2000-2009

Founded in 1994, the Central PA Womyn’s Chorus “brings together a diverse group of women, united by the joy of singing, to celebrate and empower women and to affirm a positive image of lesbians and feminists.”

This event program is from the Central PA Womyn's Chorus' fall 2001 concert "Wild Women...Just Get Better!" at the Harrisburg Unitarian Church. A portion of the concert's proceeds supported the Revolutionary Association of the Women in Afghanistan (RAWA), an organization which advocates for the human rights of women in Afghanistan.

Founded in 1994, the Central PA Womyn’s Chorus “brings together a diverse group of women, united by the joy of singing, to celebrate and empower women and to affirm a positive image of lesbians and feminists.”

This event program is from the Central PA Womyn's Chorus' June 2001 concert "This Land is Our Land!" at the Harrisburg Unitarian Church. This performance was the group's first full length concert in over a year and a half, and featured special guests the Harrisburg Men's Chorus.

The Central PA Womyn’s Chorus is an all-women’s chorus group that performs concerts throughout the Central Pennsylvania region. Founded in 1994, the chorus made its debut at the Pride Festival of Central PA in Harrisburg. The chorus continues to perform concerts throughout the area which raise awareness about feminist and LGBTQ+ issues.

This collection contains eight series: Concert Programs; Concert Flyers; General Publicity; Gala Choruses VIIE Festival International, Montreal, Canada 2004; Articles; Miscellaneous; Posters; and Artifacts.

Concert Programs features an assortment of programs from the chorus group’s concerts between 1998 and 2022. Concert Flyers includes a series of flyers promoting the chorus group’s concerts between 2014 and 2019. General Publicity includes inserts, a postcard, and a membership brochure to raise awareness about the chorus group. The Gala Choruses VIIE Festival International, Montreal, Canada 2004 includes a booklet and a program from the festival at which the group performed. Articles features news stories documenting the work of the chorus group in the community. Miscellaneous includes music lyrics, notes, and a music catalog used by members of the chorus group. Posters features an assortment of the chorus group’s promotional concert posters. Artifacts include a chorus group polo shirt and t-shirt.

This collection contains newspaper articles collected by a Central PA resident from The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Blade, and The Washington Post that focus on national LGBTQ+ history in the Washington D.C. area.

STUDS Magazine was created by Lindsay Snowden and Shaashawn Dial in 2007 as a place to showcase cloths made by and for masculine identifying women and celebrate these “handsomely beautiful women.” STUDS ran from 2007 – 2010.

Digital versions of these issues are unavailable to access online. Please contact archives@dickinson.edu for more information.

Alberta Hamm was born April 1, 1941 and assigned male at birth. After high school, Hamm entered the seminary for a short time before ultimately enrolling in the Army. She was stationed at Fort Dix, NJ and served 13 months in Korea. After being discharged in 1961, Hamm entered sales, owning her own business for a time, and working for Montgomery Ward department store starting in 1979 selling appliances throughout stores in Pennsylvanian for the next 20 years. From a young age Hamm knew she was different. She started to transition in 1995 and after retiring in 1999, had transition surgery in 2001 at the age of 60. She also enrolled in Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) in 2000, where she pursued a degree in social services. While at HACC, she served as president of the campus LGBTQ+ organization, student senator, and in 2002 became the first transgender individual in the nation to become student body president of a collegiate student government. She served in this position from Spring 2002 to Spring 2004. After Hamm graduated, she worked for the Center for Independent Living, and stayed active with local LGBT+ organizations like TransCentral PA and Common Roads. Hamm passed away in October 2019 at the age of 78.

The Betty Finney House was a non-profit organization founded in 1988 that provided housing assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. It was the only housing assistance agency in South Central PA during the late 1980s and 1990s for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Program for the Betty Finney House's fifth annual fundraiser ''Viva Las Vegas'' held on November 18, 2001.

The Betty Finney House was a non-profit organization founded in 1988 that provided housing assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. It was the only housing assistance agency in South Central PA during the late 1980s and 1990s for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Press release announcing the Betty Finney House's fifth annual funderaiser ''Viva Las Vegas'' to be held on November 18, 2001. 

The Oscar Party was an annual fundraising event hosted by the American Red Cross of Lancaster County to support their HIV/AIDS Education Program.

The Betty Finney House was a non-profit organization founded in 1988 that provided housing assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. It was the only housing assistance agency in South Central PA during the late 1980s and 1990s for those living with HIV/AIDS.

This is the official program for ''New York, New York'', the theme for the annual fundraiser event organized by Betty Finney House.

The Betty Finney House was a non-profit organization founded in 1988 that provided housing assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. It was the only housing assistance agency in South Central PA during the late 1980s and 1990s for those living with HIV/AIDS.

This is the offical invitation to ''New York, New York'" the theme for the annual fundraiser event organized by Betty Finney House.

The Betty Finney House was a non-profit organization founded in 1988 that provided housing assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. It was the only housing assistance agency in South Central PA during the late 1980s and 1990s for those living with HIV/AIDS.

''New York, New York'' was the theme for the annual fundraiser event organized by Betty Finney House. These press releases announce the event and a sneak peak at auction items up for bid. 

The Pride Festival of Central PA is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in the Central Pennsylvania region. Founded in 1992, the festival takes place every year on the last Saturday of July in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Each July, approximately 5,000 individuals travel to downtown Harrisburg and attend the Pride Festival. It is the largest Pride celebration between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The Pride Guide was the offical guide of all activities and events of Central PA Pride Festival (PrideFest) held at South RiverFront Park in Harrisburg, PA on July 27, 2002. 

The Pride Festival of Central PA is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in the Central Pennsylvania region. Founded in 1992, the festival takes place every year on the last Saturday of July in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Each July, approximately 5,000 individuals travel to downtown Harrisburg and attend the Pride Festival. It is the largest Pride celebration between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

''Dine Out with Pride'' is hosted by the PrideFest Unity Parade, which was organized from 2006 - 2010 during Central PA Pride Festival, and proceds from dining out would go towards furthering the visability of the LGBTQ+ community in Central PA. 

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.

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.

Lindsay Snowden was born in Pittsburgh on March 15, 1976. Lindsay joined the military at 17 and was an army nurse for nine years. After the military Lindsay stayed in nursing, while also becoming an entrepreneur. Lindsay worked on many projects in the Central PA area, which included: forming the first all-black drag king troupe in Central PA, House of Gaines; co-founding and editing STUDS Magazine; and running the Central PA Vipers, a women’s semi-professional full contact football team.

This collection contains materials related to STUDS Magazine and the Central PA Viper’s all-female football team. There is also a flyer advertising Voyce Mail, a spoken word CD created by Shaashawn Dial and produced by Lindsay Snowden, and two collections of poetry books written by Shaashawn Dial.

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.

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.

This collection contains two AIDSWalk T-shirts from 2000 and 2001.

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.

These materials document several LGBTQ+ bars that operated in the Harrisburg, PA area, namely The Archives Nightclub and Restaurant (1983), La Rose Rouge (1978-1992), Neptune’s Lounge (1972), and the Shadows bar (1980-1984). These items take the form of bar memorabilia, photographs, and video recordings.

This collection also includes trophies, plaques, and buttons highlighting the Harrisburg Hustler’s volleyball team, which Larry Wilson sponsored from 1981-1987. In addition, it includes an anniversary pin from The Pennsmen Inc., an organization for LGBTQ+ individuals with an interest in the leather/rubber/fetish lifestyle and was founded in South Central PA in 1977, and a scrapbook featuring Pennsmen events.

The beginning pages of the Pennsman scrapbook also includes pictures of Benedict A. “Wesley” Trautwein, a drag performer known as Francis Parker. Wesley was a part of the The Jewel Box Revue, a troupe of drag performers who traveled around the country from 1939 to 1969, which made many stops in Pennsylvania. After departing the Revue, he moved back to Harrisburg and continued preforming at local bars and clubs, such as The Neptune Lounge.

Created by Lorraine Kujawa, Cindy Mitzel, Mary Nancarrow, and several others in 1983, the Lavender Letter Newsletter was a calendar of events for, by, and about lesbian women to create community in the Central Pennsylvania area. The newsletter was distributed monthly until the mid-2000s.

This collection contains a history of the Lavender Letter by Lorraine Kujawa and copies of the Lavender Letter from 1983 to 2006. It was two separate donations combined into one collection for easier access and use.