Swaying to the beat of musical hits such as “The Twist” and “Staying Alive,” University students from the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and Chi Omega sorority kicked up their heels with residents from Alpine Spring Assisted Living and Community at the Valentine’s Day Senior Prom on Tuesday evening.
Delta Sigma Phi and Chi Omega organized the dance because members wanted to volunteer their time, rather than simply donating money, to fulfill their chapter community service requirement.
“This event is something unique and different, and it goes back to what fraternity and sororities did at the start, 60 or 70 years ago, when having a good time was getting dressed up and going out like this,” Delta Sigma Phi member Alex Yale said.
About 30 fraternity members, 80 sorority members and 100 Alpine Spring residents attended the evening’s events.
Alpine Spring residents voted Annetta Fae Peterson and Clarence Larson to be their prom queen and king for the evening.
“I think this is just wonderful; this is the first time I have ever been king,” Larson said.
Peterson, Larson and his wife, Lorraine, go ballroom dancing three to four times a week, and they dance a little bit of everything from the waltz and foxtrot to the samba and the rumba, Peterson said.
“I have been dancing since I was knee high to a grasshopper,” she said. “And I am having a lot of fun tonight. I haven’t been around young people for so long. It’s nice.”
Members of Delta Sigma Phi and Chi Omega took lessons from University dance instructor Tim Cowart before the prom to learn the foxtrot, waltz and salsa. They also made valentines and gave boutonnieres and corsages to each resident attending the evening’s festivities. All the members from both houses signed the valentine cards.
“We have wanted to do something like this for some time. Basically, we wanted to spend time with people who do not normally have interaction such as this,” Delta Sigma Phi Philanthropy Chairman Justin Zuiker said. “We plan to make this an annual event. Just look at all the smiles on their faces — why wouldn’t you want to do something like this?”
Out on the dance floor, Bob Wearne, 82, and Courtney Warner, 18, cut a rug with huge smiles brimming across their faces.

“I am having a blast,” Warner said as she patted Wearne on the shoulder. “Bob’s a real good dancer.”
Wearne said that he hadn’t been dancing in a long time but it was wonderful.
Even for those who could not get out on the dance floor, the event proved to be a good time. Ruth Vaupel, 80, said she loved watching everyone dance and would be out there with the rest of them if it weren’t for her broken hips.
“I don’t know how I got to be so old,” she said, adding that she and her husband, Bill, danced all the time before he passed away three years ago. “Being here tonight reminds me of him,” she said.
For many Alpine residents, the dance was more than a rare occasion. Several residents who attended the dance have Alzheimer’s disease, which prevents them from going to events outside the facility because they often wander away in social settings.
“It is absolutely awesome. I have seen more smiles tonight than I have seen this entire year. We have residents here who never come to activities, and they are absolutely loving it,” Alpine Springs activity director Tracey Poupa said.
For Peterson and Larson, the dance brought out their younger spirits.
“Oh, I am young. I am 50 years old; I have been 50 for the last 20 or so years,” said Peterson.
Larson disagrees.
“Her nose is getting longer every second,” he said.