'Pink Ladies' hit streets, ride train for breast cancer cure

By Amanda Flitter
Staff Writer

October 12, 2008 10:21 pm

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GLOUCESTER — Halloween will come early for Saturday morning riders of the infamous "Train of the Damned."

A group of lovely belles and fine gentlemen from years past will take over the commuter train with their pink hoop skirts and scandalous backgrounds.

The hoop skirts are hand-made costumes, and the scandalous backgrounds are fictional plot lines. It's all part of a creative way for the nurses and staff from the endoscopy unit at Beverly Hospital to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The group of Pink Ladies, as they are called, will be headed into Salem on Oct. 18 to take pictures with people for donations.

"You make people smile and you're doing something worthwhile too," said Mary Cody-Kenney, a nurse in the unit, of the day. "I was high, literally high, after the first year. I was flying high for several days."

The group got its name when Christine Curtis, a secretary in the endoscopy unit, went out to buy the large amounts of fabric needed to make the costumes. The only fabric available in enough quantities was pink.

"I guess we'll just have to be the pink ladies," she told a co-worker. The name stuck.

The event has its origins in a day of fun and shopping in 2006. Curtis and eight of her coworkers strolled around Salem in full pink period costume just for fun. Throughout the day, people stopped them to take their picture.

Cody-Kenney said after the day was done they were thinking that if they had a dollar for every time someone took their picture, they would be rich. They then decided the put the attention to good use and raise money for a cause.

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and they wore pink, they decided to ask people for donations for pictures and raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation the next year.

The group grew as people in the endoscopy unit heard about the fun their coworkers had.

"It was kind of quiet," Cody-Kenney said of the origins. "Then, of course, when you add more people and they come back and just rave about it — it just grew."

Last year, the group expanded to 25 people, and they raised $2,400. The group has held strong at 25 this year. They are hoping to raise just as much money, and they have continued their effort to raise awareness of the need for further breast-cancer research, making their around Saturday's downtown Gloucester Block Party and visiting other events.

Preparation for the Salem event starts early in the year, with the creation of individual personas and costumes to match. The concocted characters have intriguing, sometimes racy, pasts that intertwine with each other.

"It's probably the craziest, worst put-together soap opera," said Curtis.

Curtis' character is Elizabeth Montague Harrison Payne, who has worked her way from rags to riches. She married the captain of a ship and owns a newspaper that covers the hottest gossip in town.

"She knows everybody's secrets," Curtis said of her character.

Curtis said the characters make people feel more comfortable in costume. It also provides some fun entertainment.

"It's all fun and games," said Dick Gerard, an endoscopy technician and one of the few gentlemen among the pink ladies. He said they usually try to chat in character on the train, but they sometimes run out of material.

As the personas are developed, the costumes are created.

Curtis starts making the costumes by hand in January. Each costume is customized to the character and takes 24 to 30 hours to complete, she said. All of the sewing is done on weekends and off hours in her Gloucester home.

"It's truly amazing," said Cody-Kenney. "She's so darn talented."

Cody-Kenney said the Pink Ladies spirit is around all year. Their picture hangs in the endoscopy unit, and they often tell patients about their cause.

"I get a great deal of satisfaction sharing with patients what we do," she said. "There's a real connection. I think it's very comforting to women who have had breast cancer to know that the nurses that are now taking care of them are doing something about this. I think we feel like we make a difference, and when we can share that with our patients that is very special."

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