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

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LGBT Oral History 086: Emily Newberry

Date: October 11, 2014

Emily Newberry was born in June of 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri, shortly thereafter moving to West Haven, Connecticut, and then Schenectady, New York, after her parents got divorced—a shameful and hidden family secret—and her dad remarried. Emily...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Transgender Experiences

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 086: Emily Newberry

LGBT Oral History 084B: Mary Nancarrow

Date: February 24, 2015

Mary Nancarrow grew up in a suburb of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the 1950s and 1960s with divorced parents and two siblings. After graduating from Shippensburg University, she became prominent in the women’s movement and the LGBT movement in...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Feminism, Coming Out

Organizations: PA Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities, PA Rural Gay Caucus, National Organization for Women (N.O.W.)

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 084B: Mary Nancarrow

Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - December 1999

Date: December 1999

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...

Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter

Topics: HIV/AIDs

Organizations:

View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - December 1999

Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - November 1999

Date: November 1999

Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter

Topics:

Organizations: Central PA Womyn's Chorus

View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - November 1999

Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - October 1999

Date: October 1999

Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter

Topics:

Organizations: Central PA Womyn's Chorus

View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - October 1999

Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - September 1999

Date: September 1999

Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter

Topics:

Organizations:

View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - September 1999

Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - August 1999

Date: August 1999

Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter

Topics:

Organizations:

View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - August 1999

Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - July 1999

Date: July 1999

Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter

Topics:

Organizations:

View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - July 1999

LGBT Oral History 082: Dan Miller

Date: March 15, 2014

Daniel (Dan) C. Miller’s colorful humor and personality were persistent throughout the interview. He shares his experiences growing up and coming out in his early 30s. His coming out experience was during his time working for Donald L. DeMuth....

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 082: Dan Miller

LGBT Oral History 072B: Dan Maneval

Date: July 24, 2015

Daniel Maneval was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1947. In this interview, Daniel speaks frankly about his experiences growing up as an only child, about the homophobic violence he has experienced, and the gay organizations he...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations: Susquehanna Valley Gays United (SVGU), Homophiles of Williamsport (HOW), PA Rural Gay Caucus

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 072B: Dan Maneval

LGBT Oral History 064: Rachel Levine

Date: February 6, 2017

Dr. Rachel Levine was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts on October 28th, 1957. With a great sense of humor Dr. Levine discusses her interesting life. She attended Belmont Hill School, where she excelled and engaged in athletic and creative...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Transgender Experiences

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 064: Rachel Levine

LGBT Oral History 062: David Leas

Date: June 1, 2017

David Leas was born in 1955 in Columbia, Pennsylvania. He comes from a working class family and described the sense of independence he got from his first job as busboy for the Accomac Inn. This job lead to a foray into the restaurant business,...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations: Gays United Lancaster (GUL), PA Rural Gay Caucus, Gay Era

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 062: David Leas

LGBT Oral History 061: Lorraine Kujawa

Date: October 28, 2015

Lorraine Kujawa was one of the co-founders of the Lavender Letter in Harrisburg during the late seventies and eighties. The Lavender Letter was created to provide events for the lesbian community to attend in Pennsylvania. She started the...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 061: Lorraine Kujawa

LGBT Oral History 060: Colin Kreitzer

Date: February 16, 2017

Colin Kreitzer was born in 1947 in Enola, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania with his parents and his younger sister. He attended West Chester College and moved to Harrisburg in 1977, where he began getting involved in the...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations: Gay Switchboard of Harrisburg (GSH), Dignity/Central PA, MCC Harrisburg

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 060: Colin Kreitzer

LGBT Oral History 059: Suzanne Kohr

Date: March 25, 2015

Suzanne Kohr, formerly Ott, was raised in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. She is now 60 years old, and resides in Newberrytown, Pennsylvania. Suzanne had two children with her first husband, and has been married to her second husband, Tom Kohr, for...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: HIV/AIDs

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 059: Suzanne Kohr

LGBT Oral History 058: Nikki Knerr

Date: October 9, 2016

Nikki Knerr was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1945 and attended York College and Pennsylvania State University where she studied mass communications. In 1967, Nikki opened her first graphic design business which ran for 25 years in Camp...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: HIV/AIDs

Organizations:

View Item: Transcription of LGBT Oral History 058: Nikki Knerr