by Betsy Pennink
with photos by Therapeutic Recreation
--Betsy's article appeared in the September, 2010 issue of Medford Leas Life--
How many brides preserve their wedding dresses for years? How many bridesmaids and maids-of-honor keep the dresses they wore at friends’ weddings? The answer is “lots.” The staff of Therapeutic Recreation put on a fashion show in June that proved it.

To the delight of residents from Assisted Living and Estaugh gathered in the Activities Room, six charming young staff members modeled eight dresses worn by brides and seven dresses worn by bridesmaids and maids-of-honor, all but one of which had been provided by Medford Leas staff. (Five prom and ball gowns were also included in the show, for good measure.)

There were oohs and aahs as Terry Tuffnell, Jessica Magdziak, Danielle Peterson, Marcy Smith, Colleen D’Arcy, and Shelby Jones promenaded several times down the room and back, each time in different dresses. (Shelby was borrowed from Dining Services to model some very small dresses.) Resident Nancy Darling ac-companied the brides with the Bridal Chorus on her recorder.

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Shelby models Ruth Kutteroff's wedding dress.............................................. Colleen models the gown worn my Rachel Conte at her wwedding.

The oldest dress in the show was made of white satin in 1949 by resident Ruth Kutteroff for her wedding at Medford Meeting House. Ruth’s daughter, Jane Weston, Director of Marketing and Community Relations, was married in 1986, also at Medford Meeting House. Her dress, also shown, was white lace.

The show presented an informal history of bridal fashion. The dress that Carmen Smith, Receptionist wore in 1982 had a high collar and long sleeves. Her daughter, Rachel Conte, Estaugh Recreation, wore a strapless dress at her wed-ding in 2004.