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.
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LGBT History Project
Date: July 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
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View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - July 2002
Date: 1996-2007
These materials document LGBT programs and events in Central PA, such as Pride Festivals, the annual FAB Fall Achievement Benefit, and Lily White and Company performances. This collection also includes items from Pennsylvania bars.
Collection: LGBT-023 - Maurer
Topics:
Organizations: Central PA Womyn's Chorus
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-023 Teresa ''Teddy'' Maurer Collection
Date: 1978-1885
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.
Collection: LGBT-019 - Datres & Lukkari
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View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-019 Nancy Datres & Riitta Lukkari Collection
Date: 1993 - 1994, 2000
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.
Collection: LGBT-018 - Vath
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View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-018 Gerald Vath Collection
Date: June 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - June 2002
Date: May 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
This issue has a section “Money Talk” where boosting retirement savings is discussed.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
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View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - May 2002
Date: April 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: Central PA Womyn's Chorus
Date: March 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: The Center for Women's Creative Expression, Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg
Date: February 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: The Center for Women's Creative Expression
Date: January 2002
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: 1990-1992
This collection of material reflects Thomas Pfeiffer’s involvement in the Lily White and Company drag troupe in Harrisburg, PA and The Pennsmen Inc., a group of LGBT people with a common interest in the leather/fetish lifestyle.
Collection: LGBT-017 - Pfeiffer
Topics:
Organizations: Lily White & Company, Pennsmen Inc.
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-017 Thomas Pfeiffer Collection
Date: 1977-1980
Dan Maneval was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1947. Maneval’s activism included the founding of the Homophiles of Williamsport (HOW), the West Branch Gay Support Network, Susquehanna Lambda, Susquehanna Valley Gays United, and The Gay Switchboard of Williamsport. He also participated in several PA Rural Gay Caucuses, and he was a critical participant in the protest against Anita Bryant, who was the leader of the antigay Protect America’s Children campaign, when she came to the Bloomsburg Fair in 1978.
Collection: LGBT-008 - Maneval
Topics:
Organizations: Homophiles of Williamsport (HOW), Susquehanna Lambda
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-008 Dan Maneval Collection
Date: 1992 - 2013
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.
Collection: LGBT-007 - Miller
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View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-007 Dan Miller Collection
Date: 1990-1995
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.
Collection: LGBT-005 - Dierkers
Topics: HIV/AIDs
Organizations: South Central Aids Assistance Network (SCAAN)
View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-005 Margaret ''Peg'' Dierkers Collection
Date: 2012
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.
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View Item: LGBT History Project: LGBT-004 Chris Dietz Collection
Date: December 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: The Center for Women's Creative Expression
Date: November 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: October 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: September 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: The Center for Women's Creative Expression, Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg
View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - September 2001
Date: August 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: July 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - July 2001
Date: June 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - June 2001
Date: May 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: Common Roads
View Item: Lavender Letter (Harrisburg, PA) - May 2001
Date: March 2001
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations:
Date: December 2000
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 was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.
Collection: LGBT-009 - Lavender Letter
Topics:
Organizations: