These materials document several LGBTQ+ bars that operated in the Harrisburg, PA area, namely The Archives Nightclub and Restaurant (1983), La Rose Rouge (1978-1992), Neptune’s Lounge (1972), and the Shadows bar (1980-1984). These items take the...

Created by Lorraine Kujawa, Cindy Mitzel, Mary Nancarrow, and several others in 1983, the Lavender Letter Newsletter was a calendar of events for, by, and about lesbian women to create community in the Central Pennsylvania area. The newsletter...

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....

Robert “Bob” Deibler was born on January 20, 1940 in upper Paxton Township in Dauphin County, PA. He graduated from Millersburg Area High School and went on to attend Bloomsburg University with majors in social science and English, and later...

Margaret “Peg” Dierkers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1957. She earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Ohio State University and eventually enrolled in a doctoral program in Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State...

Dan Maneval was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1947. Maneval’s activism included the founding of the Homophiles of Williamsport (HOW), the West Branch Gay Support Network, Susquehanna Lambda, Susquehanna Valley Gays United, and...

Anthony Silvestre was born in 1946 in the Bronx in New York. He finished his final year of college at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and then attended Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) as a graduate student.

Silvestre was...

In 2012 Chris Dietz was one of a record three openly gay candidates running for state representative, and one of two from central PA. While Dietz did not win his race for PA State Representative, he has served as the openly gay president of the...

The t-shirts and flags in this collection were donated by Gerald Vath, who attended the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in 1993 and the Millennium March on Washington in 2000. Vath wore these t-shirts and...

These materials document LGBT programs and events in Central PA, such as Pride Festivals, the annual FAB Fall Achievement Benefit, and Lily White and Company performances. This collection also includes items from Pennsylvania bars.

Paul Foltz grew up in Steelton, PA. After college, Foltz began studying theatre in England. It was here that Foltz discovered a strong and open LGBTQ+ community. When he returned to the United States, he became involved in Pennsylvania’s LGBTQA...

Sharon Mahar Potter was born in Buffalo, NY and raised in Scranton, PA. She began commuting to Harrisburg, PA for the first time when she was offered a position to build the early intervention system for disabled children in the city. Profoundly...