Ready For Senior Prom
Being a clueless male, I did not really think about the fact that May was "prom season". But it is! And Sue B. contributed some scans from her personal collection. They have the GDB watermark because these are not "Lou and Sue" photos. But I am merely the host!
So... it's 1968, and this young lady was probably dressed in the height of prom elegance at the time. The white gloves, the fur stole, the updo... it's awesome.
If you look at the framed photo to the left, you can sort of see this young lady with her hair down. I think she looks better that way (and it's how she probably looked every day in real life), but... doing up the hair was such a "grownup" thing to do.
There's the date! She's too good for him! I wonder if they stayed together? The boyfriend looks like he is in a band (he plays bass I'll bet), "The Crustaceans".
You can tell from the grin on his face that he has a flask in his car. Will the two of them take sips? Or will he dump the contents into the punch bowl in the gymnasium?
"Ok ma, enough with the pictures already!".
She's wearing her corsage, so they'll be out the door in mere minutes. I hope the two of them had a beautiful night to remember.
Thank you, Sue B.!
19 comments:
Just a quick FYI: I don’t know these people...they aren’t my family or friends. Feel free to comment accordingly....
Sue
Major-
It's a good thing 'those kids' are heading out the door as the photo montage ends - as all those palm plants seem to be taking over the room-!
I'm wondering just what that piece (or pieces) of audio gear is in the cabinet. And as usual, I must be the bearer of bad tiding by pointing out all the images are flopped. (A witness protection thing, perhaps-?) I think it must be working, as I don't recognize either one of them-!
Thank you Sue for reminding me of all the proms I used to work at my last job. In some ways - very little has changed; in others - it's a whole different world.
Nanook, I forgot that guys wear backwards clothes. ;o)
Sue
Hmm, her get-up is a little too much, I think. The stole, for instance. And the pattern on the dress reminds me of wallpaper. Other than that, she's good to go.
I'm wondering what's keeping that philodendron from collapsing to the floor.
I like that vase, on the left of the credenza. And what the heck is all that electrical mish-mash inside the cabinet? Shortwave radio? Actually, there are quite a few nice-looking vases and accoutrements here.
When "the date" isn't playing with The Crustaceans, he's playing a linebacker on the varsity football team.
As Nanook has noticed, there's another philodendron in the last pic... actually, more like two or three... or four. Soon, there will be large, odd-looking pods growing out from the creeping plants.
Sue, you really know how to pick 'em. Thanks. And thanks to you too, Major. A fun Saturday.
The anthem to all proms in 1968 was still “CHERISH” by the association….
In my living room I have a similar entertainment credenza ( Scandinavian walnut) … I don’t get to type the word “credenza” enough. Mine is about twice the length as the one on the picture … it has tambor doors and made by a company called VARGAS … my parents bought it new after they got married in 1963. My dad saved everything in files and I also have the original sales invoice for it , the manufacturer brochure and the price tag with strings. I have all these things for all my parents 1963 furniture that I saved. Like Minnie Pearl like to impress people by leaving the price tags on things.. the tandem credenza was designed to have a high fi on one side and a tv on the other … but I use it for all my audio … turntable .. amplifier … tandem cassette .. cd carousel and some record storage … yes I still have and play records…..I also still use books and I also still have a house phone … about once or twice a month I oil the vintage walnut furniture with WATCO FURNITURE polish about 10 years ago I finally used up an original vintage can of the stuff … it smells soooo good … almost better than turpentine….. it makes furniture polishing a joy as I clean and polish to PeopleMover music … sadly the current WATCO furniture oil doesn’t smell as good as the vintage so sometimes my furniture looks dull.
I love all of the (Danish Modern?) furniture in the pics. It looks like they had a couple sets of "stack" tables. My parents also had all Danish Modern furniture in the living room and their bedroom. They bought it when they got married. We still have most of it. A few living room pieces escaped over the years, but the bedroom set is complete. There is a similar credenza in my mom's living room right now, that has been in the same spot since they bought the house, in 1968. Well, I guess it was moved a few times when the carpeting was replaced. It had drawers in that center section, but my parents took the drawers out and put a TV in there. I don't even remember the TV being in there, but according to my mom, that's where they had it for a while. Fortunately, the drawers were saved. They were stored in the garage for years, but eventually found their way back where they belong, thanks to me. Oh, and we have always kept records in the two side spaces. My mom and dads records were kept in the left side and my brother's and my children's records were kept on the right side. And all of those same records are still stored in there today! Anywho.....
Mike, I guess this would be a few years too early for the ever so common, "Stairway To Heaven" prom theme. Oh, and I was given a few pieces of my grandmother's furniture from the mid-sixties, and I also have the accompanying "Lane" furniture tags with the strings still on them! Hey, she saved them all those years. How could I throw them out?
Thank you, Sue and Major! And happy Prom Month to all who celebrate it!
Yikes, Prom is next week. Hopefully it's fun. :)
Ahh 1968. My grad year. I'm sure I have similar pre-prom photos somewhere. We also had Grad Nite at Disneyland!
Love the mid century lights and furniture. The component stereo system was cutting edge back then. Most audio entertainment systems were simply one piece "hi-fi". My dad was an audiophile and had component systems starting in the mid 60s.
Of course the guy is a bass player. Contrary to popular belief we always got the cutest girls. :)
"Ok ma, enough with the pictures already!"
"But I need to use up the roll!"
That barn painting looks uncannily like the one my parents kept over the sofa.
@ MIKE-
Forget "credenza" - you used "tambor doors"; and for some odd reason, I was thinking about tambor doors just the other day. (It probably had to do with referencing "bi-fold doors" in a phone conversation).
And as long as we're using 'prom' and 'Watco furniture polish' in the same sentence, I went to junior and senior high schools with Kevin Dennis, offspring of the 'Dennis' that made up Watco-Dennis Corp. This was when there was a factory in Santa Monica. (I don't know what the corporate structure was back then [1960's], as Watco was a UK company dating back to the early 1920's - and perhaps the 'Watco-Dennis' relationship was how the product was manufactured/distributed in the U.S.) Ultimately, Watco sold to Rust-Oleum back in 2006.
Sue, admit it, these people are your best friends!
Nanook, just days later the entire family was eaten by those plants. When will they ever learn? That cabinet does sort of look like one of those old stereo (or “hi-fi”) consoles. Don’t blame Sue for the backwards images, I flopped them all when I got drunk on six bottles of vanilla extract.
Sue, that’s how they do it in Europe, I’m told!
JB, aw, this was her big night! I’m sure she (and her mom) wanted it to be a “movie star moment”. And I’m sure her date was pleased as punch! In photo #2 you can see a framed picture behind the girl, and how she looks with her hair down. I think it looks nicer, but again, getting a new ‘do was part of the fun. The electrical stuff inside the cabinet is how the family communicated with the NASA astronauts. As we all did in the sixties. I’m pretty proud of the band name “The Crustaceans” and wish it was a real garage band. Like The Sonics or whatever. I’m glad Sue remembered prom, because I sure wouldn’t have thought of it!
Mike Cozart, oh boy, I like some songs by The Association, but I’ve never liked “Cherish”, even when I was a kid I thought it was “blah”. Whenever I see the word “credenza” I think of a Cat in the Hat animated special, where the Cat sang about his “moss-covered three-handled family gradunza”. I know, different word, but still. COOL that you still have one of those entertainment consoles! My dad had one (the components had tubes that glowed a comforting orange), and when he moved on to something more sophisticated, I inherited his old stereo. That was the age when I really got into listening to records! I still have a record player and some LPs, but I admit that I don’t listen to them much. At some point I had to reduce the clutter and sold a lot of my vinyl at Amoeba on Sunset Blvd. I got a pretty good chunk of money for it all! Those near mint New Wave records, you know. I wonder what is in WATCO furniture polish that smells so good??
TokyoMagic!, my grandma had a really nice set of “stack tables”, I really wish I’d kept them. My mom probably gave them away. However, she did not care for anything even remotely “modern”, if it wasn’t “classic European”, it was garbage in her eyes. She once told me that she remembers when you could buy authentic Craftsman furniture for nothing because it had fallen out of fashion. Now each piece sells for a darn fortune. I love that your mom’s credenza is still in the same spot is has occupied for decades! It must be in exactly the right location. My mom still has a lot of old records in her “TV room”, mostly very worn and well-loved as they say. I wonder if they have any value? She certainly doesn’t listen to them any more. She likes CDs and loves her iPod! I didn’t go to prom, I went to three different high schools, so I was too shy and didn’t know any girls well enough to ask them out, though looking back there was one girl I should have definitely asked! Oh well, live and learn (hopefully).
Andrew, Oh man! I hope you have a wonderful night!
Grant, I don’t know how you feel about possibly sharing your pre-prom photos (assuming you can find them), but… I’d love to see them! Yes, mid-century stuff is still the best. Well designed, and not boring. Mostly, anyway. My dad had a nice Pioneer reel-to-reel tape deck, we drove him crazy by playing with it - boy I wish we still had the recorder and the “hilarious” tapes that we made, I’m sure they are cringe-worthy. And hey, we saw the picture of your wife (when you were still dating), so pretty!
Melissa, you are probably right, mom went right over to the Photomat the next day to have that precious roll of film developed. “We’ll send some prints to your grandparents!”.
Nanook, of course you were thinking about tambor doors, who doesn’t? If I don’t know what to talk about at parties, I will talk about tambor doors! I did not know that the Watco company was from the UK. Crazy, man, crazy!
My prom was in 1986 and the popular prom slow dance music theme was TRUE by Spandau Ballet … ( also used in 16 Candles- with Molly Ringwald) Currently a commercial regarding some money transfer AP uses “TRUE” set at a modern wedding reception. The film Pretty in Pink - with Molly Ringwald uses both 1967 “CHERISH” and 1984 “TRUE”…… Molly Ringwald was the “anette funicello “ of the 1980’s ….
Golly, what a beautiful girl, with splendid furniture.
Her date does look somewhat oafish. At least that’s what Mrs. G’s parent said of me.
Major, we were in SLO on what must have been prom night there. Our son used to work in a tuxedo shop years back, and he was having flashbacks to accepting all the returns the day after. Nightmare fuel.
I took a date to the prom one year, and I can’t remember any of the music.
Thanks Sue and Major.
JG
Major-
I wasn't a big fan of "Cherish" either at the beginning, but with a bit of reflection and really listening to the lyrics, it's quite a sweet, sad song. There's a live version of The Association performing "Windy (not exactly a favorite); "Along Comes Mary" & "Cherish" in 1979 from the Cocoanut Grove; perhaps technically a little sloppy, but is more than made up for by the energy of the performances. Maybe you'll agree... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwxhyPdEYxQ
"...[WATCO furniture polish] makes furniture polishing a joy as I clean and polish to PeopleMover music..."
Mike, what kind of music do you listen to when you clean and polish your PeopleMover"??
Andrew, I sure hope you do a mega post with photos, on your blog, of you and your prom date! ;o)
Sue, sorry to disappoint you, but I will not be choosing to do that. ;-)
Oh man, that commentary on the photos slayed me! 🤣
The Crustaceans/ the flask… pure comedy. You forgot to add that he works cleaning up in Ol’ man McGillicuddy butcher shop after school, which of course is how he paid for the whole night. Any comparisons to Wally Cleaver’s pal, ‘Lumpy’ are purely coincidental…
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