Jordyn Oplotnick and Thomas Cook walk toward the Pleasanton Community Center during the Pleasanton High School prom walk-in on Saturday, April 6.
Story and photos by Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com
To say the walk-in for the 2024 Pleasanton High School prom was windy would be an understatement. Wind gusts up to an estimated 35 mph on Saturday evening, April 6, undid all but the most carefully pinned hairstyles as couples walked arm-in-arm about 50 yards from their vehicles to the shelter of the Pleasanton Community Center.
Wearing lucky aces in their hat bands, juniors Serenity Coen and Cody Ross watch their classmates arrive at the walk-in.
But the smiles on couples’ faces – as a crowd of a more than 100 relatives, friends, and curious onlookers applauded their arrival – showed that the wind was only a minor distraction. Dressed in their best attire, the young men and women were ready for a night of music, dancing and fun.
Looking confident in a formal wear, Mason Baron and Katrina Taylor smile as the walk down Main Street to the community center.
Of course, arriving in style remained part of the game. A white, six-wheeled strrreeeecch limousine, possibly large enough to hold the school’s entire junior class, was one of the first vehicles in the lineup. It was followed by a parade of sideshow-ready coupes, shiny lifted pickups, and even a fire engine with siren howling.
Lainey Umphenour rode a conveyor belt to the front of a Hay Monster during her entry, along with escort Talan Hamilton, to the prom.
A tractor that might have won the competition for most expensive ride to prom, and a flatbed hay-bale loader that spirited a young woman from back to front without taking a step were both a nod to the agricultural roots of the community.
Seeing her cousin Brooke Ernest all dressed up was too much for a tearful Maxine, who ran to hug her cousin during the walk-in.
Once all the vehicles had arrived and each couple photographed and applauded numerous times, the partygoers entered into the community center and were greeted by the thumping sounds of a deejay, strobe lights flashing across the walls, vinyl 45 records hanging from the ceiling and 33 1/3 records laying like plates on the tables.
It was going to be a memorable night.
More walk-in photos. Click on the photo for a larger image.
