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Schools

Remembering Benicia High's 1976 Prom

As BHS students prepare for Saturday's prom, two alumni remember their own prom night.

Meribeth Kinnaman and attended their junior prom together. The year was 1976 and there were a total 400 students enrolled at .

Duvall had recently transferred to public school after attending St. Dominic’s so he was still in a transition phase. Duvall's and Kinnaman's families were close and the two grew up together, so Duvall felt comfortable asking Kinnaman to the prom as friends. Being direct, he simply said, “Meribeth, would you go to the prom with me?” without making a big production of it. “I don't speak woman,” said Duvall with distinction.

Kinnaman's mother, Audrey Kinnaman, made her Gunne Sax style dress out of soft yellow fabric. “There was no angst over buying a dress, but over how I wanted it to turn out, versus how mom wanted it to look,” recalls Kinnaman.

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Duvall wore a light brown Selix tuxedo with dark brown piping, a ruffly shirt and most importantly, platform shoes. For the record Duvall stated, “Never before and never after did I wear platform shoes.” He described his hair as flyaway-Marty-hair with a 70's influence.

When Duvall picked up Kinnaman at her house, her mother answered the door. “She looked me up and down, looked at my platform shoes and said out loud, over her shoulder, 'Bess you better get your flats on'.” Kinnaman was about three inches taller than Duvall at the time.

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The two doubled dated with Monique Williams and Mardo Roybal and dined at His Lordship’s in the Berkeley Marina. “It was very sophisticated for our age. The girls believed us when we told them they were out fishing for our dish,” he said with a laugh.

The prom was held at the school's gym, typical for that era. Duvall and classmate Sue Leslie constructed the photo backdrop, a canopy made from chicken wire covered with crepe-paper flowers.

Duvall said of the prom itself, “It was a great night. We danced, had fun and socialized.” Kinnaman smiled and said, “It was fun going with him (Duvall) because we were friends. It made it more fun without the stress of a date. When you enjoy the company of your date, you actually enjoy the event.” Neither could remember if there was live music or a DJ but do recall hearing songs like Brick House, The Bump and tunes by the Commodores.

After the prom, the foursome drove to Cherry Hill, the vacant hills off Lori Drive which is now the Bridgeview area. The area was a common hang out for teens and the police knew it. When a police car showed up, Duvall diplomatically got out to greet the officers. Knowing he probably had suspicious breath, he grabbed Kinnaman's perfume Heaven Sent and sprayed some in his mouth. To his surprise, it made his tongue numb and could barely speak. In the end, the police let them go without incident.

Kinnaman concluded by saying, “I got home not much later than midnight, because nothing good happens after midnight.” Wink-wink. The day after prom, Duvall started dating Mary Tucker. “It hurt my feelings. It's not that I wanted to date him, I just wanted him to want to date me. I remember thinking, hmm, I guess we are just friends.” Duvall and Kinnaman are still close friends and reside in Benicia. 

Benicia is a tightly knit community. Case in point- nine years prior, Duvall's brother Mike and Kinnaman's sister Margie went to prom together as friends. Mike Duvall wore horn-rimmed glasses held together with tape, which was usually grungy. For the prom, he put new white tape on glasses. It doesn't get more classic than that.

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