Guides to Collections (Finding Aids)

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 became a teacher. Deibler was an active member in two men’s clubs, the Pennsmen and the Satyr Men. After meeting his long-term partner, Ronn Fink, in 1985 and retiring from teaching in 1991, Deibler decided to move to Harrisburg, PA. While in Harrisburg, Deibler supported Fink in the running of the Bare Wall, a gift shop and video rental store and local landmark for the gay community in Harrisburg.

Within this collection, the papers of Richard Schlegel are also included. Deibler and Schlegel where distant family relatives, with their mothers being first cousins. Deibler kept Schlegel’s records for future reference.

Sam Edmiston was born on July 17, 1945 in Middleburg, PA. In the April of 1963, Edmiston enrolled in the US Navy, and three weeks after his graduation, went to the Keel United States Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois for recruitment training. While in the US Navy, Edmiston was a dispersing clerk until he was dishonorably discharged for being gay in 1966. Edmiston fought to change the discharge, and his papers were later changed to a “general discharge under general conditions.”

After coming home from the Navy, Edmiston worked various jobs until he retired from working for seven years for personal health reasons. After the seven years, Edmiston found a job with the Social Security Administration through Administrative Careers of America. He went on to work for the Social Security Administration for the next 10 years until he finally retired permanently.

Throughout and after college Edmiston was active in the pursuit of gay rights. He started the Susquehanna Valley Gays United in 1976 with friend Sam Deetz, was the secretary for the PA Rural Gay Caucus, contributed to the Lancaster Gay Era Newspaper, and was part of Dignity/Central PA.

Joy (Ufema) Counsel was raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania. After completing high school, (Ufema) Counsel began studying to become a nurse at the Altoona Hospital, and later completed a nursing program at Harrisburg Area Community College. Throughout her career as a nurse, (Ufema) Counsel developed an affinity for caring for patients who were terminally ill.

Searching for direction after facing a roadblock in her career, (Ufema) Counsel decided to use her experience in hospice care to alleviate the suffering she had witnessed in the AIDS crisis. After proposing the idea to the mayor of York, PA, (Ufema) Counsel bought an old brownstone for one dollar and began renovations. In 1991, York Hospice House was born. Counsel used her expertise in death and dying to design the home based on a philosophy of extreme attention to detail. She wanted to create “a tone in this hospice of love and acceptance and peace.” From 1991-1995, the York House provided care to 95 dying AIDS patients.

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 moved by a young gay man’s speech in a meeting of the House Education Committee, Sharon helped to establish and served as a leader for the Bi, Gay, Lesbian Youth Association of Harrisburg (Bi-GLYAH).

This collection holds items from Potter’s time as the organizer of Bi-GLYAH. Items include photographs of Bi-GLYAH youths at events and a stuffed Frog created during a Bi-GLYAH fundraising event.

Shaashawn Dial is as a poet, radio broadcaster, educator, author, and businesswoman. Kown as Shaashawn “The Voyce” Dial, and she released her debut spoken word album, Voycemail, after that nickname. Dial became the program director of 1400 THE TOUCH in 2003, and then in 2006 became the creator/hostess of The Shaashawn Dial Show: A Dial Movement. She was an educattion coordinator and adjunct faculty member, published two books of poetry, and as a businesswoman was a magazine editor, manager, and founder of Voycetress Media, LLC.

Dial has also been active within the LGBTQ+ community of Central PA. She was the Director of Equity and Affirmative Action and the Staff Liaison to the Harrisburg Relations Commission for the city of Harrisburg. She served as the inaugural co-chair of PA Governor Tom Wolf’s Commission on the LGBTQ Affairs. She was also on the Board of Directors of the LGBT Center of Central PA for seven years, during which time she completed a term as president.

These materials document the holy union of Nancy Datres and Riitta Lukkari. They also contain court documents and a photograph dealing with harassment Datres and Lukkari experienced from their neighbors.

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 waved/carried these flags during their respective marches. There is also a pin to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Dan Miller was born in 1956 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He earned his BA in Accounting from Elizabethtown College, later going on to get his MA in Finance from Penn State University. In October of 1990, after working for Donald L. DeMuth Professional Management Consultants as an accountant, Dan was fired for being gay. After the trial process, which Miller did not win, he continued to be an activist within the LGBT Community of Central PA. Miller ran for mayor of Harrisburg, PA in 2013. While he was not successful in that election, he has held numerous positions of leadership through the LGBT Community of Central PA.

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 University. Dierkers relocated to the Harrisburg area and soon began working for the South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN). After leaving SCAAN in 1994, Dierkers continued working for other social justice causes in Central PA, including the Domestic Violence Coalition, before ultimately returning to Ohio.

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 Millersburg (PA) Borough Council.

This collection contains a campaign poster from John Campbell’s run for Harrisburg City (PA) treasurer as an openly gay candidate in 2011-2012.

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 introduced to gay rights while at Penn State. While there, he became active in an organization called the Homophiles of Penn State (HOPS). He became president of HOPS and subsequently met many of Pennsylvania’s leading activists. He was appointed Chair of the Pennsylvania Council for Sexual Minorities and became a leader in the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus, which provided a forum for collaboration among numerous groups outside of the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.