LGBT History Project: LGBT-103 Charles McKee and Ron Sanders Collection

Number of Pages
2
Date
1975-2003
Charles McKee and Ron Sanders were partners for 22 years. The sign was unscrewed and given to them by a carpenter working on Wesley’s house at the corner of 3rd and North Streets in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Benedict A. “Wesley” Trautwein, a drag performer known as Francis Parker. Wesley was a part of the The Jewel Box Revue, a troupe of drag performers who traveled around the country from 1939 to 1969, which made many stops in Pennsylvania. After departing the Revue, he moved back to Harrisburg and continued preforming at local bars and clubs, such as The Neptune Lounge. Trautwein passed away in 2003.
General Subjects
Year
Origin
Gift of Charles McKee and Ron Sanders
Location
LGBT0193 Charles McKee and Ron Sanders

LGBT History Project: LGBT-097 Kirsten Backhaus-Smith Collection

Number of Pages
3
Date
1966-2020
Kirsten Backhaus-Smith, the daughter of Gunter Backhaus, served as the manager of The Loft and Tally Ho Tavern. The Tally-Ho Tavern, located at 201 W. Orange St., in Lancaster, Pennsylvania was bought by George Centini in 1966, but did not begin operating as a LGBTQ+ bar until 1968 when the Village Night Club closed. The bar became a target of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in mid-1980s as people began to complain about the noise and people gathering outside of the establishment. The bar and restaurant were sold by Centini in 1987 to Gunter Backhaus, a chef who had previously worked as the executive chef at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina and Host Farm Resort in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The tavern continued to operate throughout the 1990s, in 2008, the after-party for Lancaster’s inaugural Pride even took place at the Tally Ho. It remained in operation as a LGBTQ+ bar until 2020 with the onset of the COVID-
Year
Origin
Gift of Kirsten Backhaus-Smith
Location
LGBT-097 Kirsten Backhaus-Smith Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-101 Terrence Dragovan and Thomas F. Grubic

Number of Pages
3
Date
1975-1996
Terrence Dragovan and Thomas F. Grubic were a married couple in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Thomas Grubic passed away in 2022. Grubic graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1967. Dragovan, a native of Steelton, Pennsylvania, also graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School and later Marshall University in 1984.
Year
Origin
Gift of Terrence Dragovan and Thomas F. Grubic
Location
LGBT-101 Terrence Dragovan and Thomas F. Grubic

LGBT History Project: LGBT-110 Mark Segal Collection

Date
1975
Mark Segal was born January 12, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Germantown High School and later Temple University. He moved to New York City in 1969 where he became heavily involved with the LGBT civil rights movement. Segal participated in the Stonewall Riots, was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, and was a member of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day Committee. In 1976, he founded the Philadelphia Gay News, a weekly LGBT newspaper publication in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is still published today. He has continued to serve as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, serving on the Joint Diversity Council of Comcast NBC/Universal and working with the Obama administration to plan and open The John C. Anderson Apartments, the nation’s first “LGBT Friendly” senior affordable housing apartment building in 2013.
People
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Mark Seal
Collection
Location
LGBT-110 Mark Segal Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-114 Richard L. Schlegel Collection

Number of Pages
4
Date
1949-2006
Richard Lamar Schlegel was born in 1927 in Berrysburg, PA, a small borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. In 1949, he moved to Washington, D.C. where he pursued a master’s degree and later took a job in the federal government. His career ended in 1961 when he was fired for “immoral and indecent conduct” after being followed by secret investigators who investigated his personal life. Schlegel appealed his case, Schlegel vs. the United States, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court but was refused a hearing. He then returned to Pennsylvania where he worked for the Department of Highways and started a small chapter of the Janus Society in Harrisburg. This is believed to be the first gay organization created in central Pennsylvania.
Year
Origin
Gift of Robert ''Bob'' Deibler
Collection
Location
LGBT-114 Richard L. Schlegel Collection

Pride '79 Pink Debbie Interest Correspondence - June 19, 1979

Number of Pages
3
Date
June 19, 1979

Correspondence from Pink Debbie, a band, inquiring about performing at Pride Conference 1979. 

Organizations
General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride '79 Interested Attendee Letters - 1979

Number of Pages
12
Date
1979

Letters from interested attendees for Pride Conference 1979. Most of the letters are handwritten.

General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride '79 Press Releases and Advertisements - 1979

Number of Pages
6
Date
1979

Various press release, correspondences, and advertisements for Pride Conference 1979. One handwritten letter.

General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride '79 Workshop Leaders Information Form - 1979

Number of Pages
3
Date
1979

Workshop Leaders information forms for Pride Conference 1979.

General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride '79 Planning Committee Information - 1979

Number of Pages
4
Date
1979

Planning Committee information for the PA Pride Conference held in 1979. 

General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride '78 Evaluation Form (filled out, handwritten) - 1978

Number of Pages
2
Date
1978

Filled out evaluation form from Pride 1978. The form is hadnwritten. 

General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride Conference Speaker Correspondences and Information - 1975 to1978

Number of Pages
12
Date
1975 to 1978

Correspondences and information on Pride Conference speakers from 1975 to 1978. Some correspondences are handwritten.

Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Pride '75 Mark Segal Conference Announcement - 1975

Number of Pages
2
Date
1975

Letter announcing the 1975 Pennsylvania State Gay Conference, a statewide gay rights conference which was later known as Pride.

People
General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Paul, Morin, Jeannine, and other members at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic – August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of Paul, Morin, Jeannine, and other members at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on. August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 14 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Kate and Jim at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic – August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of Kate and Jim at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 13 of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Kate and Jeannine at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic – August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of Kate and Jeannine at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 13 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Ms. Kathy at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic – August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of Ms. Kathy at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 13 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

"The Gang" enjoying food at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic - August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of group members, referred to here as "the Gang," enjoying food at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 12 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Allen, Richard, [Shein], Jeff, and Barry at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic - August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of members Allen, Richard, [Shein], Jeff, and Barry at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 12 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Paul, John, and Pat grilling at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic - August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo of members Paul, John, and Pat grilling at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 10 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Members participating in second volleyball game at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic - August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo from the second volleyball game at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. This picture is found on page 14 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Member saving the play during first volleyball game at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic - August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo from the first all-women's volleyball game at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. In this photo, a member in a yellow shirt attempts to save the play and hit the volleyball. This picture is found on page 12 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Member ready to spike during first volleyball game at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic - August 22, 1976

Date
August 22, 1976

This is a photo from the first all-women's volleyball game at the Dignity/Central PA Picnic on August 22, 1976. In this photo, a member in a yellow shirt is ready to spike the volleyball. This picture is found on page 10 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection