Military Experience

Gay Era (Lancaster, PA) - October 1978
October 1978

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...

LGBT History Project Logo
July 30, 2013

Larry Lee Thomas was born in Burnham, Pennsylvania in 1941, living there for at least 19 years before spending four years in the military, and shortly thereafter moving to the nearby city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After his first experience...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

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View Item: PDF icon Transcription of LGBT Oral History 112: Larry Thomas

Mary Merriman
August 28, 2013

Born in Chicago, IL in 1949 to a Catholic family, Mary Merriman joined the Air Force in 1967, where she struggled with her sexuality due to the environment, eventually becoming pregnant and discharging from the military before giving her son up...

Julie Lobur
November 12, 2013

Julie Lobur was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1955 and moved to Harrisburg in 1970. She received her bachelor’s degree from Penn State and added a master’s degree in computer science in 2003. Julie briefly served in the military in 1983...

John Johnson (L) and Charles Maser (R)
May 8, 2014

Jon Johnson was born in Southern Lancaster county, Pennsylvania and lived on his family’s farm in his early life. Charles (Charlie) Maser was born in Brownstown in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. Jon spent most of his life in Pennsylvania. He went...

LGBT History Project Logo
March 22, 2015

Lindsay Snowden was born in Pittsburgh on March 15, 1976. Lindsay worked a bunch of odd jobs and has had an entrepreneurial spirit since a young age. Lindsay joined the military when sirb was 17. Lindsay realized after moving to Harrisburg that...

Joe Christ
August 8, 2017

Joe Christ was born in 1927 with Klinefelter syndrome and assigned male at birth. The seventh of eight children, Christ was placed into an orphanage during the Great Depression where they stayed until age 18. Two weeks later, Christ was drafted...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics: Intersex

Organizations:

View Item: PDF icon Transcription of LGBT Oral History 017: Joe Christ

Amanda Porter (now known as Amanda Hecker)
August 16, 2017

Amanda Porter [now known as Amanda Hecker] was born in 1950 in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Amanda is a trans woman and transgender rights educator and activist. In this interview, Amanda repeats her goal of wanting to make transgender people visible...

Melita McCully
November 28, 2017

Melita McCully was born on December 11, 1952 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. After the death of her father, Melita moved to Florida with her family and became both the breadwinner and the caretaker of her six brothers and sisters, mother and...

Collection: LGBT Oral History

Topics:

Organizations:

View Item: PDF icon Transcription of LGBT Oral History 079: Melita McCully

William ''Miss Tina'' Horn
November 25, 2018

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...

Susquehanna Valley Gays United Banner
1961-2015

Sam Edmiston was born on July 17, 1945 in Middleburg, PA. In the April of 1963, Edmiston enrolled in the US Navy, and three weeks after his graduation, went to the Keel United States Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois for recruitment...

LGBT History Project Logo
1940 - 2017

Joseph F. Christ was born in 1927 with Klinefelter Syndrome and assigned male at birth. The seventh of eight children, Christ was placed into an orphanage during the Great Depression until the age 18. Two weeks later, Christ was drafted into the...

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