These seniors are 'In the Mood' for swing Sunday dances at the Old Guard a hit among seniors BY COLLEEN LUTOLF Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff Al Donado (l), of Lakewood, and Stan Ciszak, of Lakehurst, comprise the string section of the Old Timers Dance Band. The band plays at the Old Guard the last Sunday of the month for seniors who want to dance to the hits of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Dot Rogers, 76, likes to jitterbug.A spirited rumba will get Mary Largey, 78, and Jack Dobish, 73, out on the floor. And Marian Benedetto and Richard Washer (who will not divulge their ages: "We're seniors in our 60s," Benedetto said), will dance to just about anything the Old Timers Dance Band sets its tempo to. "We come for the dancing," said Largey, of Brick. "Our dancing, you know?" Some may regard Sunday as a day of rest, but not the 60-and-over set at the Old Guard of Greater Point Pleasant. Over there, everybody's boppin.' "Now we're going to do the cha-cha," tuxedoed band leader Wes Peters told the crowd of 80 or so seniors half-an-hour into the band's three-hour-long, 45-song set at the Sunday Afternoon Dance party this weekend. And rarely will you find the dance floor empty. CHRIS KELLY staff Richard Washer, of Mount Holly, twirls Manchester resident Marian Benedetto at the Old Guard's Sunday Afternoon Dance March 26. The three-hour event features live music by the Old Timers Dance Band, playing hits from the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Old Guard members George and Norma Pols decided in November 2004 that a dance to raise money for the organization sounded like a good idea, said Ann Goeb of the Lady Guard. "It was such a hit, now we have it every month," she said. "We usually have a really good crowd. Last time we had over 100. You can see the old people and the way they dance. I love it. I love it." Five dollars gets dancers coffee, cake and three hours of live big band hits from the 1930s, '40s and '50s. "The seniors are very nice," said John Meechan, of Lakewood. "There's no trouble here. And everybody gets out early enough to get home, take their medication and take a nap." The 15-piece band are all members of the Old Guard. The average band member's age is 80, Peters said. "We have five saxophones, two trumpets, two trombones, a piano player, drums, bass, guitar and banjo," he said. "They're all retired professionals," Goeb said. "Some of them have their own bands." Peters, a retired N.J. state trooper has been an Old Guard member for 17 years. "We tried to style it after the old big bands," he said. "We play all the old big band arrangements. You see the age of our crowd. They like this music. This is the music they grew up with and danced to, so we don't change it much. We play big band stuff fast and slow, but we play more fast than slow. There's a lot of old jitterbugs here." Al Donado, 75, of Lakewood, isn't Ol' Blue Eyes, but you might think he was if you heard him sing. "I've always played and always sang but I've never done it professionally," Donado said. "I'm a very good amateur." A former international marketing manager, Donado spends his retired years singing and playing guitar for the Old Guard. "I've been to 115 countries in over 40 years of travel - Indonesia, Kenya - no matter where I went there was always a guitar," he said. "I could always find a guitar to play." Now he's found one at the Old Guard in Brick. "At 80 years of age you can't get too crazy, but there's one guy around here who jumps around like a mosquito," he said. Largey and Dobish have been attending the dances since they started. "We like it too," Largey said. "See, we don't go to the gym. This is our exercise. This is our gym." Compared to the dances Largey attended in Newark and Irvington when she was 18, the dance at the Old Guard fares pretty well. "They're a little older," she said of the band. "They're good. They're very good. You're lucky if you get a recording. We were on a cruise ... and there was a disc jockey. We asked him if he had any Tommy Dorsey or Benny Goodman and he asked me who that is." The proceeds from the dances help the Old Guard fund the 10 $500 scholarships the organization gives away annually to high school students in Brick, Point Pleasant and at Ocean County Vocational School, Goeb said. Marilyn Addice, 69, of Manchester, said she comes for the live band, but stays for the dancing. "And we're seniors and it doesn't cost much to get in," she said. Sometimes she and Rogers dance together. "It's all right," she said. "We just like to be out. It's a nice social event." Everyone is welcome at the Old Guard dance. "There is no age limit," Goeb said. "All they need is five dollars." The dances are held between 1 and 4 p.m. the third Sunday of every month. For more information, call 732-840-5234.