LGBT Center of Central PA History Project Collections

The LGBT Center of Central PA and the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections have partnered to document the stories and history of LGBT life and activism in Central PA. Below are guides to the collections of documents, images, and artifacts that have been donated to the LGBT History Project as part of this effort.

Research assistance is available by e-mail (archives@dickinson.edu), telephone (717-245-1399), and on-site. Visitors are welcome Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4 pm, and on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 pm when classes are in session. Malinda Triller Doran, Special Collections Librarian, is Dickinson’s liaison to this project. It is recommended that you contact Malinda in advance of a site visit.

To view all full-text content currently available online, visit:

https://libguides.dickinson.edu/lgbthistory

Members of the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus with their hand-made banner at the Philadelphia gay pride parade circa 1976. Photo by Bari Lee Weaver. Sam Deetz on Gay Education Day in Harrisburg, wearing Pink Triangle button, March 1976. Photo by Bari Lee Weaver. Fan button for the Harrisburg Hustlers volleyball team. Issues of the Lavender Letter newsletter (Harrisburg, PA) from 1998. Shadows bar (Harrisburg, PA) t-shirt. Letter sent to Joe Burns in 1969 from the Mattachine Society of New York in an attempt to establish a gay activist organization in the Lehigh Valley area. Materials documenting activism in Lancaster, PA.

LGBT History Project: LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection
Mattachine Society Letter
1969-1996

Joseph W. Burns donated these materials in 2013 as the first contribution of historical documents to the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project. These materials reflect his involvement in gay rights activism in rural Pennsylvania, beginning with a 1969 letter from the New York Mattachine Society seeking to form a branch in the Lehigh Valley area. That effort resulted in the creation of the...

Location: LGBT-001

Subject: LGBT History, Politics and Government, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Legal and Government Documents, Letters/Correspondence, Meeting Minutes, Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-001 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-002 Collection
Pink Triangle Coalition
1975-2013

This collection documents LGBT activism in Lancaster County, PA.  The materials date from 1975 to 2013. They include publicity materials from events sponsored by local groups such as the Pink Triangle Coalition, promotional materials for March on Washington 1993, local newspaper clippings addressing LGBT issues in the Lancaster area and Elizabethtown school board debates, publications such as...

Location: LGBT-002

Subject: Education, Health and Medicine, LGBT History, Politics and Government, Religion and Spirituality, Social Reform and Advocacy, Visual and Performing Arts

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Audio-Visual Materials, Books and Pamphlets, Broadsides and Posters, Legal and Government Documents, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Music, Newspapers and Magazines, Reports

Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-002 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-006
LGBT-006 documents
1995-2005

This collection contains material related to the establishment of the LGBT Center of Central PA and the activities of the AIDS Community Alliance.  It also includes a 1995-1996 Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg directory, a flyer for the FAB Fall Achievement Benefit in 1996, documents from a 1999 LGBT civil rights program, and matchbooks from area gay bars.   

Location: LGBT-006

Subject: Health and Medicine, LGBT History, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format:

Time Period: 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-006 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-009 Lavender Letter Collection
Lavender Letter Masthead
1995-2006

 This collection contains approximately 10 years worth of issues (1995-2006) of the Lavender Letter,  a lesbian newsletter published in Harrisburg, PA.   It also contains a small amount of documentation from the 1996 Central PA Pride Festival.

Location: LGBT-009

Subject: LGBT History, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format: Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-009 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-010 Larry Wilson Collection
LGBT-010 documents
1972-2013

These materials document several gay bars that operated in the Harrisburg, PA area, namely The Archives Nightclub and Restaurant (1983), La Rose Rouge,(1978-1992), Neptune’s Lounge (1972), Paper Moon, and the Shadows bar (1980-1984).  These items take the form of bar memorabilia, photographs, and video recordings.  The donor of this collection, Larry Wilson, owned the Shadows Bar and The...

Location: LGBT-010

Subject: LGBT History, Sport and Recreation

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Audio-Visual Materials, Photographs, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-010 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-011 Sam Deetz Collection
Sam Deetz with Pink Triangle pin, 1976
1975-1976

These materials were donated by Sam Deetz, founder of Susquehanna Valley Gays United in Northumberland, PA in 1976. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings documenting gay rights issues and activism primarily in the Sunbury, PA area from 1975-1976. This collection also includes Deetz’s appointment letter to the Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorities in 1976 and photographs of Deetz and...

Location: LGBT-011

Subject: Legal Affairs, LGBT History, Politics and Government, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format: Letters/Correspondence, Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs, Scrapbooks

Time Period: 1960-1979

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-011 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-012 Collection
LGBT-012 documents
1991-2009

This collection was donated anonymously by an individual associated with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of the Spirit in Harrisburg, PA.  The collection is composed primarily of newspapers clippings that document issues such as same–sex marriage, the relationship between local churches and LGBTQ individuals, LGBTQ activism, and discrimination against LGBTQ...

Location: LGBT-012

Subject: Legal Affairs, LGBT History, Personal and Family Life, Religion and Spirituality, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format: Miscellaneous, Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-012 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-013 Eric Selvey Collection
LGBT-013 documents
circa 1996-1997

This collection reflects Eric Selvey’s involvement with the Crossroads Magazine as editor and publisher, and with the Lily White and Company drag troupe, based in Harrisburg, PA.

Location: LGBT-013

Subject: LGBT History, Social Reform and Advocacy, Visual and Performing Arts

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Broadsides and Posters, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1980-1999

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-013 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-014 Barry Loveland Collection
Buttons
1978-2012

These materials were donated by Barry Loveland in 2014. The bulk of the collection consists of buttons, ribbons, and t-shirts from events.  It also contains documentation of the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg, as well as theatre and musical performances in Central PA and New York City. 

Location: LGBT-014

Subject: Health and Medicine, LGBT History, Politics and Government, Social Reform and Advocacy, Visual and Performing Arts

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Audio-Visual Materials, Books and Pamphlets, Miscellaneous, Music, Newspapers and Magazines

Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-014 Collection Inventory

LGBT History Project: LGBT-015 John Barns Collection
LGBT-015 documents
1974-2015

This collection is comprised primarily of newspaper clippings from a wide variety of publications, not limited to Central PA, addressing issues related to marriage, clergy, politics, discrimination, and the military. This collection also contains bookmarks, postcards, and greeting cards with gay themes. In addition, the collection includes a small amount of material related to Dignity of...

Location: LGBT-015

Subject: Legal Affairs, LGBT History, Religion and Spirituality, Social Reform and Advocacy

Format: Artifacts and Objects, Books and Pamphlets, Broadsides and Posters, Memorabilia and Ephemera, Newspapers and Magazines, Photographs

Time Period: 1960-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2019

Collection Inventory: PDF icon LGBT-015 Collection Inventory

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