This is a photo of the reverse side of Father Wallace Sawdy with a group of members at Dignity/Central PA's 20th Anniversary Picnic, held in July 1995 at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Gardners, PA. This picture is found on page 35 of the PDF...

This is a photo of Steven Leshner (right) receiving the award "Member of the Year," presented by Richard Hause (left) at Dignity/Central PA's 20th Anniversary Celebration at the Hotel Hershey in July 1995. This picture is found on page 38 of the...

This is a photo of Richard Hause (left) with two members at Dignity/Central PA's booth at the Pride Festival of Central PA, held on July 30, 1995 at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, PA. This picture is found on page 36 of the PDF of the Dignity/...

For the very first interview of the history project, Edmund Good and Thurman Grossnickle describe their coming out stories. Thurman is a retired Scientist Administrator and has spent many years in academia and in health professions, as well as in...

Barry Loveland was born December 28th, 1956 in Schenectady, New York. After graduating from high school, Barry attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he obtained a Bachelors of Science degree in Architecture and Building Sciences....

John Barns was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania. He comes from a family of farmers and is Pennsylvania Dutch. He grew up on a farm, joined the military during Vietnam, and then worked for the Pennsylvania government for 30...

This is an interview with Steven Leshner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He conveys his struggles of coming out in the 1970s and being a gay man in central PA through a series of anecdotes. Steven also talks extensively about his work at Dignity and...

This is a story circle with Barry Loveland, Richard Hause, and Steven Leshner discussing the life and work of Jerry Brennan. They begin with the discussion of Jerry’s childhood religion and his attendance of St. Bernard’s...

Membership Application for Dignity/Central PA.

Steven Leshner became a member of Dignity/Central PA, a Catholic organization for LGBTQ+ individuals that has been active in the Harrisburg, PA area since 1976, in the 1970s, where he participated in events and activities, as well as became part...

Richard H. Hause was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on May 21, 1947, and moved to Harrisburg after he graduated from high school in 1965. After coming out to his family when he was eighteen, Richard began working for the State Government in...

Colin Kreitzer was born in 1947 in Enola, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Wormleysburg, PA with his parents and his younger sister. He attended West Chester College (now West Chester University) and moved to Harrisburg in 1977, where he began...