Not quite as limber as they were as teenagers decades ago, a number of Ceres senior citizens busted some moves on the dance floor Thursday evening at a prom created just for them.
The city of Ceres Recreation Department hosted the dinner and dance event which brought out about 30 seniors dressed to the nines. They dined and then took to dancing to music ranging from Perry Como to Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” They also did the twist to Chubby Checker and tried a little disco.
The event gave Walt Butler a chance to momentarily escape the grief he’s felt after losing his wife Pat about a month ago. The two met at a 1965 Modesto dance event similar to the one on Thursday. Butler felt it was “time to get out.
“It’s not easy. People have been telling me to get out and do things.”
Settling into the setting, and glancing around the room, pierced with strobes of colored disco lights, the sense of loss was not far away.
“She definitely would have been here with me. She was a party animal.”
Eventually he got up to dance with Linda Escobedo who came for some fun with people her age.
Having dinner across from Butler were Lorenzo Cumbie and Susan Simpson, who describe themselves as “very good friends.”
Simpson and Cumbie came to Ceres from the Bay Area at about the same time (2010) on two different trajectories. She had been widowed in 1987 and met Cumbie who settled in Ceres to care for his aging mother – still doing well at age 91 – after his dad died.
Simpson wanted to attend the prom for the dancing.
“I’m a dancing fool but I can’t keep up with him because he is really, really into it.”
There appeared to be a detectable hint of romance between the two, Simpson teasingly admitting, “I let him kiss me once in a while but he has to beg me.”
The two met at a class offered by the city for seniors.
Cumbie immediately found Ceres to be a far cry from the big city and eagerly left the East Bay in 2010.
“I just couldn’t believe it when I walked down the streets and people said ‘hello’ to you, like yesteryear,” said Cumbie. “It kind of reminded me of the old world. People would say hello and make small conversations. It just blew me away and I wanted to get more and more and more.”
Eventually he got involved with other seniors at the healthy aging programs at the Community Center.
Simpson would come to know Ceres as a “small town, fun town.”
“Believe it or not – I know this is hard to fathom – but Oakland was like Ceres,” said Cumbie, “and the Bay Area was like here. You could leave your doors open. People respected you. You didn’t have to keep looking over your shoulders whereas compared to today.”
Across the room, seniors swarmed around Jeanessa Cerutti’s 321 photo booth for keepsake snapshots of the event. One of them was Cristina Pro, who noted that she missed her senior prom while attending Jefferson High School in Daly City.
Pro found some welcome fellowship by attending senior lunches at the center.
“They were very welcoming,” said Pro. “I’m alone and when I’m here I laugh a lot and enjoy their company.”
Recreation Coordinator Crystel Aguilar came up with the idea of a senior prom, saying “I thought they would love it. I don’t know if they love it but I love it for them.”
It was apparent the seniors did love the event, which stretched on for two and a half hours.
Funds from the Stanislaus County Department of Aging & Veterans Services helped to underwrite the senior prom and the dinner provided by Fresh Fork, a Ceres eatery. The grant of $17,000 stipulates that the city can spend $25 per guest.
The grant will help the city fund a number of upcoming activities for seniors who are at least 55 years of age. On the calendar are a:
• Senior Halloween Dinner and costume contest at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31;
• Ugly Sweater Lunch on Friday, Dec. 13;
• Chinese New Year event on Tuesday, Jan. 31;
• Trivia Hour with Friends and Family, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025;
• Luck of the Irish Bash, Friday, March 14;
• Tea & Talent Show on Friday, April 18;
• Cinco de Mayo celebration, Friday, May 2;
• Juneteenth, Thursday, June 19.
Many of the seniors who attended regularly partake in the senior lunch program offered at the Community Center where they enjoy socializing with others and a good meal.
The prom was made possible by a number of volunteers, many who wanted to serve the seniors.
“A lot of our staff wanted to work today because it’s a cute event,” said Aguilar.
