1990-1999

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this Education & Gay/Lesbian Issues Issues:

• Gay Dollars! A look at this Summer's Gay and Lesbian Entrepreneurial Spirit
• Lynn Lavner Interview

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this Issue: 

• A Look Back at the 1970s
• The Way We Were...And How We Came to Be
• Kate Clinton - An Exclusive Interview

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this Pride '97 Issue:

• Exclusive! International Flim Star Ty Fox
• Pride '97
• Bobbie Carmitchell Unplugged

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this First Anniversary Issue: 

• Travel Section - Rehobeth & Puerto Vallarta
• Fire from Hell...Treasures from God
• ''In Search of Missy Ether'' Short Story
• Mr. Harrisburg Contest 1997

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this Love & Romance Issue: 

• The Pennsmen and All Things Leather
• Moving to and from Harrisburg
• Streisand's Mirrored Talesman
• Gathering What Was Once Theirs
• Photo Essay - FAB '96

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this AIDS Issue:

• Central Pennsylvania in the Face of AIDS Spotlights
• SCANN Closure 
• York Hospice House
• Coverage of the NAMES Project Memorial Quilt
• 1997 Community Calendar

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

In this National Coming Out Day Issue:

• The AIDS Quilt Returns to D.C. - Susquehanna Valley Names Highlights
• The Renaissance Man
• Organizational Spotlight - Bi-GLYAH
• Community Scrapbook

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

This is Pride Issue: 

• Tips to Same Sex Estate Planning
• The Supreme TKO - The Court's Decision on Amendment 2
• Take a Trip to Alpha Bathhouse Omega - The Crossroads' Short Story
• Community Spotlight - York Area Lambda and their upcoming Judy! Benefit 

Crossroads Magazine was a bi-monthly local LGBTQ+ magazine created, edited, and published by Dr. Eric Selvey. The goal of Crossroads was to bring together the LGBTQ+ community of Central Pennsylvania by creating a space to showcase the efforts and talents of local LGBTQ+ organizations, people, and events, with all articles being voluntary contributions. Crossroads was published from June 1996 – October 1997.

This issue includes: 

• Special Report: Breast Cancer 1996 - The Other Community Health Concern
• A Tribute to a Legal Warrior along with Her Parting Words ''I've Had a Magical Life''
• Getting Orientation Into PA's Ethnic Intimidation Act - The Attempt to Stamp Out Hate Crimes Against PA's Sexual Minorities 
• Part Two of the Interview with MCC's Pastor O'Diam
• Community Resource Spotlight: Lily White & Company

Born on May 4, 1923, in Brooklyn, NY, Walter J. Lear was a physician and activist for healthcare reform and LGBTQ+ rights. He received his B.S. from Harvard in 1943, his M.D. from Long Island College of Medicine in 1946, and his M.S. in Hospital Administration from Columbia University School of Public Health in 1948. Lear came out in January of 1976 in the first issues of the Philadelphia Gay News.

Lear held many public health positions in Pennsylvania including, but not limited to, Deputy City Health Commissioner for Philadelphia (1964), State Regional Health Commissioner (1971), and acting executive director of Philadelphia General Hospital. He also founded the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health (circa 1975) and was one of the four founders of the Maternity Care Coalition in Philadelphia (1980).

As an activist, Lear’s dedication to healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights intersected. His activism included, but is not limited to: Chairperson to the Gay Public Health Workers Caucus of the American Public Health Association (1975-1978); Board of Directors member for the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia, now the William Way Center, (1975-1991); PA State Health Department delegate to the Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorities (1976-1979); co-founder of the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia (1979); co-founder the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force (1982); and the first openly gay member of the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission (1984-1988).

Lear passed away in 2010.

The contents of this collection are organized into six series: Context of Collection, Correspondence, Photographs, Scholarship, Recognition Events, and Miscellaneous. For more materials related to Walter J. Lear, please see:

Walter J. Lear papers, 1975-1996, John J. Wilcox, Jr. LGBT Archives, William Way LGBT Community Center.

Walter Lear Collection, 1944 – 1963, Joan E. Lynaugh Archives and Special Collections, Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania.

John Folby was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The eldest of five children, Folby was raised in a “very strict Roman Catholic, Irish-Italian family.” At age twenty-five, he relocated to Harrisburg with his partner. Shortly after moving to Harrisburg, Folby became heavily involved in the local gay community, beginning with his work on the Harrisburg Gay Switchboard. He also joined a group for gay Catholics, Dignity/Central PA, which better integrated him into the gay community with trips to New York City for the annual Gay Pride parade and introductions to the gay bar scene in Harrisburg.

With the influx of HIV/AIDS in the gay community, Folby began his twenty-five-year career with the Department of Welfare where he ran the Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program (SPBP), Pennsylvania’s version of an AIDS Drug Assistance program for people living with HIV/AIDS. Folby, with the help of his supervisor, was able to parlay this civil servant position into one of advocacy. Due to lack of government funding, Folby was frequently forced to think creatively and economically to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and get the word out about HIV/AIDS medications, such as AZT. Folby became an advocate inside the system.

This collection contains the personal and governmental activism of John Folby. Items represent local, state, national, and international HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

Jude Sharp (Left) and Lorraine Kujawa (right) at the First Community Recognition Banquet hosted at Miss Garbo's Tea Room in Carlisle, PA.

Mary Nancarrow at the First Community Recognition Banquet hosted at Miss Garbo's Tea Room in Carlisle, PA.

Thurman Grossnickle (left) and Barry Loveland (right) at the First Community Recognition Banquet hosted at Miss Garbo's Tea Room in Carlisle, PA.

Johnson and Maser met in 1975 through a mutual friend. As a couple, they saw how AIDS was affecting their community and became active in local AIDS Awareness organizations, the Lancaster AIDS Project, and the Betty Finney House, which helped raise awareness and support people with AIDS.

This collection contains newspaper clippings, which document coverage of issues related to LGBT rights and activism in the LNP (Lancaster, PA) newspaper in summer 2015; a program for the art exhibit “Men and Other Abstractions” created by Johnson; posters that address civil rights and the ban on military service for gays and lesbians; buttons that feature various advocacy efforts; and matchbooks from hotels, bars, clubs, and restaurants in Pennsylvania and cities across the United States.

The LGBT Center of Central PA, housed in Harrisburg, PA, provides services, programs, and community space for the LGBT community in the region. These materials represent these initiatives, including the Common Roads program for youth and young adults, its predecessor BiGLYAH, and FAB (Fall Achievement Benefit). This collection also contains materials regarding the founding of the Center, publications produced by the Center and other regional LGBT initiatives (such as Central Alternative, Out and About in Central PA, and the @ The Center newsletter), news clippings regarding local LGBT issues, and other documentation of LGBT organizations and programming in Central PA.

Cindy Lou Mitzel was born in April 1942 in York County, PA. Growing up Mitzel knew that she felt attraction towards women, however she married a man after graduating from high school and they had three children. Mitzel has been involved in the National Organization for Women [NOW]; the Lavender Letter newsletter; the Lesbian Alliance; the Central Pennsylvania Women’s Chorus; and York Support, later known as York Area Lambda, among other women’s and gay rights activist organizations.

These documents relate to Mitzel’s involvement in York Area Lambda, originally known as York Support. The collection consists primarily of news clippings related to efforts to hold a Gay Pride Week celebration in York, Pa in summer 1991.

David Klinepeter was born April 26, 1926 in the Harrisburg, PA area. He married Gloria Klinepeter in 1949 and with whom he had four children. His youngest son, Daniel, was diagnosed with HIV and later died of AIDS-¬related complications in May of 1993. After Daniel’s passing, both David and Gloria became active in The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Gloria helped to create panels for her son, as well as others who died of AIDS-¬related complications, and they both participated in educational outreach surrounding HIV/AIDS.

This collection documents the involvement of Klinepeter and his wife in The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and the overall AIDS crisis. This collection contains 6 series: General Information, Memorial Programs, Posters, Media, Artifacts, and Books.

This collection contains citizen correspondence requesting that the inclusion of “sexual orientation” in the City of York’s non-discrimination ordinance be put on the ballot for a public referendum. The correspondence dates from February 1993 and is composed in large part of form letters. The City of York passed an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting sexual orientation in 1998.

This collection contains a 1991 Gay and Lesbian Guide to Central PA from the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg (GLSH) and a Gay Trivia Game. O’Leary also donated a run of The Advocate magazine, from 1985 – 1991, which is housed in the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collection periodicals.

John Barns was born in Perry County, PA. He graduated from Greenwood High School in 1960 and then joined the Pennsylvania National Guard during the Vietnam War, where he was in the armored tank division. After discharging from the military, Barns worked for the State in the Department of Labor and Industry and The Department of Health. He was a state employee for 30 years. Barns was a member of Dignity/Central PA, a Roman Catholic based organization that was a place for LGBTQ+ community members of any religious background to be together in community; and a part of the Gay Switchboard of Harrisburg, a telephone service that gave information, referrals, and supportive counseling to members of the local LGBTQ+ community.

This collection contains 6 series: Newspaper and Magazine Clippings; Dignity/Central PA; Cards and Postcards; Montreal, Quebec, Canada LGBTQ+ Information; Miscellaneous; and Artifacts.

Dr. Eric Selvey was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. He attended optometry school in Philadelphia and returned to the Harrisburg area after graduating.

Selvey was a member of Lily White and Company drag troupe, which raised thousands of dollars for local AIDS related organizations including South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN), of which he was also an active member. He worked on the Harrisburg Human Relations Commission, which fostered community relationships between the diverse Harrisburg populations; helped to develop Harrisburg’s Pride Festival; and was a part organizing the first Fall Achievement Benefit (FAB) fundraising event in Harrisburg. He was also the creator, editor, and publisher of the local LGBTQ+ publication Crossroads Magazine.

This collection was donated anonymously by an individual associated with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of the Spirit in Harrisburg, PA.

The Newspapers Clippings series documents issues such as same–sex marriage, the relationship between local churches and LGBTQ+ individuals, LGBTQ+ activism, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. The majority of newspaper clippings are from Central PA newspapers published between 1991 and 2009. The Lancaster Anti-Discrimination Law 1991 series contains photocopies of newspaper clippings that deal with a debate that took place in 1991 regarding a Lancaster City ordinance banning discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.

This Central PA Pride Festival 1996 series contains documentation regarding the planning of Central PA Pride Festival 1996, and the Metropolitan Community Church of the Spirit series contains a program from a Celebration of Community event held at the MCC of the Spirit on March 21, 2004.

Joseph W. Burns started to donate these materials in 2013 as the first contribution of historical documents to the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project. These materials reflect his involvement in, and document, LGBTQ+ activism in Central PA.

This collection contains materials from 1968 – 2015, but the bulk of the materials focus on LGBTQ+ activism from 1970 – 1980. There are 14 Series which highlight LGBTQ+ activist organizations, legislation, publications, photographs, personal/miscellaneous items, media, and artifacts, as well as Subject Files regarding people, organizations, or issues related to LGBTQ+ activism. Materials include documents, photos, a cassette tape, and multiple artifacts.