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 National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
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LGBT History Project
Date: April 23, 1980
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites was an officially appointed advisory committee created by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1976. Governor Shapp, by executive order, declared that all executive branch offices and services were to end discriminatory practices and policies against all LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and program of state services. The proposed council was his instrument guaranteeing the implementation of his decree throughout the Executive Branch of state government.
This agenda was for the April 23, 1980 meeting.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities
View Item: Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities Meeting Agenda - April 23, 1980
Date: September 11, 1978
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites was an officially appointed advisory committee created by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1976. Governor Shapp, by executive order, declared that all executive branch offices and services were to end discriminatory practices and policies against all LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and program of state services. The proposed council was his instrument guaranteeing the implementation of his decree throughout the Executive Branch of state government.
This agenda was for the September 11, 1978 meeting.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities
View Item: Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities Meeting Agenda - September 11, 1978
Date: September 17, 1976
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites was an officially appointed advisory committee created by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1976. Governor Shapp, by executive order, declared that all executive branch offices and services were to end discriminatory practices and policies against all LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and program of state services. The proposed council was his instrument guaranteeing the implementation of his decree throughout the Executive Branch of state government.
This agenda was for the September 17, 1976 meeting.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities
View Item: Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities Meeting Agenda - September 17, 1976
Date: February 28, 1977
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites was an officially appointed advisory committee created by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1976. Governor Shapp, by executive order, declared that all executive branch offices and services were to end discriminatory practices and policies against all LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and program of state services. The proposed council was his instrument guaranteeing the implementation of his decree throughout the Executive Branch of state government.
This report gives a summary of the purpose and goals of the Advisory Committee on the Rights and Health Concerns of Sexual Minorities.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities, Gay Public Health Workers (GPHW)
Date: May 20, 1976
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites was an officially appointed advisory committee created by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1976. Governor Shapp, by executive order, declared that all executive branch offices and services were to end discriminatory practices and policies against all LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and program of state services. The proposed council was his instrument guaranteeing the implementation of his decree throughout the Executive Branch of state government.
In this document, a Task Force for Special Minority Concerns is recommendied for creation within the Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities
View Item: Recommendations of the AD HOC Committee - May 20, 1976
Date: circa 1979
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites was an officially appointed advisory committee created by Governor Milton J. Shapp in 1976. Governor Shapp, by executive order, declared that all executive branch offices and services were to end discriminatory practices and policies against all LGBTQ+ employees, clients, and program of state services. The proposed council was his instrument guaranteeing the implementation of his decree throughout the Executive Branch of state government. This documents lists some accomplishments of the Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities
View Item: Accomplishments of the Pennsylvania Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities - circa 1979
Date: 1928 - 2015; Bulk Dates 1970 - 1996
Johnson and Maser met in 1975 through a mutual friend. As a couple, they saw how AIDS was affecting their community and became active in local AIDS Awareness organizations, the Lancaster AIDS Project, and the Betty Finney House, which helped raise awareness and support people with AIDS.
This collection contains newspaper clippings, which document coverage of issues related to LGBT rights and activism in the LNP (Lancaster, PA) newspaper in summer 2015; a program for the art exhibit “Men and Other Abstractions” created by Johnson; posters that address civil rights and the ban on military service for gays and lesbians; buttons that feature various advocacy efforts; and matchbooks from hotels, bars, clubs, and restaurants in Pennsylvania and cities across the United States.
Collection: LGBT-033 - Johnson & Maser
Topics: HIV/AIDs
Organizations: Art Against AIDS, The Names Project
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-033 Jon Johnson & Charles Maser Collection
Date: 2018
Since August 2012 the LGBT History Project of the LGBT Center of Central PA has actively collected stories of LGBT history in central PA as told by those who lived them. This growing collection of oral history interviews is housed by the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections. The attached PDF file contains summaries of each completed interview. To access the full video/audio file or transcription of an interview, contact archives@dickinson.edu or 717-245-1399.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT Oral History Summaries
Date: July 30, 2018
Cecelia Wambach was born on May 26th, 1942 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Cecelia begins the interview by talking about her family life, the dynamics of her relationship with her parents and religion, and how those facets shaped her adult identity as a lesbian woman. She grew up as the second-oldest of 14 children, with a stay-at-home mother and a father who had a radio talk show and late-night talk show. She describes being very happy and satisfied with her upbringing. Raised as a devout Catholic, Wambach later became apart of a Convent and school named Sisters of Notre Dame. From there, she taught as a nun in several Parrish schools on the East Coast. She also worked with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. After leaving the Convent, Wambach received her Masters in Math and Fine Arts from New York University. She later got her PhD from Fordham University in Math Education. She explains that during this time in her life, she did not yet know she was lesbian.
Wambach got married to an ex-priest in 1973. It was not until the day after getting married did she realize she was lesbian. She had a son named Nathaniel and raised him while working as a teacher for public schools in New York City. In realizing her sexual identity, Wambach went through years of therapy to cope. She also became apart of many different Lesbian and LGBTQ+ communities and activist groups, such as the S.O.S (Shelter our Sisters), Mother Tongue, The Names Project, O.L.O.C. (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change) , and B.A.C.W (Bay Area Career Woman) and others. Currently, Ms. Wambach is deeply involved with refugees on the Island of Lesvos, where she and other LGBTQ educators teach children.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 131: Cecelia Wambach
Date: November 25, 2018
William Horn, dressed as his drag persona “Miss Christina Louise,” Miss Tina for short, tells of their experiences growing up gay, performing as a Drag Queen and the various organizations they’ve been a part of in their life. After moving to Lancaster in their earlier childhood, they eventually performed in several plays with the Lancaster Kiwanis Club and the Fulton Opera House. Later, after moving out of their parents’ house due to several disagreements, they began performing Drag at age 21, going on to win several competitions such as Miss Tally Ho, and Miss Gay Lancaster County. They even went on to compete in the Miss Gay America Pageant in Atlanta, Georgia. They also spoke of the harassment they faced for being gay, both on the streets, in the workplace and by the Lancaster Police Department. They spoke of their work with Gays United of Lancaster and attending several government meetings while dressed as Miss Tina, as well as the various AIDs events they attended dressed as such to show solidarity. They described their want to join the Air Force only to be turned down because of medical reasons and about the discrimination they faced from the police and medical professionals.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics: Drag
Organizations: Gays United Lancaster (GUL)
View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 133: William ''Miss Tina'' Horn
Date: March 6, 2021
Sabrina Dare-Bledsoe was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1960. She grew up in a large family of entrepreneurs and bar owners, whom she worked alongside as a child and teenager. Her father, Stuart Withero Dare, inherited and ran The Clock Bar from his father George Dare. Her mother, Maureen Goodman, was from England, and lived above The Clock Bar before she met and married Stuart. In this interview, Sabrina talks about The Clock Bar, as well as the many other queer bars and restaurants her family owned, including the Commerce Diner, City Line Diner, The White Elephant, The 400 Club, The Golden Coach, Orpheus, The Rose Garden, and The Candy Shop. She describes the homophobia of her peers and teachers at school and the welcoming environment her family cultivated at work and at home. She tells the story of The Clock Bar’s 1965 raid and the jazz scene her family participated in. Sabrina shares the stories of some of her family’s close friends who frequented the bars and restaurants, many of whom have since passed away.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 142: Sabrina Dare-Bledsoe
Date: January 14, 2020
Marie DiFava was born in Lebanon County in 1953 and grew up in a troubled Italian home. She graduated from high school and attended nursing school, but after burning out from her job and schooling, she dropped out, married, and had three children with her husband. During her marriage and after her divorce, Marie volunteered as an EMT and worked for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier. In this interview, she discusses going to a doctor and being referred to therapy which gave her the tools to live a healthy life despite the violence and instability of her childhood. Her therapist pushed her to come out so she told her children. After her youngest daughter informed the entire neighborhood of her sexuality though, Marie looked for gay organizations to join. She travelled to groups across Central Pennsylvania, but she grew frustrated with the lack of community in Lebanon, so she started her own group, Lebanon County Lesbians. The group met in her home for five or six years and ended when Marie started to let transwomen join and other members disagreed. Finally, she discusses the challenges facing her and other older LGBT people, the love her children gave her, and her pride in being able to donate the newsletters and activities letters from her organization to the History Project.
Video footage of this interview is unavailable at this time. Please contact archives@dickinson.edu for more information.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics:
Organizations: Lebanon County Lesbians (LCL)
View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 141: Marie DiFava
Date: October 27, 2018
Bob Deibler discusses his experiences as a member of both the Pennsmen and the Satyr Men, as well as what it was like to be a gay teacher and the surprising lack of discrimination, he faced in his life due to his sexuality. He also talks of his long-time and now deceased Partner Ron Think, who he helped run a popular gift shop and LGBT meeting place, The Bare Wall Gallery.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics:
Organizations: Pennsmen Inc., Satyr Men
View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 132: Robert "Bob" Deibler
Date: April 15, 2013
Frank Pizzoli, founder and editor-in-chief of the Central Voice, an LGBT newsletter for the Central PA community, discusses his experiences in the community and how he thinks things have changed over time. He describes some aspects of growing up gay in the 1960s and ‘70s and specifically the small community feel that the early LGBT community had, discussing the changes between then and now. He also discusses some of his experiences of living with HIV and how that affected his life in the early ‘80s, including his role in for formation of the South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN), which would later become AIDS Community Alliance, and is now under Alder Health Services. Finally, he discusses some of the books and authors that he found important to the LGBT community and their influence.
Video footage of this interview is unavailable at this time. Please contact archives@dickinson.edu for more information.
Collection: LGBT Oral History
Topics: HIV/AIDs
Organizations: South Central Aids Assistance Network (SCAAN), AIDS Community Alliance, Adler Health Services
View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 092A: Frank Pizzoli
Date: 2007 - 2014
Lindsay Snowden was born in Pittsburgh on March 15, 1976. Lindsay joined the military at 17 and was an army nurse for nine years. After the military Lindsay stayed in nursing, while also becoming an entrepreneur. Lindsay worked on many projects in the Central PA area, which included: forming the first all-black drag king troupe in Central PA, House of Gaines; co-founding and editing STUDS Magazine; and running the Central PA Vipers, a women’s semi-professional full contact football team.
This collection contains materials related to STUDS Magazine and the Central PA Viper’s all-female football team. There is also a flyer advertising Voyce Mail, a spoken word CD created by Shaashawn Dial and produced by Lindsay Snowden, and two collections of poetry books written by Shaashawn Dial.
Collection: LGBT-032 - Snowden
Topics:
Organizations: STUDS Magazine, Central PA Vipers
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-032 Lindsay Snowden Collection
Date: 1977 to 1978
This collection documents the earliest known organizational history of the LGBTQ+ community in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. Lehigh Valley Citizens Concerned for a Better Community (CCBC, later Lehigh Valley Citizens Concerned for the Gay Community, CCGC) was formed in 1977. This group was named in response to an anti-gay group called Citizens Organized for Decency, and was formed to advocate for the addition of the words “sexual and affectional preferences” to the protective clauses of the Human Relations Ordinance in Allentown, PA. Materials include newsletters, meeting minutes, press releases, and promotional materials.
The items in this collection are shared through a collaboration between the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive and the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project. For more information on Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archives, visit https://trexler.muhlenberg.edu/library/specialcollections/collections/#lgbt
Materials include newsletters, meeting minutes, press releases, and promotional materials. View the collection on the Internet Archive.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: Lehigh Valley Citizens Concerned for a Better Community (CCBC)
View Item:
Date: 1970s to 1980s
This collection documents the earliest known organizational history of the LGBTQ+ community in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. The Pennsylvania Lesbian and Gay Support Network (PALGSN) was established in 1978 after the first Pride Conference, and was a state-wide organization which worked for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Materials include newsletters, meeting minutes, press releases, and promotional materials.
The items in this collection are shared through a collaboration between the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive and the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project. For more information on Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archives, visit https://trexler.muhlenberg.edu/library/specialcollections/collections/#lgbt
Materials include newsletters, meeting minutes, press releases, and promotional materials. View the collection on the Internet Archive.
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics:
Organizations: PA Lesbian/Gay Support Network (PALGSN)
View Item:
Date: 2013
Originally called AIDS Community Alliance, Adler Health Services aims to improve the health and wellness of individuals living with HIV/AIDS as well the larger LGBTQ+ communities in South Central PA. This collection contains advertisement material for Alder Health Services.
Collection: LGBT-091 - Adler Health Services
Topics:
Organizations: Adler Health Services
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-091 Adler Health Services Collection
Date: 2013
Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is the first and largest support organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents and families, and allies through peer support, education, and advocacy. This collection contains material from the Central PA Chapter of PFLAG.
Collection: LGBT-020 - Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Central PA
Topics:
Organizations: Parents, Families, and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (PFLAG)
Date: 1990 - present
The LGBT Center of Central PA, housed in Harrisburg, PA, provides services, programs, and community space for the LGBT community in the region. These materials represent these initiatives, including the Common Roads program for youth and young adults, its predecessor BiGLYAH, and FAB (Fall Achievement Benefit). This collection also contains materials regarding the founding of the Center, publications produced by the Center and other regional LGBT initiatives (such as Central Alternative, Out and About in Central PA, and the @ The Center newsletter), news clippings regarding local LGBT issues, and other documentation of LGBT organizations and programming in Central PA.
Collection: LGBT-021 - LGBT Center of Central PA
Topics:
Organizations: LGBT Center of Central PA, Bi, Gay, Lesbian Youth Association of Harrisburg (Bi-GLYAH), Common Roads, Equity for Gays and Lesbians (EGAL)
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-021 LGBT Center of Central PA Collection
Date: circa 2018
This collection contains materials on Jess King, a gay-friendly candidate for the US Congress in Pennsylvania 11th District during the 2018 Congressional Election.
Collection: LGBT-087 - Royer
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-087 Curtis Royer Collection
Date: 1991, 1993, 2018
Cindy Lou Mitzel was born in April 1942 in York County, PA. Growing up Mitzel knew that she felt attraction towards women, however she married a man after graduating from high school and they had three children. Mitzel has been involved in the National Organization for Women [NOW]; the Lavender Letter newsletter; the Lesbian Alliance; the Central Pennsylvania Women’s Chorus; and York Support, later known as York Area Lambda, among other women’s and gay rights activist organizations.
These documents relate to Mitzel’s involvement in York Area Lambda, originally known as York Support. The collection consists primarily of news clippings related to efforts to hold a Gay Pride Week celebration in York, Pa in summer 1991.
Collection: LGBT-083 - Mitzel
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-083 Cindy Mitzel Collection
Date: 1987
This collection contains a poster for the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, October 11, 1987.
Collection: LGBT-082 - Meiser
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-082 Sally Meiser Collection
Date: 1993 - 1997
David Klinepeter was born April 26, 1926 in the Harrisburg, PA area. He married Gloria Klinepeter in 1949 and with whom he had four children. His youngest son, Daniel, was diagnosed with HIV and later died of AIDS-¬related complications in May of 1993. After Daniel’s passing, both David and Gloria became active in The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Gloria helped to create panels for her son, as well as others who died of AIDS-¬related complications, and they both participated in educational outreach surrounding HIV/AIDS.
This collection documents the involvement of Klinepeter and his wife in The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and the overall AIDS crisis. This collection contains 6 series: General Information, Memorial Programs, Posters, Media, Artifacts, and Books.
Collection: LGBT-076 - Klinepeter
Topics: AIDS Memorial Quilt, HIV/AIDs
Organizations: The Names Project
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-076 David Klinepeter Collection
Date: circa 1978
This collection contains a t-shirt from La Rose Rogue, an LGBTQ+ bar in Harrisburg, PA. La Rose Rogue was the final LGBTQ+ bar iteration at the 400 North 2nd Street location in Harrisburg, opened in 1978 by John Koch, and was open until 1990.
Collection: LGBT-079 - Taylor
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-079 Frank Taylor Collection