By Christopher Johnson
This past Saturday was prom night in Clare. The venue was Tobacco Ranch, right here in town. Idyllic as ever, it hosted the 2026 evening which yielded a record attendance. It has been described by key organizers as a perfect turnout—virtually “flawless.”
Despite the cold weather outside, inside the lights were dimmed, the music was up, and somewhere out on the dance floor, 220-some students were doing something that had become seemingly unimaginable: just being there. Existing for the right reasons.
No one had to ask them to put their phones away.
For Betsy Ulicki, the school’s Student Support Specialist, that detail said everything. “The first couple years, I would challenge the kids: we have a basket by the dance floor, put your phone in it,” she said. “This year, we didn’t even have to say anything. They were just naturally doing it.”
This year’s junior-senior prom–which ran under a Hollywood theme–didn’t just go alright, or decent. By nearly every account, it was the best one yet. One that felt less like a school dance and more like a sprawling community event. With a gradient of impeccable formal wear, everywhere you looked.
Brownies Popcorn Wagon not only donated popcorn but opened their wagon a week ahead of schedule to fit the prom’s calendar. Central Michigan Catering, hired for the evening’s dinner, pitched in on desserts the school was handling themselves. Nobody asked them to.
Tobacco Ranch opened its grounds as it always does, bonfire included. Letting students wander to various photo spots and take pictures long into the evening.
“We have great kids and the venue was very accommodating”, says Betsy. “It’s already a beautiful place. Even though we decorate for the occasion, it’s already beautiful. It gives us a great foundation to build from.”
The property’s owner, Jim Paetschow, echoed that same opinion. Saturday, he watched more than 220 students—which exceeded usual seating capacity—fill every seat, spill outside, and leave the grounds seemingly spotless in their wake. The only trail they left behind were fallen corsage flowers.
“They were good kids,” Jim describes, “This class was very good. Nothing bad. Nothing raunchy. Nothing stupid. Just good kids having fun. They kept the place looking great, and it was just a great night for everybody. Even with the weather not being the greatest.”
Jim describes parking as surprisingly chaotic. Prompting the venue to close the top gate just to facilitate the influx of attendees that kept arriving with seemingly no end in sight.
“There was nowhere to park”, he recalls. “I didn’t realize how many people would be there, considering it was just juniors and seniors only—no underclassmen. The reason for that was because we didn’t have the space for an entire student body. Even still, the cars just kept coming.”
Dinner was an upscale, formal sit-down experience that many students were not familiar with. Which was met with patience and good humor. Music remained a constant vibration throughout the evening, and everybody was there to dance and let loose. Before the king and queen were announced, the students themselves invited every chaperone onto the dance floor for the last song. Principal Bohannon was among them.
“It was a lot of fun,” he reflects. “This group really enjoyed the evening and had fun with it. Many of them stayed to the end and didn’t leave early which was great to see.”
A roving photobooth passed around the tables gave the principal something to scroll through at the end of the night: nothing but smiling faces and a wholesome good time for the books.
The crown on the evening, literally, came when prom king and queen were announced.
Queen Hannah Goethe and King Cole Grundy took the floor to what Betsy described as the most electric reaction she’s ever seen at a prom.
Jim too, was taken aback by the tremors of the announcement.
“It must have been a big surprise to everybody,” he says. “The kids went crazy when he (Grundy) was announced. It was the end of the night; we’re all cleaning up and that kind of screaming, it just startles you. They were so excited.”
What the staff didn’t know until afterward: Grundy had an entire Instagram following built around his hopeful coronation.
“Kids were really gunning to get him to be King,” explains Ulicki. “It was super cool because he had all this support in the background that we didn’t even realize was going on. So, they were just pumped when he won.”
It was a quiet groundswell of student support that exploded the moment his name was called. After the roaring exclamation from the crowd, a chant erupted throughout the room as Grundy wore his crown and joined Goethe for a much-celebrated synergy.
This footage can be viewed on the Instagram page in question: colegrundypromking. It also includes the chronology of posts that led to the eventual victory. So, a handle worth checking out. The page’s caption reads: 2026 it’s finally time @cole.grundy is OUR GOAT.
“The students were all so appreciative of the experience,” adds Betsy. “The chaperones were amazing too. It was such a good time to just live life with the kids and enjoy the time that they have and make all those memories.”
Five years in, she’s learned to let prom be what it is. Not just a dance, but an event. A thing worth looking forward to. A night that, for once, nobody wanted to watch through a screen.
“I feel like we’re finally getting back to kids just enjoying life. Being comfortable dancing and having fun and not being on their phones.”
