2010-2019

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.

The Carlisle Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, also known as the Borough of Carlisle Human Relations Ordinance, was passed in December 2016. This ordinance established a Human Relations Commission and protection of LGBTQ+ community in the Borough, specifically when it comes to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

The majority of materials in this collection were collected by Malinda Triller-Doran, Special Collections Librarian for Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections in Carlisle, PA. Items include drafts of the ordinance and resolutions, newspaper coverage of the debate, and community responses.

Cecelia Wambach was born on May 26th, 1942 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Cecelia begins the interview by talking about her family life, the dynamics of her relationship with her parents and religion, and how those facets shaped her adult identity as a lesbian woman. She grew up as the second-oldest of 14 children, with a stay-at-home mother and a father who had a radio talk show and late-night talk show. She describes being very happy and satisfied with her upbringing. Raised as a devout Catholic, Wambach later became apart of a Convent and school named Sisters of Notre Dame. From there, she taught as a nun in several Parrish schools on the East Coast. She also worked with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. After leaving the Convent, Wambach received her Masters in Math and Fine Arts from New York University. She later got her PhD from Fordham University in Math Education. She explains that during this time in her life, she did not yet know she was lesbian.

Wambach got married to an ex-priest in 1973. It was not until the day after getting married did she realize she was lesbian. She had a son named Nathaniel and raised him while working as a teacher for public schools in New York City. In realizing her sexual identity, Wambach went through years of therapy to cope. She also became apart of many different Lesbian and LGBTQ+ communities and activist groups, such as the S.O.S (Shelter our Sisters), Mother Tongue, The Names Project, O.L.O.C. (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change) , and B.A.C.W (Bay Area Career Woman) and others. Currently, Ms. Wambach is deeply involved with refugees on the Island of Lesvos, where she and other LGBTQ educators teach children.

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 Lancaster in their earlier childhood, they eventually performed in several plays with the Lancaster Kiwanis Club and the Fulton Opera House. Later, after moving out of their parents’ house due to several disagreements, they began performing Drag at age 21, going on to win several competitions such as Miss Tally Ho, and Miss Gay Lancaster County. They even went on to compete in the Miss Gay America Pageant in Atlanta, Georgia. They also spoke of the harassment they faced for being gay, both on the streets, in the workplace and by the Lancaster Police Department. They spoke of their work with Gays United of Lancaster and attending several government meetings while dressed as Miss Tina, as well as the various AIDs events they attended dressed as such to show solidarity. They described their want to join the Air Force only to be turned down because of medical reasons and about the discrimination they faced from the police and medical professionals.

Bob Deibler discusses his experiences as a member of both the Pennsmen and the Satyr Men, as well as what it was like to be a gay teacher and the surprising lack of discrimination, he faced in his life due to his sexuality. He also talks of his long-time and now deceased Partner Ron Think, who he helped run a popular gift shop and LGBT meeting place, The Bare Wall Gallery.

Frank Pizzoli, founder and editor-in-chief of the Central Voice, an LGBT newsletter for the Central PA community, discusses his experiences in the community and how he thinks things have changed over time. He describes some aspects of growing up gay in the 1960s and ‘70s and specifically the small community feel that the early LGBT community had, discussing the changes between then and now. He also discusses some of his experiences of living with HIV and how that affected his life in the early ‘80s, including his role in for formation of the South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN), which would later become AIDS Community Alliance, and is now under Alder Health Services. Finally, he discusses some of the books and authors that he found important to the LGBT community and their influence.

Video footage of this interview is unavailable at this time. Please contact archives@dickinson.edu for more information.

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.

Originally called AIDS Community Alliance, Adler Health Services aims to improve the health and wellness of individuals living with HIV/AIDS as well the larger LGBTQ+ communities in South Central PA. This collection contains advertisement material for Alder Health Services.

Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is the first and largest support organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents and families, and allies through peer support, education, and advocacy. This collection contains material from the Central PA Chapter of PFLAG.

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.

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 the Presidential Proclamation for Pride Month 2011 by Barack Obama.

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.

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 Army and fast-tracked to work in a secret German Prisoner of War camp in Richmond, Virginia due to fluency in German, Pennsylvania Dutch, and English. Following World War II, Christ got a degree in education from Moravian College, going on to teach English, German, and Social Studies.

In 1974, Christ went to Germany to teach American English on a Fulbright fellowship, and there was married a second time to, Liz, a Fulbright scholar who was in Germany teaching British English. While working there, Christ helped improve the English skills of a German cytogeneticist to allow her to participate in the World Health Organization, and it was through this connection that Christ discovered they have XXY chromosomes. Christ had occasionally started presenting as a woman before learning they were intersex following the end of their first marriage in 1973, but never formally came out, electing to present as masculine or feminine selectively. Christ expresses comfort in being able to present as either/or, while not particularly identifying with the LGBTQ+ community.

Christ passed away in 2018.

Katie Ward was born in 1952 and assigned male at birth. She was drafted after graduating from high school, and spent 22 years in military service, including active duty on a nuclear submarine in the Navy and Air Force National Guard. After Ward left active duty, she married and attended community college. She started working in the printing industry, moving up in the international printing business until 2013 when her company was bought out and she decided to retire. Ward was married twice and had one child.

Ward was a transgender activist and very active in LGBTQ+ community in Central PA. She organized and participated in numerous activities, including the Keystone Business Alliance, Central PA’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce; LGBT business mixers; local Gay Pride events; monthly Nights-Out with the Girls, and many others. She was an officer and longtime volunteer for TransCentral PA, and she helped establish the Keystone Conference, an international Trans conference held annually in Harrisburg.

Ward passed away in 2021

Sophie Kandler was born in Spring City, PA in 1966. After graduating from high school, Sophie attended Drexel University, but transferred after two years to Pennsylvania State University where she graduated with a degree in Secondary Education in 1989. Growing up, Kandler always identified as female even though she was born a male. She transitioned in 2014.

There materials were donated at the Lancaster PA Pride event in June 2013. The collection represents the contributions of Mark Stoner and Mary Merriman, and documents LGBTQ+ issues and activism in Lancaster County, PA.

Of particular interest in this collection is The Pink Triangle Coalition materials and the newspaper articles from the Lancaster New Era and Intelligencer Journal, two local newspapers in the area. The newspaper address the establishment of an MCC Church in Mountville, PA, debate over LGBTQ+ rights in the Elizabethtown school system, and controversies over an LGBTQ+ book display in the Lancaster County Public Library. There is also a run of The Lancaster Inqueery, housed in the periodical series.

Samuel Deetz was born in Quakertown, PA on April 21, 1951 and was one of eight children. His father was a minister, so his family moved from place to place throughout his childhood, until they came back to Central PA where Deetz finished high school. While living at home after high school, Deetz started working as an accountant, which led him to continue a career in accounting.

Deetz became active in the LGBTQ+ community in his mid-twenties in the 1970s. He, with help from Mark Seagal, founded the Susquehanna Valley Gays United (SVGU) in the summer of 1975. He was a member of the PA Rural Gay Caucus from its inception in 1975 until 1978, where he was co-chair for the first Gay Lobby (Education) Day in March 1976 and became the convener of the Legislative Committee. He was invited to become a member of the PA Governor’s Council for Sexual Minorites in 1976, where he became a facilitator between the Rural Gay Caucus and the Council, as well as the Council and the PA State Police Department. He also was treasurer for the Pennsylvania for Social Justice Political Action Committee (PAC) from 1982 to 1985.

Deetz passed away in 2019.

This collection highlights Deetz’s activism in various LGBTQ+ groups in Central PA. Deetz was an accountant by trade which enabled him to hold treasurer positions in most of the organizations highlighted in this collection.

The Central Pennsylvania Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CPGLCC) was established in 2007. It grew out of The Business Association of Gays and Lesbians (BAGAL), which was established in the 1990s by Dan Miller. Miller wanted to create an association that brought together professionals of the LGBTQ+ community to network. After Miller stepped down from leadership, the group evolved into more of a social network over the years. In 2007, new leadership reshaped BAGAL with the rebrand to CPGLCC. A business affiliate of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, CPGLCC began building partnerships between gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses, professionals, and students of business. Today, their mission is to “support diversity and assist Central Pennsylvania’s business community in pursuit of an ideal workplace, marketplace, industry, and region.”

A wooden and metal plaque awarded to the 2nd Runner Up of the 2010 Studs Magazine Nubian Studd & Femme Pageant. On the plaque are two rectangular, bronze metal plates, the top one has the STUDs logo along with "STUDS Magazine Handsomely, Beautiful, Women." The Lower plate has a black background with gold lettering that says "2010 Studs magazine Nubian Studd & Femme Pageant 2nd Runner-Up."

Marlene Kanuck was born in 1949 in Hazleton, PA. Kanuck was a founder of the LGBT Center of Central PA, served as Vice President of the Central Pennsylvania Womyn’s Chorus, and was involved in a Harrisburg-area lesbian group called the Professional Women’s Organization. Currently Kanuck works at the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Nancy Helm was born in Lancaster, PA and graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1981. After graduating, she worked for a printing company and had other odd jobs before opening a hair salon with her partner. In 1991, she decided to open a bookstore cattycorner from the salon on Prince Street: The Closet. Helm started the bookstore as an outlet for the gay community of Lancaster so they could meet, hang out, and shop. The bookstore became the target of anti-gay crime that same year, including bombings and multiple threats, and because of that closed in 1992.

Helm was also a member of the Pink Triangle Coalition (PTC). Created in 1991 the coalition was instrumental in getting sexual orientation non-discrimination protection added to the Human Relations Ordnance in the City of Lancaster. Helm was the key spokesperson for the group. Helm still resides in Central Pa today.