Prom isnít just for teens any more
By JOSHUA NICHOLS
Sun Newspapers
Posted 5/30/02

Editors note: This story, which features Milaca residents, Evelyn and Cliff Larsen, is reprinted from the May 1, 2002 Eagen Sun Current.

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They dressed up in their best clothes, gathered with friends and danced the night away. At the end of the evening, they found out their peers had voted them king and queen of the prom.

Sounds like an average prom, but in this case the king and queen werenít merely dating, but had been married for more than 60 years.

"It was such a wonderful time and it was a very, very nice evening," said Cliff Larsen, 85, of The Commons on Marice "Senior Prom" April 24. "My wife [Evelyn], and I are both in our 80s and we wondered whether we would tire or not, but we made it through the entire evening and had a great time."

The Commons on Marice is a senior living community north of the intersection of Pilot Knob and Yankee Doodle roads in Eagan.

Katie Halvorsen, the activities director at the community, decided that if the seniors at Eagan High School get a prom, why shouldnít the senior citizens at Commons get one too.

"It was something that I had tried one other time in college and I thought it would work out well here," Halvorsen said. "I wanted to have a big, special event for the residents."

Halvorsen said she is always trying to come up with activities that will make residents feel welcome in the senior living community and part of the group.

"Many times when residents come into the Commons they havenít been very active because they were either caring for a sick spouse or they were living alone," Halvorsen said. "We try to create activities that will get them back into things again."

The Senior Prom was a successful event toward that effort as more than 100 residents attended the event and friends and family members took part as well. They enjoyed a gourmet dinner and dessert buffet and dancing to Big Band music in the senior living facilityís two-story atrium.

Dozens of businesses helped out by contributing door prizes and merchandise for the event, Halvorsen said.

As Halvorsen began thinking about staging the prom, she enlisted the help of 15 resident volunteers who became the royal court for the event. Those residents help plan and promote the prom around the facility.

Residents had several chances to vote for the king and queen of the royal court with the winners announced and crowned at prom. Eagan High Schoolís homecoming king and queen, Ash Walter and Carrie Phelps, crowned the Larsens at the promís coronation.

"We were very surprised," Cliff said. "We had heard from many people that they had voted for us, so we thought we had a good chance. It was thrilling to win."

The Larsens have been married for 63 years and will celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary Oct. 1, 2002. The prom was the first for the couple because proms didnít exist when they were in high school in the 1930s in South Dakota.

"We really didnít do a lot of dancing back then," he said. "We were more into roller skating, but this did bring us back a little."

Evelyn, 83, was born in North Dakota but moved to Oldham, S.D., which is about 50 miles northwest of Sioux Falls, S.D., before high school. The two went to the same high school but Cliff was three grades ahead of Evelyn.

The Larsens were married a year after Evelyn graduated in 1937. They lived in Milaca, Minn., for more than 50 years before coming to The Commons on Marice in September 2001. Evelyn was a teacher and Cliff ran a cabinet shop in Milaca.

Cliff and Evelyn have three sons and three daughters. One daughter, Elaine Millam, lives with her husband, Donald, in Apple Valley. Their other children are scattered across the country, living in Illinois, Connecticut, Georgia and Washington.

Cliff said the couple enjoyed the music and taking pictures with friends most of all during the prom. He said they canít wait to have the photos developed to share with family and friends.

"We enjoyed it so much and it was such a grand time," he said. "We received so many congratulations from everybody who was there. We felt very honored and quite privileged to be in that position."

Halvorsen said the prom is likely to become an annual event based on its success this year.

"It was so wonderful and everything went perfect," she said. "The residents really enjoyed it and everybody had a great time. You really couldnít have asked for anything better."