Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

Gloria Jackie Schulze was born on November 25, 1934 in Huntington, WV. She graduated from high school and attended John Marshall University (now known as Marshall University) where she received her degree in Journalism.

After her son Rick came out to her, Jackie attended a local Parents of Gays meeting, and then she, and Hope Nancarrow, local activist Mary Nancarrow’s mother, established a local Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) chapter. Founded in 1973, PFLAG is the largest LGBTQ+ organization for LGBTQ+ people, families, friends, and allies. Jackie was president of the local PFLAG chapter for 18 years, and during those years she regularly spoke at universities, schools, and churches. Jackie was also active in HIV/AIDS related activism alongside her son, Rick.

Jackie passed away in 2018.

Rick Schulze was born in Delaware in the early 1960s to Jackie Schulze and his father George. After moving around as a young child, Rick grew up primarily in the Harrisburg area. After high school, Rick went on to Mansfield University and was instrumental in forming The Mansfield Gay Alliance, the first gay organization on campus. Rick also was active in HIV/AIDS awareness in Central PA, along with his mother, and worked closely with the organizations South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN) and AIDS Resource. Rick then went on to work with the Department of Health in HIV/AIDS Counseling during the 1990s. Rick is now in academia, eventually settling in as a professor in Health Education and Public Health at Lock Haven University.

Rick lives in the Lock Haven area today.

This collection documents Jackie and Rick's activism through photographs, correspondence, PGLAF memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and other miscellaneous items.

Frederick (Rick) Schulze was born in Delaware in the 60s and spent his childhood and adolescence in the 70s in the Harrisburg area. He first talks about his complicated relationship with his family and his gay identity, mentioning his mother’s support and positivity, his dad’s indifference, and other members’ repulsion. He then goes onto to discuss his first interactions with gay related material and media and his escapades cruising on State Street in Harrisburg. After high school, Rick went onto Mansfield University and was instrumental in forming The Mansfield Gay Alliance, first gay organization there. He describes the many abuses and acts of discrimination both he and his classmates faced. He goes on to detail the AIDS related volunteer work he did in the area, discussing the impact of the AIDS crisis on Central Pennsylvania. Rick worked closely with the organizations SCAAN, South Central AIDS Assistance Network, and AIDS Resource and then went on to work with the Department of Health in HIV/AIDS Counseling during the 90’s. During this time, his mother and Hope Nancarrow, the mother of Mary Nancarrow, worked closely with PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians, and he talks about the speaking circuits she went on at different churches and community spaces and touches on the threats that have been posed to the both of them. He also talks about various activists and their interactions with anti-gay leaders such as Anita Bryant in the area. After his public service, Rick went on to a career in academia, eventually settling in as a professor in Health Ed and Public Health at Lock Haven University. Outside of the classroom, he works closely with students on an LGBTQ related focus group and has been instrumental in instating gender name change policies and gender neutral bathrooms at the school. Rick’s story is a reminder to us all about the importance of public service and the impact just one person can have on a community and geographical region.

Maria Warren grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, in a religious family with both her blood-related and adopted siblings. Maria was very involved in her mother’s church, attending Sunday services, Bible study, and choir rehearsal, but realized that she was gay around age 12. In order to escape her feelings, Maria immersed herself in religion and married her boyfriend after graduating from high school, but her marriage was fraught with tension and ended in divorce. In this interview, Maria discusses the issues in her previous marriage, her relationships with her three children, and the importance PFLAG [formerly stood for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays] played in her coming out process. She also describes her experience of couples counseling with her ex-husband, who eventually outed Maria’s sexuality to most of her family, and the LGBT community in Baltimore that she relied on when the two separated. Today, Maria is living her self-described “dream” life with her partner in York, Pennsylvania, and hopes that by participating in the LGBT History Project, she can help prevent other LGBT individuals from experiencing the same difficult coming out process that she did.

Walter Heiliger was born in 1944 and grew up in rural Carroll County, Maryland, the second of three children. Walter, who describes himself as “severely hearing-impaired,” encountered difficulties in school and in connecting with others growing up, as he did not receive support for his hearing issues. Over the course of his career, Walter worked in a number of different positions at a variety of companies, including Head Ski Company and Black and Decker in Maryland and York Technical Institute and Freezing Equipment Sales in Pennsylvania. Now retired, he currently works part-time as a custodian at South York School District. Although he was aware that he was interested in men early on and had several relationships with men, he decided to marry a woman in an attempt to live a “normal” life. While the marriage was unfulfilling on many levels, Walter credits his wife for greatly improving his quality of life by getting him hearing aids and speech therapy, and it was through that marriage that Walter was able to have his three children. Walter came out in 1999, then in his mid-50s, and describes the varying levels of support he’s received from his family. Since coming out, he has slowly become more vocal in the LGBT community, joining PFLAG in Mechanicsburg for a time, attending programs for seniors through the LGBT Center, and working part-time at Altland’s Ranch in York. In this interview, Walter shares stories from his life, including his relationship with Bill, his most serious partner since coming out, who passed away in 2006. He also discusses the importance of reaching out to seniors in the LGBT community, as well as married men, and the idea of LGBT rights as a human rights issue rather than a political one.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.