Right side of the room at Dignity/Central PA 8th Anniversary Dinner (Railroad House, Marietta, PA) - July 1983

Date
July 1983

This is a photo of the right side of the room during Dignity/Central PA's 8th Anniversary Dinner, held in July 1983 at the Railroad House in Marietta, PA. This picture is found on page 18 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

Left side of the room at Dignity/Central PA 8th Anniversary Dinner (Railroad House, Marietta, PA) - July 1983

Date
July 1983

This is a photo of the left side of the room during Dignity/Central PA's 8th Anniversary Dinner, held in July 1983 at the Railroad House in Marietta, PA. This picture is found on page 18 of the PDF of the Dignity/Central PA Scrapbook.

Dignity/Central PA is a forum for human concerns, a place of seeking for greater self, knowledge, and wisdom, an affirmation of one's sexual orientation in faith, and personal ministry. This scrapbook was created by Steven Leshner, a member of Dignity/Central PA, and includes mostly photos, unless otherwise noted, of annual picnics, events, and members, like those of founder Jerry Brennan and Father Wallace Sawdy.

Find Other Issues
Organizations
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Steven Leshner
Collection
Location
LGBT-029 - Steven Leshner Collection

LGBT Oral History 062: David Leas

Number of Pages
36
Date
June 1, 2017

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.

People
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of David Leas
Collection
Location
LGBT Oral History - Leas, David - 062

Springtime with Dignity/Central PA - 1980

Number of Pages
5
Date
March - May 1980

Calendar of events hosted by Dignity/Central PA during the Spring of 1980.

Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Collection
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Collection

Gay Era (Lancaster, PA) - February 1977

Number of Pages
25
Date
February 1977

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. Noteworthy news in this issues:

  • "State Council for Sexual Minorities Establishes Complaint Center" (p. 2)
  • "Equality for Gays Voted at West Chester State" (p. 2)
  • "Rural Caucus Meets in State College" (p. 7)
  • "Villanova University's Gays Still Deep in Closet" (p. 7)
  • "So There Are No Sexual Minority Materials in Textbooks" (p. 10)
  • "Reasons for Repeal of Pennsylvania's Voluntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse (Sodomy) Statute" (p. 15)
  • H.O.W. [Homophiles of Williamsport] (p. 17)
  • " 'Prissy' Off-Stage in Marietta" (p. 22)
  • "Rural Gay Resource List" (p. 23)
Find Other Issues
People
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Location
LGBT-001 Joseph W. Burns Periodicals Collection

Gay Era (Lancaster, PA) - April 1976

Number of Pages
13
Date
April 1976

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.

This issue was labeled incorrectly, and should be April 1976. Noteworthy news in this issue: 

  • "Supreme Court Says 'Nay' on Gay" (p. 1)
  • "Rural Caucus Report" (p. 5)
  • "Governor's Council on Sexual Minorities" (p. 8)
  • "Gay Education Day" (p. 12)
Find Other Issues
Year
Time Period
Format
Origin
Gift of Joseph W. Burns
Location
LGBT - 001 Joseph W. Burns Periodicals Collection