At "Our Night in Time!"

On April 9, 2005 it was Prom Day for Class 2005 of Hamilton High School, Chandler. Its motto was "Our Night in Time!" I had the honor and pleasure to spend the night with HHS students and staff at the Prom Night venue.

A March 31, 2005 poster

Preparation for the Prom

First, I would like to point out that I signed up for that night in July 2004, right on the eve of the new school year. I put the name of the place - Arizona Historical Society Museum, on my calendar. During the school year I saw many posters that reminded me about the prom. In fact, I was at the prom as a formal chaperone of the students. A week prior to the event I received my Prom assignment via e-mail. From the spreadsheet I learned that I had to supervise three events: Second Floor Exhibits (8-9:20 p.m.), the Courtyard with the band (9:20-10:40 p.m.) and finally the Lobby with the DJ (10:40-12 p.m.). Cheryl Laughlin, an English teacher, was the coordinator of the event. She sent us detailed directions about our responsibilities and gave us maps of the place. She was the first person that we met when we entered the museum at 7:30 p.m. on April 9. Dressed in an elegant black dress, tense, but with a smile, she welcomed us and directed us to the cloak room. Cheryl had sent us a message with a list of a couple of things to watch out for. The chaperones had to take care of the decorations - some of them were 6-foot tall stand-ups of famous people from throughout history. We had to keep your eyes peeled that students were careful while in the areas of the exhibits. Both Boyan and I walked almost all the time and we did not see a single student to touch or damage the exhibits. On the contrary, the students were reading the posters and captions and walking around with curiosity.

All Dressed up

The students arrived in pairs - a girl and a boy. Most of the boys were dressed in black suits and some of them were wearing white suits. The girls were very elegant and most of them were wearing long dresses. I noticed that most of the girls and some of the female adults had flower bracelets while the boys and the male adults had roses in the button holes. I have to find out whether they wear these only during the Prom Night. There were a few photographers in the museum and all the students and teachers lined up for their pictures to be taken on a special background - a blue starred sky, flower pots and a bridge. Boyan and I chose pose number 18. There were hugs and kisses, laughter, smiles, and dancing all night long. Maybe for some of the girls it was their first time to wear high-heeled shoes. As new shoes usually hurt, some of the young ladies were walking barefoot.

Phoenician Fauna

We stopped at the window with information about the animals in Phoenix area. Now I know that Jack rabbit can live in an urban area if there are open lots or a desert area nearby. Jack rabbits need open space.

Old and New Transport

We learned that the growing car culture in the East Valley overtook the development of the mass transit. In 1887 the first streetcar line pulled by horses and mules, began in Phoenix. A four-mile round trip cost a dime. The streetcar system shut down by 1948 and now buses provide the main form of transportation for Phoenicians without cars. I may say that it is not efficient, as the busses seldom pass and they do not crisscross all main streets. When our car was broken and for 8 days in December 2004 we did not have a car and were stranded at home at Christmas, we experienced the public transport system in Chandler. We had to walk for hours to buy our groceries. Once we were a threat for the traffic as we were walking along a new road without sidewalks and a police car stopped and the policeman offered us a ride back home. We saw on display the first U-Haul, America’s finest rental trailers. Now their successors are large trucks with the “U-Haul” sign on them.

A Happy POW

Another fact that caught our attention was about the immigrants in Arizona in the 1940s. A great influx of Americans into the military service during and after WW II caused severe labor shortages across the country. As a result, prisoners of war were employed in a wide variety of jobs. In Arizona, thousands of POWs worked cleaning canals, harvesting crops and maintaining military vehicles. The POWs were key in helping to alleviate the agricultural labor during the war. By 1945 German POWs in Arizona had harvested nearly 90% of the cotton crop of the state.

At the Chocolate Fountain

There were lots of yummy treats: two chocolate fountains for the strawberries and eclairs (small round pastry filled with whipped cream), yellow lemonade, plain bottled water, American coffee for the adults, candy, and fancy cakes.

Do You Have a Sweet Tooth?

A table of candy and fancy cakes

A Small Talk with Anju

In the courtyard a band was playing mellow tunes from history, and in the Lobby a DJ was working hard. About half an hour before midnight Mr. Hermanski, a history teacher and Cheryl announced the royalty winners - the Queen and the King of the prom. The ribbon of the Prom Queen was put around Brooke’'s neck and Mike H. got the hat of the Prom King.

At midnight in the parking lot of the museum we saw the students getting into their prom cars - long white and black limousines. The Prom for Class 2005 was a well-organized and enjoyable event for HHS.

Thank You for the Nice Night

Thank you for the nice time with you, dear friends from HHS! My school in Arizona rocks.