() Comments
Students go to prom in their own parade float
By Marci Laehr
From a tractor to an ice cream truck to a fire engine to an elephant, seniors here have rode into Racine's annual Rotary Post Prom party on just about everything. So how on Earth do you make your prom ride stand out? That was the question a group of 12 friends posed to each other and their parents about two months ago.
They wanted to ride in style, behind the wheels of an uncle's antique hot rods. But a few engine problems nixed that idea.
So with several sketches, a bit of lumber and paint, a borrowed flatbed and a lot of imagination, the group created their own ride: a parade float.
"It's awesome," said Holly Commodore, one of the 12 prom-goers who rode on the float. She thought she would be going to prom in an old, rusty clunker car. She never dreamed she would be riding in style on a spectacular float she and her friends helped create. All her other friends were jealous.
Her favorite part of the float is the hundreds of tiny lights that cover it. "It's really pretty at night," she said.
Holly's favorite part of the float is the vines that wrap up poles around the park setting. "And the paper lanterns. They're cool," she said.
"We started planning it a month and a half ago," said Brian Quinn, another member of the group, who all became good friends last summer on the school's Western Field Studies trip. "It took a couple of weekends. It looks really nice."
After sketching out their idea, and getting the OK to borrow the enormous flatbed from the father of their junior friend Katie Gephardt, the group collected money from everyone involved to buy the supplies they would need. They bought paint and lumber. From neighbors and friends they collected fake greenery, Christmas lights and benches. And they gathered cardboard from the McDonald's restaurant where several of the girls worked to create pickets for a fence.
"We used our resources," Holly said.
Then the teens painted dozens of the cardboard pickets to border the float.
"They put it together piece by piece," said Kathy Veto, the mom of senior Laurie Pearce who stored the float at her home while it was being built. "They've been painting for weeks now. They all told me they don't ever want to paint again, ever. They've all been real good. Ever single one has been there to help."
"It's pretty inventive," Veto said. "They all got involved. It's been exciting. Everybody's gotten into the spirit of it. It's been kind of cool to see all these kids getting together and doing it."
In addition to storing the float, Kathy and Todd Veto rallied family members to help pull the parade ride off. Kathy's brother Chris Pearce actually drove the doolie truck that pulled the flat bed during the parade.
Laurie's aunt and uncle, Jerry and Kerry Milkie, aunt Kelsey Jones and grandma Carole Pearce also helped build the float.
Brian's parents, Pat and Dan Quinn, also helped create the monster float. They were glad to help make prom a special day for their son and his friends.
"They're really a great group of kids," Pat said. "They only graduate once."
"There were a lot of people who helped," Mindy said.
Holly said the prom ride of their dreams couldn't have happened without the generous adults to offered a helping hand. "They're awesome," she said. "I'm so grateful."
The weekend before prom, the group put the final touches on the float. They waited until nightfall to light the 1,500 twinkling lights by plugging in a generator that is fixed on the doolie truck.
"It's beautiful," Kathy Veto said. "It will be something they'll remember. It really came out nice. Even the guys are like, `Wow, that's cool.' " In addition to all the help they provided in creating the float, the parents also hosted a prime rib dinner for the 12 teens prior to the prom.
Brian Quinn and his date, Amanda Aude; Laurie Pearce and her date, Ian King; Mindy Chambers and Elizar Villarreal; Holly Commodore and Jordan Johnson; Noah Martin and Alicia Divalos; and Jacob Matelski and Alexis Hernandez had, perhaps, the perfect prom night thanks to their friends and family.
Kathy Veto said she loved doing it all because Laurie is her youngest child, and she didn't really get to plan anything exciting for her older daughter's prom. This time, she wanted to make the most of it.
"It's been wild," Veto said. "It's been a lot of fun."
On prom night, the group had a ball parading to Park High School and then Festival Hall on their unique creation.
Laurie said everything went perfect.
"We waved to everyone," she said. "We had candy we were throwing off to people watching the parade. A lot of people cheered and were waving and stuff."
The hard work was well worth it, Laurie said. And she and her friends thought their float was the most creative thing in the parade this year.
"There were a lot of buses," she said. "I still liked ours the best, though."
The only question left for Kathy Veto now is: "What are we going to do with this?"
Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!
