LGBT History Project: LGBT-088 TransCentral PA Collection

Number of Pages
6
Date
2007 - 2019

TransCentral PA is a nonprofit 501c3 organization which serves the transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming community in central Pennsylvania. It was originally formed in 1989 as the Lower Susquehanna Valley chapter of the national trans organization, Renaissance Education Association. The group separated from the Renaissance in 2006. This collection contains administrative materials and monthly newsletters from 2007-2021.

Organizations
General Subjects
Year
Origin
Downloaded from TransCentral PA website by Malinda Triller-Doran and Sarah Wakefield
Location
LGBT-088 TransCentral PA Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-067 Katie Ward Collection

Number of Pages
2
Date
2017

Katie Ward was born in 1952 and assigned male at birth. She was drafted after graduating from high school, and spent 22 years in military service, including active duty on a nuclear submarine in the Navy and Air Force National Guard. After Ward left active duty, she married and attended community college. She started working in the printing industry, moving up in the international printing business until 2013 when her company was bought out and she decided to retire. Ward was married twice and had one child.

Ward was a transgender activist and very active in LGBTQ+ community in Central PA. She organized and participated in numerous activities, including the Keystone Business Alliance, Central PA’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce; LGBT business mixers; local Gay Pride events; monthly Nights-Out with the Girls, and many others. She was an officer and longtime volunteer for TransCentral PA, and she helped establish the Keystone Conference, an international Trans conference held annually in Harrisburg.

Ward passed away in 2021

People
Organizations
General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Katie Ward
Collection
Location
LGBT-067 Katie Ward Collection

LGBT Oral History 099: Jeanine Ruhsam

Number of Pages
37
Date
August 23, 2017

For more than a decade, Jeanine Ruhsam was an advocate in Central Pennsylvania’s transgender community. With the primary goal of providing support and resources for transgender people and their loved ones, she spearheaded the Trans Central Pennsylvania organization and the Keystone Conferences. Her projects have also included organizing initiatives like the Transgender Day of Remembrance, as well as political lobbying and legislation. Today she continues her career as a Women and Gender Studies Professor in New Hampshire. This interview discusses her personal experience as a trans women, her thoughts on the Central Pennsylvania LGBT community, and her insight into the future of trans people in the United States.

Organizations
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Jeanine Ruhsam
Collection
Location
LGBT Oral History - Ruhsam, Jeanine - 099

LGBT Oral History 067: Gretchen Little

Number of Pages
20
Date
November 19, 2015

Gretchen Little was born on October 26, 1958 in Elmira, New York. As a child, Gretchen was interested in sports and experimented with wearing women’s clothing in the home. While studying Media Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Gretchen told some female partners about her interest in presenting as a woman, but remained largely closeted. After law school at the University of Pittsburgh, Gretchen went on to serve as the District Attorney for Sullivan County for several terms and then moved to Harrisburg to work for the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association. While in Harrisburg, Gretchen worked for TransCentral PA and helped organize the first Keystone Conference. In this interview, Gretchen discusses the vocabulary she used to describe her feelings during the sixties and seventies, her past relationships, her work with TransCentral, and the process of finding an authentic presentation in balance with her professional goals and personal relationships. She also discusses some difficult movements of confrontation, her relationship with organized religion, and her perspective on dating in the future. Gretchen concludes the interview by talking about how she chose her name after a domestic violence advocate she met while she served as the DA.

Organizations
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Gretchen Little
Collection
Location
LGBT Oral History - Little, Gretchen - 067

LGBT Oral History 014: Joanne Carroll

Number of Pages
22
Date
November 18, 2016

Joanne Carroll was born in Alberta, Canada in 1940 as John Carroll. She spent the first 60 years of her life as a man, marrying twice and having two children. She worked a number of jobs throughout the country, primarily in the Air Force but also in hotel management and security. She transitioned in the 90s at around 60 years old, moved with her mother to Lancaster, and got heavily involved in trans advocacy throughout all of Pennsylvania as the president of TransCentral PA. In this interview, Joanne discusses a number of subjects relating to her experiences as a trans woman, including mental health, the transition process, and her experiences in coming out as trans to her family and friends. She also discusses issues of race, politics, white and male privilege, the current political climate (as of November 2016), and the importance of faith in her life.

Organizations
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joanne Carroll
Collection
Location
LGBT Oral History - Carroll, Joanne - 014