Social Reform and Advocacy

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 for adoption. She attended Montgomery College in Maryland and received a degree in psychology, after which she and her then-partner moved down to Tampa, FL. Merriman got licensed and ordained as a pastor and started a Metropolitan Community Church in Lakeland, FL in 1983, where she and the congregation dealt with the difficulties of forming an LGBT church in a conservative town as well as the emergence of AIDS. In 1987, she was called to serve as pastor at Vision of Hope MCC in Lancaster, PA, a position which she held until 1995, navigating the creation of Lancaster’s Human Rights Ordinance and the process of buying the church’s current building in Mountville, PA. Since earning her Master of Social Work degree, she has worked as a social worker at Community Care Behavioral Health in Camp Hill, PA. In this interview, she discusses her involvement in the LGBT community, especially in the area of religion, and the advances that the community has made over time.

Bernie Pupo was born in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania in 1945 and attended Mount Carmel Catholic High School. After working in a factory after high school, Bernie moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a window decorator for Pomeroy’s department store for three years. During this time, he also joined SCAAN, the South Central Aids Assistance Network, which is now known as the AIDS Alliance. In this interview, Bernie speaks about his most memorable experience as a Boy Scouts leader, as well as his experience working in and visiting gay clubs in cities such as Harrisburg, Reading, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and D.C. During this interview, he also speaks about how he experienced very little homophobia in both his family and overall social life, despite living in a small town during the 60s and growing up as a practicing Catholic. Bernie, still Catholic, now works as a hair dresser and owns his own salon.

Prior to coming out at the age of 32, Ted Martin had worked for many years for the government and public policy organizations, chiefly in the areas of communications and advocacy. Martin lived in Washington, D.C. and worked for Congress before returning to Pennsylvania, where he worked at the Historic Harrisburg Association and then his alma mater Dickinson College, at which point he came out. He became involved with the Team Pennsylvania Foundation and became part of the Rendell administration, serving in the Department of Community and Economic Development and as an advisor on LGBT issues. He currently works as the Executive Director of Equality Pennsylvania, the PA LGBT advocacy organization. In this interview, he discusses his life prior to, during, and since coming out, as well as the ways in which being out and gay has affected his life and his work.

Born in 1949 to a Lutheran minister and his wife, Marlene Kanuck married a man, had two children, and got a divorce after 11 years of marriage before realizing that she was a lesbian. In this interview, she discusses her coming out process and the effects that being a lesbian has had on her life. A teacher and a divorced mother wanting to retain custody over her children, Kanuck was not able to be openly gay for many years, and she discusses that experience, as well as her experiences in long-term relationships and in raising her children with those women. Additionally, she describes her relationship with religion and where she thinks the LGBT community is heading in the near future. Currently working at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Kanuck is also a founder of the LGBT Center, in addition to being involved with a number of other organizations, and she discusses her involvement in opening the Center.

From the time Joseph "Joe" W. Burns came out as gay at around 27 years of age, he was involved in gay activism. He was a part of many organizations that have helped to move gay rights forward, including the Mattachine Society and Le-Hi-Ho. He donated his entire library of gay-related books to Le-Hi-Ho before retiring from his activism career, and he donated books to the LGBT archives at the Waidner-Spahr Library at Dickinson College as well. This interview focuses on his memories of activism in the early years of the Gay Liberation Movement just before and just after the Stonewall riots of 1969. He finishes this interview with an emotional recollection of the Christopher Liberation Day Parade in 1970.

For the very first interview of the history project, Edmund Good and Thurman Grossnickle describe their coming out stories. Thurman is a retired Scientist Administrator and has spent many years in academia and in health professions, as well as in LGBT organizations. He considers himself Brethren, although he no longer attends church, though a large part of his coming out process involved the organization, Dignity, which was primarily run by the late Father Saude (ph.). Upon discovering his sexuality, Thurman spent a considerable amount of his time dedicated to the LGBT community of Harrisburg, operating the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, attending and hosting Dignity events, and serving as editor of the Dignity newsletter. Thurman discusses his involvement, his experiences living in Central PA, and his decision to never divorce his wife. Edmund is a retired apartment manager, though he is still involved in the Brethren Housing organization, which finds places for mothers going from welfare to work. Edmund explains that though he was always kind of aware of his sexuality, he hadn’t really come out before attending college. At Penn State, he was involved in several LGBT outlets, including the student organization HOPS (Homosexuals of Penn State), which was supported and funded by Penn State. Edmund, too, alludes to the friendly climate, which he’s experienced during his life as a gay man in Central PA. In the second half of their interview, Ed and Thurman tackle some deeper issues. Ed discusses how his work and family life didn’t change too much overall, but there were some bumps. At first, his parents didn’t understand what it meant to be gay, creating an estrangement. But with the introduction of Thurman into the picture, they had a change of heart. Ed and Thurman discuss other difficulties they’ve endured in 33 years as a couple. Despite being made coal on the carpet, a church backed them up and defied their national organization, making it a known safe space for LGBT couples. On a less happy note, they discuss a community’s reaction to Thurman’s friendship with a gay teenage boy. As Ed and Thurman reflect on the past events they’ve encountered, they note where we’ve come from and where we still need to go. Ed mentions several websites, webinars, and workshops that helped him as a gay man, but could also help others to understand and love thy neighbor.

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, and includes information on Human Rights Day, a Youth Committee Report, and an update on Senate Bill 83.

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, inluding updates on Senate Bill 83 and the sodomy repeal bill, information regarding Anita Bryant, and an update on how Gay Lobby Day went. 

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities."

In these minutes general information is shared, along with planning of Gay Lobby Day, concerns over the Helath Concerns Committe, and information surrounding Anita Bryant's ''Save Our Children'' campaign. 

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, and includes reports from the Treasurer, Communications Committee, and Education Committee. 

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes general information is shared, as well as discussion of Senate Bill 83, the sodomy repeal bill, and an update on the Lebanon High School issue.

The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus was “an association of interested individuals and groups, formed with the objective of promulgating the concerns and freedoms of gay people and all sexual minorities.”

In these minutes, general minutes are reports as well as reports from the Legislative, Communication, and Education committees. 

Patricia “Pat” Saunders grew up in the suburbs of Boston, where she became a hairdresser. After Saunders married, she and her family moved to Lancaster, PA, but later she moved back to Boston until moving to New York City for her hairdressing firm. She rose in the ranks of the company, eventually taking the lead in marketing and PR for 300 salons. One night at work she slipped on an ice cube and sustained a severe head injury, impacting her mobility and faculties. She then moved from New York City to New Jersey, and then to back to the Central Pennsylvania area.

Saunders had two friends who passed away from AIDS. Seeing the seriousness of the disease in the Central PA area, and her personal connection to it, Saunders began working for various non-profit organizations committed to supporting people with HIV/AIDS and raising awareness for the disease. She worked for the American Red Cross, Art Against AIDS/Lancaster AIDS Project, and The Betty Finney House. Saunders helped these organizations with fundraising, organizing events, and writing any letters to various celebrities to collect items for silent auctions.

The bulk of the collection consists of buttons, ribbons, and t-shirts from LGBT events. It also contains documentation of the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg and Dignity of Central PA. Several of the items in this collection relate the story of Dan Miller, a Central PA accountant who was fired for being gay in 1990. This collection also contains program materials from the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, as well as Hershey, PA and NYC play performances. In addition, this collection includes items relevant to noteworthy LGBT Pennsylvanians. These items include an autographed photograph of Nancy Jane Kulp (born in Harrisburg, PA) who played Jane Hathaway on the television series Beverly Hillbillies; a photograph, publicity material, and an LP record album of T. C. Jones (born in Scranton, PA), well-known female impersonator; and an engraving of Bayard Taylor (born in Kennett Square, PA), who wrote Joseph and His Friend (1870), believed to be the first U.S. gay novel.

These images represent a cross section of the types of materials included in the LGBT Center of Central PA's History Project, which is housed in the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections. View the Collection in Flicker. 

For inventories of more materials, visit this page.

Founded in 1968 in California, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) began as a Christian outreach to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. MCC Harrisburg (later renamed MCC of the Spirit) and MCC Lancaster (later renamed MCC Vision of Hope) were two local parishes in the Central PA Area.

The Freedom Newsletter was a joint publication of MCC Harrisburg and MCC Lancaster. It contains news from both a parishes and a calendar of events.

Founded in 1968 in California, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) began as a Christian outreach to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. MCC Harrisburg (later renamed MCC of the Spirit) and MCC Lancaster (later renamed MCC Vision of Hope) were two local parishes in the Central PA Area.

The Freedom Newsletter was a joint publication of MCC Harrisburg and MCC Lancaster. It contains news from both a parishes and a calendar of events.

Founded in 1968 in California, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) began as a Christian outreach to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. MCC Harrisburg (later renamed MCC of the Spirit) and MCC Lancaster (later renamed MCC Vision of Hope) were two local parishes in the Central PA Area.

The Freedom Newsletter was a joint publication of MCC Harrisburg and MCC Lancaster. It contains news from both a parishes and a calendar of events.

Lancaster Unity Celebration flyer hosted at Franklin and Marshall College. 

Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC) was created in 1991 as a non-religious, LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy and social organization in the City of Lancaster. The Coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the human relations ordinance in 1991, and in creating a new city Human Relations Commission to enforce the ordinance in 2001. The Coalition dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Lancaster Inqueery was the PTC newsletter. Notable articles in this issue are: 

• ''Years Ahead Across the River''
• ''2001 Red Cross Oscar Party''

Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC) was created in 1991 as a non-religious, LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy and social organization in the City of Lancaster. The Coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the human relations ordinance in 1991, and in creating a new city Human Relations Commission to enforce the ordinance in 2001. The Coalition dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Lancaster Inqueery was the PTC newsletter. Notable articles in this issue are: 

• ''Have a FABulous Night and Help Benefit Local Lesbigay Groups''
• ''Millenium March for Equality is Sure to Be a Historic Event''

Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC) was created in 1991 as a non-religious, LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy and social organization in the City of Lancaster. The Coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the human relations ordinance in 1991, and in creating a new city Human Relations Commission to enforce the ordinance in 2001. The Coalition dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Lancaster Inqueery was the PTC newsletter. 

Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC) was created in 1991 as a non-religious, LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy and social organization in the City of Lancaster. The Coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the human relations ordinance in 1991, and in creating a new city Human Relations Commission to enforce the ordinance in 2001. The Coalition dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Lancaster Inqueery was the PTC newsletter.

Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC) was created in 1991 as a non-religious, LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy and social organization in the City of Lancaster. The Coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the human relations ordinance in 1991, and in creating a new city Human Relations Commission to enforce the ordinance in 2001. The Coalition dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Lancaster Inqueery was the PTC newsletter. Notable articles in this issue: 

• ''Meet E - Up real close & personal with Erika Lutwin PTC's newly-elected Treasurer''

Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC) was created in 1991 as a non-religious, LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy and social organization in the City of Lancaster. The Coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the human relations ordinance in 1991, and in creating a new city Human Relations Commission to enforce the ordinance in 2001. The Coalition dissolved shortly thereafter.

The Lancaster Inqueery was the PTC newsletter. Notable articles in this issue are: 

• ''Human Relations Ord. Update''