LGBT History Project

Date: March 14, 2014

Teresa “Teddy” Maurer was born in Lykens, Pennsylvania. Following a move to Upper Dauphin County, she grew up and graduated from Halifax High School. From there she worked at the Nedrich shirt factory for a few years before moving onto a job with the state government. She eventually moved to Harrisburg and stayed there after she retired from her job at the state. She worked for the government for 37 years. She discusses her conflict with derogatory comments and other discrimination she saw in her workplace and in the greater LGBT community around her. She explains how her mother’s death at the hands of a drunk driver when she was 25 and how when a former girlfriend forced her to come out changed her life. She now works with the LGBT center to give back for the times when she could not.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Coming Out

Organizations: LGBT Center of Central PA

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 077: Teresa ''Teddy'' Maurer

Date: November 12, 2013

Julie Lobur was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1955 and moved to Harrisburg in 1970. She received her bachelor’s degree from Penn State and added a master’s degree in computer science in 2003. Julie briefly served in the military in 1983 where she met her wife Marla, but was discharged because she is a lesbian. She currently works as a computer architect for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and an adjunct professor of computer science for Penn State.

Julie discusses her coming out process at the age of 18, in large part aided by the existence of something that might be unique to Harrisburg: a diner – The Commerce Diner – that catered to a gay clientele. Julie details how she met Marla, how they decided to get married in Iowa in 2009, how they came to be part of a set of couples suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to recognize their marriage, and how the lawsuit has completed her coming out process. She describes how attitudes have changed towards gay people over the years, and how this “sea change” in acceptance implies increased responsibility for gay people. She shows her gratitude to the gay men of Harrisburg by describing how they established the “gayborhood,” which she believes saved the city from blight. Human and institutional support networks have played a major role throughout Julie’s story.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

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View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 068: Julia "Julie" Lobur

Date: October 9, 2013

Born in 1951, Mary Nancarrow grew up in the Harrisburg area, and from a young age, she has been involved in the movements for LGBT and women’s rights, especially for Central Pennsylvania. She has worked extensively with NOW, serving as the president for Pennsylvania NOW in 1984 and 1985. As part of this involvement, she helped to plan the first march on Washington for LGBT rights, which was eventually held in 1987. Additionally, she was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus, and she was also very involved in the drafting and passing of the Harrisburg Human Relations Ordinance, ensuring that the legislation provided protection against discrimination for LGBT people. She recently retired from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission after over 20 years. In this interview, she discusses what it was like to be gay in the ’70s, ’80s, and ‘90s, particularly in the Central Pennsylvania area, recalling discrimination she and others faced during that time period, her struggles with coming out to her parents, notable events of the era and her personal reaction to them, and her dedication to LGBT and women’s rights and its role in her life.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Women's Rights

Organizations: Pennsylvania NOW, National Organization for Women (N.O.W.), PA Rural Gay Caucus

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 084A: Mary Nancarrow

Date: September 4, 2013

Michelle Probulus, 43, describes her experience with realizing that she is a lesbian at age 40, while married to a man with whom she had two young sons. She discusses the complications of figuring out her sexuality and coming to the realization she was a lesbian and the subsequent difficulty of coming out to her husband, her children, her family, and her friends. After getting a divorce, she began getting involved in Lancaster’s LGBT community, and she describes her experiences in meeting people and working for greater LGBT acceptance, including starting her own oral history project to collect some of the experiences of women who realized they were lesbians later in life. She discusses how coming out has affected the way she raises her sons as well as her career choices, specifically her new sense of purpose as a guidance counselor in being an advocate and a support system for young people coming out.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Coming Out

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 095: Michelle Probulus

Date: August 29, 2013

Mark Stoner, born in 1959, grew up and currently lives in Lancaster, where he has worked as a graphic designer for the past 30 years. He came out as gay early in his college years at Penn State University and thereafter became involved in Lancaster’s gay community, both socially and politically. He was among the founders of the Pink Triangle Coalition and worked extensively with the organization for years. Additionally, he has been involved with establishing the first Central Pennsylvania Pride and Lancaster Pride, the Lancaster-area gay publication Inqueery, and the Lancaster City Human Relations Commission’s protections against anti-LGBT discrimination. In this interview, he discusses gay life from the late ‘70s to the present and its influence on his personal life, including his experiences coming out in a supportive environment, his personal relationship with religion over the years, the impact of the emergence of AIDS in the ‘80s, and political efforts to end anti-LGBT discrimination in Lancaster.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Human Relations Commission, HIV/AIDs

Organizations: Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC)

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 111: Mark Stoner

Date: August 28, 2013

Born in Chicago, IL in 1949 to a Catholic family, Mary Merriman joined the Air Force in 1967, where she struggled with her sexuality due to the environment, eventually becoming pregnant and discharging from the military before giving her son up for adoption. She attended Montgomery College in Maryland and received a degree in psychology, after which she and her then-partner moved down to Tampa, FL. Merriman got licensed and ordained as a pastor and started a Metropolitan Community Church in Lakeland, FL in 1983, where she and the congregation dealt with the difficulties of forming an LGBT church in a conservative town as well as the emergence of AIDS. In 1987, she was called to serve as pastor at Vision of Hope MCC in Lancaster, PA, a position which she held until 1995, navigating the creation of Lancaster’s Human Rights Ordinance and the process of buying the church’s current building in Mountville, PA. Since earning her Master of Social Work degree, she has worked as a social worker at Community Care Behavioral Health in Camp Hill, PA. In this interview, she discusses her involvement in the LGBT community, especially in the area of religion, and the advances that the community has made over time.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: HIV/AIDs, Human Rights Ordinance

Organizations: MCC Vision of Hope

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 081: Mary Merriman

Date: August 14, 2013

Transcription of Clarke Hess and Lee Stoltzfuss interview. This transcript is incomplete. Please contact archives@dickinson.edu for more information.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

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View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 048: Clarke Hess and Lee Stoltzfuss

Date: July 30, 2013

Larry Lee Thomas was born in Burnham, Pennsylvania in 1941, living there for at least 19 years before spending four years in the military, and shortly thereafter moving to the nearby city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After his first experience dating another man through a 20-year relationship, Larry now lives with his partner with whom he has spent 31 years. In this interview, Larry discusses his experiences as a self-identified gay man living in Harrisburg through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, when there was a prevalent stigma against LGBT people and few places to safely express one’s sexual orientation and meet others in the community. He also discloses his challenges of managing both personal and professional relationships by selectively deciding to come out or not within particular social circles. While he does not actively participate in LGBT activism, Larry admires the amount of freedom that he sees in the gay community today, while commenting that LGBT young people may be unaware of how difficult life was only a few decades ago.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

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View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 112: Larry Thomas

Date: July 24, 2013

Bernie Pupo was born in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania in 1945 and attended Mount Carmel Catholic High School. After working in a factory after high school, Bernie moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a window decorator for Pomeroy’s department store for three years. During this time, he also joined SCAAN, the South Central Aids Assistance Network, which is now known as the AIDS Alliance. In this interview, Bernie speaks about his most memorable experience as a Boy Scouts leader, as well as his experience working in and visiting gay clubs in cities such as Harrisburg, Reading, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and D.C. During this interview, he also speaks about how he experienced very little homophobia in both his family and overall social life, despite living in a small town during the 60s and growing up as a practicing Catholic. Bernie, still Catholic, now works as a hair dresser and owns his own salon.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations: South Central Aids Assistance Network (SCAAN)

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 096: Bernie Pupo

Date: June 19, 2013

Nancy Datres was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1948 and moved to Harrisburg to pursue computer science after becoming blacklisted by the Altoona Police Department when she was just 27 years old. Thereafter, Nancy moved through several careers, holding positions such as college professor, journalist, legal writer, and lawyer. In her interview, Nancy discusses the incredible impact of her sexuality on the course of her academic and professional life, which required her to change schools and even careers whenever an environment became too unsafe for her to stay. She illustrates several examples of harassment and discrimination in her life, as well as the inefficiency of local law enforcement, educational institutions, and court systems to help alleviate these injustices. Additionally, Nancy remarks on lesbian bar culture, her difficult financial situation, and her 20-year relationship and engagement with another woman. Although she began identifying as a lesbian as a teenager, Nancy explains her difficulty to fully “come out,” insisting that she does not feel completely “out” in all aspects of her life. She believes that her hardships have impacted her ability to consistently feel comfortable sharing her sexuality with others, but expresses great hope for feeling that freedom someday.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

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View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 020A: Nancy Datres

Date: June 4, 2013

Prior to coming out at the age of 32, Ted Martin had worked for many years for the government and public policy organizations, chiefly in the areas of communications and advocacy. Martin lived in Washington, D.C. and worked for Congress before returning to Pennsylvania, where he worked at the Historic Harrisburg Association and then his alma mater Dickinson College, at which point he came out. He became involved with the Team Pennsylvania Foundation and became part of the Rendell administration, serving in the Department of Community and Economic Development and as an advisor on LGBT issues. He currently works as the Executive Director of Equality Pennsylvania, the PA LGBT advocacy organization. In this interview, he discusses his life prior to, during, and since coming out, as well as the ways in which being out and gay has affected his life and his work.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Coming Out

Organizations: Equality PA

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 074: Ted Martin

Date: July 1, 2013

Born in 1949 to a Lutheran minister and his wife, Marlene Kanuck married a man, had two children, and got a divorce after 11 years of marriage before realizing that she was a lesbian. In this interview, she discusses her coming out process and the effects that being a lesbian has had on her life. A teacher and a divorced mother wanting to retain custody over her children, Kanuck was not able to be openly gay for many years, and she discusses that experience, as well as her experiences in long-term relationships and in raising her children with those women. Additionally, she describes her relationship with religion and where she thinks the LGBT community is heading in the near future. Currently working at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Kanuck is also a founder of the LGBT Center, in addition to being involved with a number of other organizations, and she discusses her involvement in opening the Center.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations: Common Roads

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 054: Marlene Kanuck

Date: May 24, 2013

From the time Joseph "Joe" W. Burns came out as gay at around 27 years of age, he was involved in gay activism. He was a part of many organizations that have helped to move gay rights forward, including the Mattachine Society and Le-Hi-Ho. He donated his entire library of gay-related books to Le-Hi-Ho before retiring from his activism career, and he donated books to the LGBT archives at the Waidner-Spahr Library at Dickinson College as well. This interview focuses on his memories of activism in the early years of the Gay Liberation Movement just before and just after the Stonewall riots of 1969. He finishes this interview with an emotional recollection of the Christopher Liberation Day Parade in 1970.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations: Lehigh Valley Homophile Organization (Le-Hi-Ho), Mattachine Society of New York

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 012A: Joseph W. Burns

Date: March 28, 2013

For the very first interview of the history project, Edmund Good and Thurman Grossnickle describe their coming out stories. Thurman is a retired Scientist Administrator and has spent many years in academia and in health professions, as well as in LGBT organizations. He considers himself Brethren, although he no longer attends church, though a large part of his coming out process involved the organization, Dignity, which was primarily run by the late Father Saude (ph.). Upon discovering his sexuality, Thurman spent a considerable amount of his time dedicated to the LGBT community of Harrisburg, operating the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, attending and hosting Dignity events, and serving as editor of the Dignity newsletter. Thurman discusses his involvement, his experiences living in Central PA, and his decision to never divorce his wife. Edmund is a retired apartment manager, though he is still involved in the Brethren Housing organization, which finds places for mothers going from welfare to work. Edmund explains that though he was always kind of aware of his sexuality, he hadn’t really come out before attending college. At Penn State, he was involved in several LGBT outlets, including the student organization HOPS (Homosexuals of Penn State), which was supported and funded by Penn State. Edmund, too, alludes to the friendly climate, which he’s experienced during his life as a gay man in Central PA. In the second half of their interview, Ed and Thurman tackle some deeper issues. Ed discusses how his work and family life didn’t change too much overall, but there were some bumps. At first, his parents didn’t understand what it meant to be gay, creating an estrangement. But with the introduction of Thurman into the picture, they had a change of heart. Ed and Thurman discuss other difficulties they’ve endured in 33 years as a couple. Despite being made coal on the carpet, a church backed them up and defied their national organization, making it a known safe space for LGBT couples. On a less happy note, they discuss a community’s reaction to Thurman’s friendship with a gay teenage boy. As Ed and Thurman reflect on the past events they’ve encountered, they note where we’ve come from and where we still need to go. Ed mentions several websites, webinars, and workshops that helped him as a gay man, but could also help others to understand and love thy neighbor.

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Coming Out

Organizations: Dignity/Central PA, Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg, Homophiles of Penn State (HOPS)

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 042: Edmund ''Ed'' Good and Thurman Grossnickle, part 1 , Transcription of LGBT Oral History 042: Edmund ''Ed'' Good and Thurman Grossnickle, part 2

Date: May 1977

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, and includes information on Human Rights Day, a Youth Committee Report, and an update on Senate Bill 83.

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics: PA Senate Bill 83, Abortion Laws

Organizations: PA Rural Gay Caucus, Coalition for Human Rights, MCC Harrisburg

View Item: PA Rural Gay Caucus Minutes - May 1977

Date: April 1977

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, inluding updates on Senate Bill 83 and the sodomy repeal bill, information regarding Anita Bryant, and an update on how Gay Lobby Day went. 

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics: PA Senate Bill 83

Organizations: PA Rural Gay Caucus, MCC Harrisburg

View Item: PA Rural Gay Caucus Minutes - April 1977

Date: March 1977

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities."

In these minutes general information is shared, along with planning of Gay Lobby Day, concerns over the Helath Concerns Committe, and information surrounding Anita Bryant's ''Save Our Children'' campaign. 

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics: PA Senate Bill 83, Sodomy Repeal Bill

Organizations: PA Rural Gay Caucus

View Item: PA Rural Gay Caucus Minutes - March 1977

Date: February 1977

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, and includes reports from the Treasurer, Communications Committee, and Education Committee. 

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics:

Organizations: PA Rural Gay Caucus, Brethren/Mennonite Council for Gay Concerns, Gay Coordinating Society of Berks County, Reading (GCS Berks)

View Item: PA Rural Gay Caucus Minutes - February 1977

Date: January 1977

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, as well as discussion of Senate Bill 83, the sodomy repeal bill, and an update on the Lebanon High School issue.

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics: PA Senate Bill 83, Sodomy Laws

Organizations: PA Rural Gay Caucus

View Item: PA Rural Gay Caucus Minutes - January 1977

Date: December 1976

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes, general minutes are reports as well as reports from the Legislative, Communication, and Education committees. 

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics: Sodomy Laws

Organizations: PA Rural Gay Caucus, PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities

View Item: PA Rural Gay Caucus Minutes - December 1976

Date: 1991 - 2001

Patricia “Pat” Saunders grew up in the suburbs of Boston, where she became a hairdresser. After Saunders married, she and her family moved to Lancaster, PA, but later she moved back to Boston until moving to New York City for her hairdressing firm. She rose in the ranks of the company, eventually taking the lead in marketing and PR for 300 salons. One night at work she slipped on an ice cube and sustained a severe head injury, impacting her mobility and faculties. She then moved from New York City to New Jersey, and then to back to the Central Pennsylvania area.

Saunders had two friends who passed away from AIDS. Seeing the seriousness of the disease in the Central PA area, and her personal connection to it, Saunders began working for various non-profit organizations committed to supporting people with HIV/AIDS and raising awareness for the disease. She worked for the American Red Cross, Art Against AIDS/Lancaster AIDS Project, and The Betty Finney House. Saunders helped these organizations with fundraising, organizing events, and writing any letters to various celebrities to collect items for silent auctions.

Collection: LGBT-062 - Saunders

Topics: HIV/AIDs

Organizations: The Betty Finney House, Lancaster AIDS Project, American Red Cross of Lancaster County, American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley

View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-062 Patricia ''Pat'' Saunders Collection

Date: 1978 - 2012

The bulk of the collection consists of buttons, ribbons, and t-shirts from LGBT events. It also contains documentation of the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg and Dignity of Central PA. Several of the items in this collection relate the story of Dan Miller, a Central PA accountant who was fired for being gay in 1990. This collection also contains program materials from the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, as well as Hershey, PA and NYC play performances. In addition, this collection includes items relevant to noteworthy LGBT Pennsylvanians. These items include an autographed photograph of Nancy Jane Kulp (born in Harrisburg, PA) who played Jane Hathaway on the television series Beverly Hillbillies; a photograph, publicity material, and an LP record album of T. C. Jones (born in Scranton, PA), well-known female impersonator; and an engraving of Bayard Taylor (born in Kennett Square, PA), who wrote Joseph and His Friend (1870), believed to be the first U.S. gay novel.

Collection: LGBT-014 - Loveland

Topics: HIV/AIDs

Organizations: Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg, Dignity/Central PA

View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-014 Barry Loveland Collection Inventory

Date: 1970s to present

These images represent a cross section of the types of materials included in the LGBT Center of Central PA's History Project, which is housed in the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections. View the Collection in Flicker. 

For inventories of more materials, visit this page.

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Date: April 1984

Founded in 1968 in California, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) began as a Christian outreach to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. MCC Harrisburg (later renamed MCC of the Spirit) and MCC Lancaster (later renamed MCC Vision of Hope) were two local parishes in the Central PA Area.

The Freedom Newsletter was a joint publication of MCC Harrisburg and MCC Lancaster. It includes various articles, parish new, and a calendar of events.

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics:

Organizations: MCC Harrisburg, MCC Lancaster

View Item: MCC Freedom Newsletter - April 1984

Date: March 1984

Founded in 1968 in California, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) began as a Christian outreach to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. MCC Harrisburg (later renamed MCC of the Spirit) and MCC Lancaster (later renamed MCC Vision of Hope) were two local parishes in the Central PA Area.

The Freedom Newsletter was a joint publication of MCC Harrisburg and MCC Lancaster. It includes various articles, parish new, and a calendar of events.

Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns

Topics:

Organizations: MCC Lancaster, MCC Harrisburg

View Item: MCC Freedom Newsletter - March 1984