Gays United Lancaster (GUL)

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.

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, starting with opening the Railroad House in Marietta with his partner Marlon. David then went on to be an evening manager at Isaac’s and then transitioned into a higher up management job within the restaurant. Due to his pull at Isaac’s, he was able to convince the restaurant and other local restaurants to raise funds and collaborate with the Lancaster AIDS Project and SCAAN. David was also one of the original members of Gays United Lancaster and The Rural Gay Caucus, an organization formed in reaction to the urban focus of the Council of Sexual Minorities, formed by Governor Shapp. He also was one of the main driving forces behind the newsletter, Gay Era, often spearheading the publication of it. He remarks on how many of his friends, such as Bari Weaver, had to move due to the extreme harassment they faced for being openly gay. He then touches on the evolution of gay bars in the area and how he met his partner, Ben, who he has been living with in Elizabethtown for around twenty years.

The Gay Era was a newspaper that reported news of interest from around the United States, with a specific focus on the news surrounding the gay community in Central PA, and provided a central forum for gay communities that were spread out across Central PA. Notable news in this issues:

• "Wheatland Zapped" (p. 4)
• "Rural Caucus Report" (p. 5)
• "State College [PA]" (p. 5)
• "Reading [PA]" (p. 5)
• "A Personal Expression of Gay Oppression from Lancaster, PA" (p. 12)
• "Northumberland [PA]" (p. 13)