Long Island proms of the past: 1960s

With their hair perfectly coifed, and corsages and boutonnieres neatly pinned on their dresses and suit jackets, students at Oceanside High School's 1960 junior prom smile for a photographer while taking a break from dancing.

The entertainment for Hampton Bays High School's 1963 junior prom consisted of a drummer, a singer/guitarist and a woman playing an upright piano.

Bay Shore High School's class of 1962 celebrated its "Island Paradise"-themed prom.

Bay Shore High School students danced the night away at its "Island Paradise" prom in 1962.

Wearing crowns and capes fit for royalty, the prom king and queen of the Class of 1960 at Wellington C. Mepham High School in Bellmore reign over the affair.

The 1960 prom king and queen of W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury pose with their impressive crowns.

The prom for Class of 1960 at W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury appeared to be a patriotic one as students spent the night celebrating under stars and stripes.

Seniors at Islip High School take the slow train to Montauk on the Long Island Rail Road for their prom on June 23 and 24, 1961. Here, kids sing to the music as they wait in line at the bar for hot dogs, hamburgers and sodas.

Seniors at Islip High School take the slow train to Montauk on the Long Island Rail Road for their prom on June 23 and 24, 1961. The kids danced all night long to a rock 'n roll band in a baggage car and to an electric organ in the bar car. The rock 'n rollers where doing what they called the "Railroad Rock."

Seniors at Islip High School take the slow train to Montauk on the LIRR for their prom on June 23-24, 1961. When the train pulled into Montauk, the kids made use of the pool at the Montauk Surf and Cabana for a dawn dip.

Seniors at Islip High School take the slow train to Montauk on the LIRR for their prom on June 23-24, 1961. As the All Night Party on Wheels made its way back to Islip, many of the kids slept as best they could in the seats.

Seniors at Islip High School take the slow train to Montauk on the LIRR for their prom on June 23-24, 1961. Here, Seniors Gayle Cherveny, Ellen School and Eddie Surbeck look out from the rear of the train as it leaves Montauk on its way back to Islip.

Seniors at Islip High School take the slow train to Montauk on the LIRR for their prom on June 23-24, 1961. Here, two members of the party (Gerry Slavik and Larry Yaeger) take time out for a stroll along the beach in Montauk.

Tired seniors from Islip High School disboard the train after partying all night on the slow train to Montauk on the LIRR for their prom on June 23-24, 1961.

Kids from Islip High School dance to rock and roll music on the baggage car of an LIRR train as part of their "Rolling Prom" on June 24, 1961. A local businessman came up with the idea to hold the prom aboard a train bound from Islip to Montauk, and a donor paid the $3,700 Lloyds of London insurance for the 12 mph trip.

Couples dance in formal fashion while attending the 1960 Freeport High School senior prom.

White tuxedos were the choice of garb for these gentlemen, sitting with fellow students at the 1962 Valley Stream Central High School Senior Prom.

Susan Amrhein and Russ Mulroy get ready to leave for the Levittown Memorial High School senior prom at the Huntington Townhouse in May 1961.

Long gowns with modest necklines and white gloves were the attire of choice for the ladies in the royal court at Seaford High School's junior prom for the Class of 1966.

Mary Ellen Sullivan was crowned queen of Huntington High School's 1967 Christmas prom.

In 1967, Huntington High School had a very jolly prom tradition -- Christmas prom, held during the holiday season. Santa even made an appearance and took a picture with some of the prom royalty.

Couples grabbing drinks at a fountain smile for the camera while attending the 1964 Seaford High School Junior Prom.

Big smiles are flashing all around at the Patchogue-Medford High School Class of 1963's senior prom.

East Islip High School's 1967 senior ball was "for most couples ... just the beginning of a very wonderful and memorable evening," according to the class yearbook.

A musical group called "The Genies" provided the entertainment at the junior prom for Oceanside High School's Class of 1961.

We can only imagine how many cans of Aqua Net hair spray were used to create these beehives at East Islip High School's 1966 senior ball.

Farmingdale High School's Class of 1963 celebrated its junior prom in the "deep South" on the "pre-Civil War plantation of Tara," according to their yearbook. Undoubtedly the theme was borrowed from the classic book and movie, "Gone with the Wind," and Lynn Gilmore (center), dressed like a Southern belle, was crowned prom queen.

The entertainment for Hampton Bays High School's 1963 junior prom consisted of a drummer, a singer/guitarist and a woman playing an upright piano.

Chivalry was not dead in 1961, as two Oceanside High School students tend to their dates at the senior ball.

Oceanside High School students entered their junior prom in 1960, held inside the school's gymnasium, through giant cutouts of snow people.

Oh, and how did students go about raising funds for their prom? Well, Farmingdale High School's Class of 1965 sponsored the annual donkey basketball game. Yes, those are students inside the school's gymnasium playing basketball while riding donkeys. And they weren't the only ones. This was also a popular tradition at Port Washington's Paul D. Schreiber High School as evidenced by photos and a brief recap in the school's 1971 yearbook. (That year, the teachers won.)

Guests entering the 1961 Massapequa High School Junior Prom were greeting by hostesses dressed in nautically-inspired outfits, as the evening's theme was "Ebb Tide."

Couples danced under a "glowing autumn sunset, as shadows of a nocturnal landscape were projected over rolling fields" inside Paul D. Schreiber High School's gymnasium in Port Washington for the Class of 1964's senior ball, according to the class yearbook. The theme was "Golden Harvest."

A candid photo captured couples slow-dancing during the Levittown Memorial High School Class of 1960's junior prom.