Prom day 70 years later, and more

Prom day 70 years later

A high school prom canceled in World War II finally took place this week. Around 70 members of Hillhouse High School’s class of 1943 gathered in New Haven, Conn., to dance and catch up, 70 years after their celebration was called off. Former class president Anthony Pegnataro, 87, recalled enlisting after war cut the school year short. A prom was the last thing on his mind, he said. “They were dire days, but Americans toughed it out.” The war had a bright side for Pegnataro—while serving he met his wife, who attended the prom as his date.

Kindergartner saves father with spelling skills

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A Newark, N.J., kindergartner saved his father’s life this week by using spelling skills he learned at pre-school. Nathaniel Dancy Jr. was in the car when his dad suffered a stroke behind the wheel, just managing to pull the car off the road. The 5-year-old dialed his grandmother and mother for help and was able to spell out the letters of a nearby store sign, allowing rescuers to locate the car in time to send an ambulance to the scene. “They saved each other’s lives,” said mother Janelle Blackman. “My husband knew to pull over. My son knew to take action.”

A grateful teen repays a good deed

A restaurant owner in Albuquerque, N.M., discovered this week that one good deed deserves another. Back in the late ’90s, a teenage customer at Claus Hjortkjaer’s restaurant Le Café Miche took a date for a Valentine’s dinner but found himself $40 short when the check came. Hjortkjaer discreetly took care of it and told the teen to repay him one day. That day came this week, when the patron wandered into the restaurant and handed his old benefactor a $100 bill for the check, plus interest. “Sometimes it pays off to be a nice guy,” said Hjortkjaer.