SENIOR PROM; GETTING A SECOND CHANCE FOR THE BIG DANCE.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

In 1936, Mary Brady left her corsage at the door for her senior prom.

It was the Great Depression, the Burbank resident explained softly, and not everyone could afford the small bouquets. So, in a show of compassion, none of the girls at Emerson High School in Gary, Ind., wore flowers during the biggest dance of the year.

On Saturday, Brady got a second chance at the dance and the flowers.

The 83-year-old waltzed around the shiny hardwood floors at Joslyn Adult Center with a three-carnation corsage pinned to her blue chiffon dress, compliments of her 91-year-old date.

``It's just beautiful,'' she said, straightening the floral arrangement while taking a time out from the tunes of The Esquires, a 15-piece band that plays music from the '30s and '40s.

It was the center's first-ever senior prom and from the looks of the 225 men and women smiling and swirling around the dance floor, it won't be the last.

Gayle Migden, Joslyn's recreation program director, had hoped to sell 50 tickets to the dance. Ecstatic at the turnout, Migden said the best time to hold a special event is when there's no reason for it.

``Everybody loves a great party, regardless of their age,'' she said.

And just to make the ageless prom all the more authentic, the center bought a velvet crown and rhinestone tiara for the dance's king and queen.

Little did Brady's date, Leonard Ratcliff, know when he walked into the prom in a baby blue tux, ruffled shirt and white tennis shoes that he'd walk out with a purple crown. Much to his surprise, the Burbank resident was named King of the Prom.

Ratcliff repeated, ``Oh no'' and ``Oh, gosh, me?'' as he walked across the floor to accept his crown. Standing next to him in an elegant royal blue dress was Prom Queen Jean Kostoff, who, at 73, was finally attending her senior prom.

The Burbank resident said she missed the big dance in 1943. Her high school canceled the event because so many of the boys were fighting overseas in World War II. Not holding the year-end celebration was the least of anyone's worries, she said earlier this week, browsing through racks of glitzy dresses at Macy's.

For her first prom, Kostoff wanted a new dress. A new dress meant new shoes. Both of these necessities received her husband Richard's stamp of approval via his charge card.

After hours of roaming Media City Mall and the Glendale Galleria, and wrinkling her nose at various designs pointed out by her daughter, Karen, Kostoff struck pay dirt at Macy's. She found the dress that wasn't too long or too short, too shiny or too poofy. It said semi-formal, without being loud.

``Wow. The first one I tried on,'' she said, bashfully admitting the ensemble looked nice on her.

Back at Joslyn Center, Kostoff posed for pictures with her king. Although Ratcliff had attended his Montana high school's senior prom in 1925, he didn't have a date. Back then, he was afraid of girls, he said.

Not anymore.

Just over seven decades later, Ratcliff asked his date ahead of time which kind of corsage she preferred: one for her wrist or dress. Given the size of the white carnations, Brady made the right call.

Ruthy Wilson and Kendall Capps both dressed to the nines. With her in a pale pink sequined gown and him in black tie, tuxedo and shiny shoes, the couple looked like Hollywood glamour itself.

With a mischievous grin, he cast a glance at her and mentioned offhand that he wanted to be her lawfully wedded husband. She smiled coyly.

Later, the couple took a break from the tango and the fox trot. Wilson lamented the expense of her dress, which she had thought looked beautiful in the store.

Her dashing date took the North Hollywood woman's hand and said, ``You make it look even better.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo: (1) Jean and Richard Kostoff laugh as they try out a 1964 Cadillac convertible at Saturday's senior prom. The Kostoffs have been married for 52 years.

(2) Young senior Gloria Schneider, center, and her husband, Jerry, dance to ``In the Mood,'' as performed by the Esquires at the Joslyn Adult Center.

(3 -- 4) Anne Phipps, above, freshens up after dancing with her husband, Dick, right. At right, seniors take a breather at the senior prom Saturday night.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Daily News