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LGBT History Project
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: 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
Date: 1993
This collection contains citizen correspondence requesting that the inclusion of “sexual orientation” in the City of York’s non-discrimination ordinance be put on the ballot for a public referendum. The correspondence dates from February 1993 and...
Collection: LGBT-078 - York City Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Topics: York Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-078 York City Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Collection
Date: circa 1985, 1991
This collection contains a 1991 Gay and Lesbian Guide to Central PA from the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg (GLSH) and a Gay Trivia Game. O’Leary also donated a run of The Advocate magazine, from 1985 – 1991, which is housed...
Collection: LGBT-016 - O'Leary
Topics:
Organizations: Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-016 Gary O'Leary Collection
Date: 1946, 1970 - 2017
John Barns was born in Perry County, PA. He graduated from Greenwood High School in 1960 and then joined the Pennsylvania National Guard during the Vietnam War, where he was in the armored tank division. After discharging from the military, Barns...
Collection: LGBT-015 - Barns
Topics: HIV/AIDs
Organizations: Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg, Dignity/Central PA
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-015 John R. Barns Collection
Date: circa 1980
This collection contains two bar passes to The Allegro Bar that was located in Baltimore, MD.
Collection: LGBT-073 - Zinicola
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-073 Stephen Zinicola Collection
Date: 2011
This collection contains the Presidential Proclamation for Pride Month 2011 by Barack Obama.
Collection: LGBT-072 - Anonymous
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-072 Anonymous Collection
Date: 2000 - 2001
This collection contains two AIDSWalk T-shirts from 2000 and 2001.
Collection: LGBT-070 - Bookwalter Jr.
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-070 John H. Bookwalter Jr. Collection
Date: 1996 - 1997, undated
Dr. Eric Selvey was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. He attended optometry school in Philadelphia and returned to the Harrisburg area after graduating.
Selvey was a member of Lily White and Company drag troupe, which raised thousands of...
Collection: LGBT-013 - Selvey
Topics:
Organizations: Lily White & Company, Crossroads Magazine
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-013 Eric Selvey Collection
Date: 1991 - 2003
This collection was donated anonymously by an individual associated with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of the Spirit in Harrisburg, PA.
The Newspapers Clippings series documents issues such as same–sex marriage, the relationship...
Collection: LGBT-012 - Anonymous
Topics: Lancaster Antidiscrimination Law
Organizations: MCC of the Spirit
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-012 Anonymous Collection
Date: 1968 - 2015; Bulk Dates 1970 - 1980
Joseph W. Burns started to donate these materials in 2013 as the first contribution of historical documents to the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project. These materials reflect his involvement in, and document, LGBTQ+ activism in Central PA...
Collection: LGBT-001 - Burns
Topics: PA Senate Bill 531, PA Senate Bill 83
Organizations: Lehigh Valley Citizens Concerned for a Better Community (CCBC), Gay Coordinating Society of Berks County, Reading (GCS Berks), PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities, Lehigh Valley Homophile Organization (Le-Hi-Ho), PA Lesbian/Gay Support Network (PALGSN), PA Rural Gay Caucus, National Gay Task Force (NGTF), National Organization for Women (N.O.W.)
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection, Appendix: Bibliography of books donated by Joseph W. Burns
Date: 1972 - 2013
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...
Collection: LGBT-010 - Wilson
Topics:
Organizations: Pennsmen Inc., The Jewel Box Revue, Harrisburg Hustlers Volleyball Team
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-010 Larry Wilson Collection
Date: 1983 - 2006
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...
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-009 Lavender Letter Collection