Dates, disasters, delights: Teachers recall prom memories

     It’s about time for the exciting memories of high school prom.  North Harford is hosting their junior/senior prom on April 29, 2023. Going to this special event can be a fun memory to take along with the rest of your life. It’s important to make the most of it.

     Government teacher Mr. Mark Filiaggi stated, “I had a really good time. I went with a bunch of my friends and was glad I was there.” Originally, Filiaggi decided he did not want to go since he “had not been seeing anyone at the time,” but is “glad that [he] did” and would have “regretted not going.”

     Filiaggi’s prom took place at Martin’s West, a venue in Baltimore used for things like banquets or weddings. He states, “My school had only a senior prom, not like a junior/senior prom. There were somewhere around 300-400 people who attended.”

     English and yearbook Mrs. Carla Harward believes her prom was “not a great experience,” she states. “I didn’t really have a boyfriend at the time, but I went with somebody that had asked me. He was kind of a jerk to me.” It was held at Martins Eastwind, a venue outside of Baltimore which is unfortunately closed. Somewhere around 500 people attended, according to Harward.

     To pick out a dress, Harward went with her mom to the Harford Mall. She explains, “Back in the day, we went to a shop in Harford Mall that was like a floral shop. My mom and I went there because that was where everybody went.” She picked out a “powder blue dress that was off the shoulder with ruffles,” but looking back on it now, she laughs, saying “it was ugly.”

      Tech and business teacher Mr. Brian McCormack went to the Bel Air High School prom. He states, “when I went to Bel Air, there were about 2800 students, so it was huge.” It was hosted within the high school building.

     McCormack does not look back very fondly on his outfit. He states, “I wore a stupid ugly white tux” along with green ruffles since “the girl that [he] was with told [him] that since she was wearing some green, [he] had to wear green.”

     He firmly suggests, “the young men should wear a James Bond looking tux. White shirt, black tie, black suit. That’s it.”

     Science teacher Mrs. Christine Jestel went to her prom along with her boyfriend of six months at the time. It was hosted in a “hotel with a fancy ballroom,” according to Jestel. It was only a senior prom, Jestel states, “maybe around 300 people attended” since her graduating class consisted of about 375 people.

     Jestel looks back on her memories from that night. She states, “A bunch of friends and I got together to take pictures at a local lake, [and] we all used limousines to go to the prom. I remember all of us taking turns standing with our heads out of the sun roof of the limousine before we left and everyone had fun singing and dancing during the night.”