The memories might be silly, sweet or bittersweet, but the recollections are clear: People don't forget what happens on prom night.

As high school seniors prepare for their proms, a group of South people willingly shared stories from proms past.

Kathleen Einwag, of Whitehall, has happy memories of the Baldwin High School 1975 prom, which is hard to believe.

Her future husband, Ron, didn't get to ask her to the dance; he had been standing behind another boy who beat him to the punch. Just before the prom, she injured both feet and ankles, so she had to hobble around the ballroom of the Pittsburgh Hilton with bandages. And the musical group that had been scheduled for the after-prom didn't show up, so radio disc jockey Chuck Brinkman, who had worked the prom, stayed on an extra four hours until 5 a.m. to provide the entertainment.

Nonetheless, 31 years later, here's what Mrs. Einwag had to say: "The injuries ruined my summer, but they didn't ruin my prom. I was with good friends and was listening to good music. We spent some of our last high school hours together."

The entertainment was the highlight for Frank Skorich, of Peters, at his prom. The Temptations performed for the 1971 Carrick High School prom at the former Twin Coaches nightclub on Route 51 in Rostraver.

"We had a fantastic time. They were the original Temptations and were at their best. They mingled with us between songs. We didn't want to leave," Mr. Skorich said.

Mary Franko, of South Park, didn't hit it off with the blind date who took her to her 1963 prom at Huban Dominican, then an all-girls Catholic school in Cleveland.

He was more interested in the rock band's music than he was in her, and he made it obvious. When she sarcastically said, "Let's just sit and listen to the band," he enthusiastically agreed. "It was dreadful," Mrs. Franko said.

But her experience wasn't as bad of some of her friends'.

"Some girls decided to test the system and wore strapless, sleeveless, low-cut, backless gowns," she said. The nuns responded by taping notebook paper over their exposed skin. "It was hysterical," Mrs. Franko said.

Brentwood school board President Julia McCarthy almost didn't attend her senior prom in 1964 because expenses were tight and she had no special gown to wear.

But a few days before the prom, her mother, Julia Saia, surprised her with an "elegant" pale blue chiffon dress.

"It was such a gift from her to me," Mrs. McCarthy said. "It became a very special dress."

The 1966 South Hills Catholic High School prom gave John Bova, district judge in Brentwood and Baldwin boroughs, a chance to show his true colors.

He and his girlfriend of three months had a serious quarrel a week before the prom and she decided not to go. He had paid for new shoes, a tuxedo and tickets, and a girl who was a friend volunteered to help him out.

She had spent some money on her prom gown and accessories when, the night before the dance, Mr. Bova got a call from his ex. She wanted to go.

But he did the right thing. He took his friend to the prom and did not make up with his estranged girlfriend.

A week later, he met his future wife, Diane. They would not have dated if he had still been involved with the other girl, and they have been married since 1970.

Bethel Park Mayor Clifford Morton was part of the 1952 graduating class of Spartanburg Agricultural Vocational High School, which offered classes on farming, plumbing, welding and taking care of livestock.

He grew up on a small dairy farm but decided in 10th grade that farming was not his vocation because the work was "too hard and the days were too long."

There were 32 members of the graduating class of the school, in Spartanburg, Crawford County. And 50 to 60 people attended the prom.

Rock 'n' roll had not yet made its impact, so the students danced to records featuring big band music.

He remembers the card tables, folding chairs and crepe paper in the gym, where the dance was held, but, mostly, he remembers the dancers all wearing regular shoes.

"We normally weren't allowed to wear shoes and walk on the gym floor. We had to wear gym shoes. But that night, we were dancing in regular shoes on the floor. I wondered, 'How can this be?' "

Daniel Baxter, of Peters, remembered his 1973 after-prom at the Trade Winds room at the old Greater Pittsburgh Airport. The big attraction was watching through the window as planes took off and landed.

"It shows you what passed for entertainment back then," Mr. Baxter said.

Sue Striffler Galaski, of White Oak, also attended an after-prom in an unusual location. The 1977 Serra Catholic event was held at Monroe Bowl, a Monroeville bowling alley.

Cynthia Buckley, a teacher in Bethel Park's William Penn Elementary School, told her prom story to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and then she told it again to the pupils in her class.

"The movie 'Romeo and Juliet' was the rage when I went to my prom in 1969," she said, so she wore a white dress with rosebuds and had more in her hair, which was swept up like the film's star, Olivia Hussey.

"They asked me how old I was and I gave them my standard answer. I said I was 100 years old. One little girl said her grandmother was 72, and that I look good for 100."