About LGBT History Project Resources
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 the greater Central Pennsylvania region. This site contains oral histories that have been recorded for the LGBT History Project, as well as fully accessible digital versions of documents, images, and artifacts that have been donated to the project.
This is a quickly growing collection, and not all items are available through this website. Please contact Malinda Triller-Doran at archives@dickinson.edu for information about how to access all of the resources of the LGBT History Project, as well as how to donate additional materials.
Generous support to make these unique resources accessible has been provided by the Schlegel Deibler Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Learn how to contribute documents, images, or artifacts to this project.
Search LGBT History Project
LGBT History Project
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.
Collection: LGBT-103 McKee Sanders
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT-103_McKeeSanders_findingaid-2.pdf
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-
Collection: LGBT-097 Backhaus-Smith
Topics:
Organizations:
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.
Collection: LGBT-101 Dragovan Grubic
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT-101_DragovenGrubic_findingaid.pdf
Date: 1988-1996
Don Haines was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he lived until the age of 12. He then moved to the suburbs of Lancaster, remaining in Lancaster County. Still within Lancaster County, Haines later moved to Columbia, Pennsylvania with his partner. Haines came out at the age of 23 in 1987, a time he described as a “very oppressive” time. Haines was raised Roman Catholic but struggled with the church’s lack of acceptance, operating outside of the church until Pope Francis took charge. Haines graduated from Millersville University where he was a part of a gay and lesbian group. He worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, encouraged by Governor Schapp’s acceptance of gay people and the protection of a union.
Collection: LGBT-113 Haines
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT-113_Haines, Don_findingaid.pdf
Date: 2008-2023
Bradley “Brad” Gebhart, an active member in the arts scene in central Pennsylvania, serves on the board of the LGBT Center of Central PA as the Events Chair. In addition to his various roles in the community and professional work, Gebhart provided original cartoon drawings for the Central Voice.
Collection: LGBT-111 Gebhart
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT-111_Gebhart, Bradley_findingaid.pdf
Date: 2006-2023
Jeremy S. Boorum was born in 1997 in Rochester, New York. After completing his undergraduate education at Elmira College, Boorum briefly relocated to Central Pennsylvania in 2019 to begin a master’s degree in American studies at Penn State Harrisburg, and later returned in 2021 to pursue a doctoral education in the same department. As a doctoral student, Boorum became involved in the local LGBTQ+ community. During the Spring 2022 semester, Boorum led efforts to relaunch Pride at Penn State Harrisburg, the campus’s LGBTQ+ student organization, and served as the group’s president. Following his work with Pride, Boorum taught an undergraduate course about LGBTQ+ identity, culture, and the arts. Additionally, Boorum contributed to the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project and worked with the project’s archival collections at Dickinson College for two summers. Boorum continues to serve on the project’s steering committee.
Collection: LGBT-106 Boorum
Topics:
Organizations: LGBT Center of Central PA
View Item: LGBT-106_Boorum,Jeremy_findingaid.pdf
Date: 2020-2022
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. LGBTQ+ activists and community members have repeatedly attempted to get Schlegel the recognition he deserves as a LGBTQ+ rights pioneer. In 2020, Schlegel was nominated for a Historical Marker in Pennsylvania to mark the historic event of Schlegel taking his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The marker was approved and installed in Harrisburg near the Pennsylvania capitol, outside Schlegel’s former home, in October 2021. After receiving complaints, chiefly from State Senator John DiSanto, the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission voted to remove the marker on June 1, 2022, less than a year after its placement.
Collection: LGBT-105 Schlegel Historical Marker
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT_105_RichardSchlegelHistoricalMarker_findingaid.pdf
Date: 1993-1996
Tapestry Magazine, alternately known as Tapestry, Transgender Tapestry, The TV-TS Tapestry, and The Tapestry Journal throughout its history, was first published in the late 1970s. The publication appeared in a variety of formats until the early 2000s. The publication was founded by Merissa Sherrill Lynn and was published first by the Tiffany Club and later by the International Foundation for Gender Education, IFGE.
Collection: LGBT-098 Tapestry Inserts
Topics: Transgender Experiences, Transgender Education
Organizations: International Foundation for Gender Education
View Item: LGBT-098_Tapestry Inserts_findingaid.pdf
Date: 2016-2021
Carlisle Borough, located in south-central Pennsylvania in Cumberland County, was founded in 1751 and incorporated as a borough in 1782. Carlisle serves as the county seat of Cumberland County. It is home to the U.S. Army War College, Dickinson College, and Penn State Dickinson School of Law. Carlisle Borough hosted its first official Pride Week celebration in 2019. The Carlisle Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, also known as the Borough of Carlisle Human Relations Ordinance, was passed in December 2016. This ordinance established a Human Relations Commission and protection of LGBTQ+ community in the Borough, specifically when it comes to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Collection:
Topics: Carlisle Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT-112-SC_BoroughofCarlisle_findingaid.pdf
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.
Collection: LGBT-110 Segal
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT-110_Segal, Mark_findingaid.pdf
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.
Collection: LGBT-114 Schlegel
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-114 Richard L. Schlegel Collection
Date: 1980
Assessment of Pride Conference 1980.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '80 Assessment - 1980
Date: 1980
Planning materials for Pride Conference 1980.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '80 Planning Information - 1980
Date: 1979
Final plans for Pride Conference 1979.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '79 Final Plan - 1979
Date: June 19, 1979
Correspondence from Pink Debbie, a band, inquiring about performing at Pride Conference 1979.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: Pink Debbie
View Item: Pride '79 Pink Debbie Interest Correspondence - June 19, 1979
Date: 1979
Letters from interested attendees for Pride Conference 1979. Most of the letters are handwritten.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '79 Interested Attendee Letters - 1979
Date: 1979
Various press release, correspondences, and advertisements for Pride Conference 1979. One handwritten letter.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '79 Press Releases and Advertisements - 1979
Date: 1979
Workshop Leaders information forms for Pride Conference 1979.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '79 Workshop Leaders Information Form - 1979
Date: 1979
Facilitator planning for Pride Conference 1979, handwritten.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: 1979
Planning Committee information for the PA Pride Conference held in 1979.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: 1978
Filled out evaluation form from Pride 1978. The form is hadnwritten.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride '78 Evaluation Form (filled out, handwritten) - 1978
Date: 1975 to 1978
Correspondences and information on Pride Conference speakers from 1975 to 1978. Some correspondences are handwritten.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Pride Conference Speaker Correspondences and Information - 1975 to1978
Date: 1975
Letter announcing the 1975 Pennsylvania State Gay Conference, a statewide gay rights conference which was later known as Pride.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: Gay Activist Alliance of Philadelphia
View Item: Pride '75 Mark Segal Conference Announcement - 1975
Date: April 13, 1997
York Lesbian Alliance meeting minutes focusing on the York City School District Anti-Discrimination Policy and adding sex/sexual orientation to hate crimes status.
York Lesbian Alliance was started by Peg (Stoppard) Welch in the 1990s.
Collection: LGBT-080 - Welch
Topics:
Organizations: York Lesbian Alliance
View Item: York Lesbian Alliance Meeting Minutes - April 13, 1997
Date: circa 1994
Sign-up sheet for the Lesbian/Gay/Straight Alliance in York County.
Collection: LGBT-080 - Welch
Topics:
Organizations: Lesbian/Gay/Straight Alliance
View Item: The Lesbians/Gay/Straight Alliance interest and sign-up sheet - circa 1994