters asked Brosey, then Esther Sangrey, to the school’s prom. The pair had shared the same homeroom class for four years of high school and knew each other well.

“I think the fact that our first prom was 75 years ago, and we’re together at prom now is something neat,” Brosey said.

READ: It's prom season in Lancaster County; here's how to share your photos with us

Hazel and Mark Nestleroth would agree. The couple has wonderful memories of their high school prom at Manheim Central in 1962, when they went on a double date with another couple. A new Ford Galaxy cost about $2,650 and a box of Cheerios went for 25 cents.

The Pleasant View residents met in seventh grade, went to prom as sophomores and married shortly after high school. They had five daughters.

“This sounded like a lot of fun,” Hazel Nestleroth said, pointing to a balloon arch that spelled out “Prom 2024” in gold balloons.

Prom M5 (3).JPG — Mark and Hazel Nestleroth.
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“Let me tell you about our first date,” Mark Nestleroth said when his wife shushed him and led him away.

Unlike the Nestleroths, Brosey and Winters spent more than 60 years apart. In high school, Brosey was interested in dating Winters but kept her crush a secret.

“We were good friends,” she recalled.

The two would share at least one dance at school functions.

“She was a girl of interest to me,” Winters said, “but I was into sports more than girls.”

The 1949 prom, in fact, was the couple’s first and only date during high school. Brosey recalled wearing a long white dress and proudly showing off the gardenia corsage Winters gave her.

The prom ended, though.

“We went our separate ways,” Winters said.

Pleasant View Communities Senior Prom [photos]

Reuniting

Brosey and Winters married other people and had children. Both families lived in Manheim but never socialized. Eventually, each couple moved to Pleasant View with their spouses, who have since passed away.

Occasional lunches in the community’s dining room led to discussions and shuffleboard and cornhole games. They often watch “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” together and sometimes share dinners.

“We seemed to really hit it off,” Winters said of getting to know Brosey again. “How good is it that after losing your mate, you can fill that gap with someone you love.”

Family members say they approve.

“He talks about her all the time,” said Tim Winters, Mark Winters’ son who lives in Atlanta. “They have feelings for each other.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Leslie Flory of Manheim, Brosey’s daughter.

Flory came early to prom to take pictures of her mother and Mark Winters and wish them well as they entered Pleasant View’s main building and walked down a pink, sparkly carpet.

“They’re both so happy,” she said.

The pair have been “serious” for about a year, Mark Winters said, but have no plans to marry.

As Tim Winters put it: “You don’t have to put a label” on their relationship.

READ: When is prom 2024 for schools in and around Lancaster County?

Prom M5 (1).JPG — Mark Winters, left, and Esther Brosey attended prom together as students of what was then Manheim High School. They reconnected later in life, and on April 26, attended another prom together hosted for Pleasant View Communities residents.
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The event

This prom marked the first time that Pleasant View Communities invited all its residents to an indoor gathering since the pandemic, said Aubrey Smith, Pleasant View’s community engagement coordinator. The retirement center has hosted sock hops and other dances, but employees decided to host the community’s first prom this year.

Volunteers offered corsages, cupcakes and sparkling punch. Others helped attendees navigate the auditorium or pushed wheelchairs.

While dressing comfortably was acceptable, some women wore glittery gowns or jackets while a few men displayed top hats.

About 23 college students joined the older adults for Pleasant View’s prom — because they temporarily live at the retirement center. They participate in One Life, a Christian gap year program at Cairn University in Langhorne, Bucks County.

Students take college courses and volunteer at least six hours a week at Pleasant View, said Hollinger. In addition, college students receive mentoring and advice from residents during the nine-month program.

“It’s a great intergenerational program,” Hollinger said. “Young folks get to learn from old folks, and old folks get to learn from young folks.”

Prom M5 (4).JPG — Pleasant View Communities residents participated in a conga line during their prom on Friday, April 26.
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And they shared fun at prom.

“This is really cool,” said Ashlyn Miller, 19, of California.

“It’s really sweet to see all the older people get up and dance,” said Gracie Connors, 19, of Coopersburg, Lehigh County.

Pleasant View’s full-time residents seemed to agree.

“This is my first prom,” Bonnie Likens said. “I didn’t have a date,” for high school prom, she recalled. “Back then, if you didn’t get asked, you didn’t go.”

Kathy and Jack Fitz also didn’t attend prom in high school.

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” Kathy Fitz said.

Jack Fitz didn’t have a choice. His family lived in Sydney, Australia, and high schools there did not hold proms, he recalled.

“We’re here just for the fun of it,” Kathy Fitz said. “We asked each other.”

INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTIONS

When officials at Pleasant View Communities in Manheim wanted to host a prom for the center’s older adults, Aubrey Smith, who coordinates community engagement, knew just where to get advice.

She relied on Manheim Central High School’s Interact Club, whose volunteers have worked with the retirement community for several years. After all, who better than high school students should plan a prom?

“We have a great collaboration with Interact,” Smith says.

“I love helping people,” says Payton Shoenfelt, a high school senior who served as the main student adviser for the April 26 event in Pleasant View’s main auditorium. About 30 Interact members volunteered for the event. The 18-year-old joined the service club when she was a freshman, spurred on by her brother, who belonged during his four years at Manheim Central. She began working at Pleasant View as a dining aide about two years ago and serves as a marketing intern.

“It makes me feel good to see people enjoying themselves,” says Schoenfeld, who lives in Manheim.

Interact volunteers arrived the day before the prom to give complimentary manicures and inflate balloons for the decorative arches. They also made corsages.

“We provide our time and our service to the community,” says Lu Ann Wise, a retired teacher and one of the club’s three advisers.

“We have a relationship with Pleasant View,” says Amy Burdyn, who teaches math at Manheim Central and advises Interact.

The group’s 111 active members have donated more than 2,000 service hours this school year. Activities include helping serve meals at churches, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and singing Christmas carols.

“It’s hard to keep over 100 kids who want to serve having places to go,” Wise says, “but it’s a wonderful problem to have.”

Schoenfeld’s first trip to Pleasant View came in 2020 during the pandemic, when residents had to stay in their rooms. Shoenfeld and other Interact members used chalk to write inspirational quotes and draw rainbows, unicorns and flowers on pavement and sidewalks outside resident windows.

Club members have knocked on doors to visit residents and have held events to help with technology like phones, laptops and computers.

Junior Caleb Creviston, 17, likes knocking on residents’ doors.

“I’ve discovered people have a lot of history,” the Mount Joy resident says. “I met a lady who sold a huge farm. It’s cool to hear what people did before.”

High school senior Owen Patten, who enrolled at Manheim Central this school year, views Interact as a way to meet people and give back.

“I’m new to this community,” the 18-year-old said. “Volunteering is a good way to get involved.”