All it took was a root beer float and Chet Foster was transported back to his surfing days when he would stop to have one of the delights after spending the day on the water. It was foamy, cool and smooth, the perfect elixir to the burn of the sun and a gritty coating of salt.

But Foster wasn’t in a wet bathing suit Wednesday night. He was dressed for a sock hop with a red knit tie, striped gray jacket and his hair brushed up. And socks? Well, they were white, naturally. He could have just stepped off “American Band Stand.”

But rather, he had just stepped out of the Pilgrim Senior Center, where another element to the evening carried him back to the ’50s and ’60s. It carried a high shine and purred, although the motor wasn’t running. It was the customized 1934 Ford Pete D’Eletto bought eight years ago.

D’Eletto said he has “changed everything” since buying the car – except, of course, its ability to evoke memories of when Elvis Presley had teens swooning.

And Presley was there along with Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Their bigger-than-life cutouts provided the perfect company for the evening. This was the senior sock hop, an event staged entirely by the senior center staff and, as Holly Weber says, made possible by Amazon. That’s where they found Elvis and his companions, along with memorabilia from an era when staying out late was breaking the rules and girls waited to be asked out on a date.

As center director Weber and senior services director Meg Underwood explained, the sock hop was the sequel to last year’s senior prom, only on a tighter budget.

That didn’t dampen spirits – quite the contrary. Attire of the era – whether pulled from the back of the closet or made for the occasion – along with the music, Elvis, and the root beer floats brought memories alive, making the night one that won’t be forgotten.

A TIME MACHINE:

Pete D’Eletto of Warwick shows off his customized 1934 Ford outside the Pilgrim Senior Center last Wednesday. D’Eletto and several other car enthusiasts – all regulars at Oakland Beach cruise nights – were delighted to oblige when asked they might bring their cars to the sock hop. (Warwick Beacon photos by John Howell)

CUTTING A RUG:

Center staff member Kim Pastore and Joe Vono get into the swing of the evening.

REMEMBER THE POODLES?

Alice Anderson and Bonnie Abols were dressed for the sock hop.

THOSE MEMORIES:

Gloria Greco and director of senior services Meg Underwood share stories.

SCOOPING UP GOOD TIMES:

Kevin Boyes was kept busy as sock hop fans made their own sundaes.

A LITTLE PAINT TURNED BACK THE CLOCK:

Center staff member Patricia Almonte painted her shoes, made her felt skirt and tied her hair in ponytails for the night. Pat became the center seamstress, making six of the skirts for fellow workers.

NO BETTER COMPANY:

Flanked by James Dean and Marilyn Munroe, the center staff gather for a group shot.