LGBT Oral History 141: Marie DiFava

Number of Pages
20
Date
January 14, 2020

Marie DiFava was born in Lebanon County in 1953 and grew up in a troubled Italian home. She graduated from high school and attended nursing school, but after burning out from her job and schooling, she dropped out, married, and had three children with her husband. During her marriage and after her divorce, Marie volunteered as an EMT and worked for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier. In this interview, she discusses going to a doctor and being referred to therapy which gave her the tools to live a healthy life despite the violence and instability of her childhood. Her therapist pushed her to come out so she told her children. After her youngest daughter informed the entire neighborhood of her sexuality though, Marie looked for gay organizations to join. She travelled to groups across Central Pennsylvania, but she grew frustrated with the lack of community in Lebanon, so she started her own group, Lebanon County Lesbians. The group met in her home for five or six years and ended when Marie started to let transwomen join and other members disagreed. Finally, she discusses the challenges facing her and other older LGBT people, the love her children gave her, and her pride in being able to donate the newsletters and activities letters from her organization to the History Project.

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

People
Places
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Marie DiFava
Collection
Location
LGBT Oral History - DiFava, Marie - 141

LGBT History Project: LGBT-086 Marie DiFava Collection

Number of Pages
12
Date
1987-2019

Maria DiFava was born in Lebanon County, PA in 1953. She graduated from high school and attended nursing school and ultimately became an EMT volunteer. She later worked as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service. Marie married and had three children with her husband, whom she later divorced.

When she came out, DiFava started to look for gay organizations to join in her area. After travelling throughout Central PA, DiFava became frustrated at the lack of a lesbian community in Lebanon, thus the Lebanon County Lesbians organization was formed. The group met in DiFava’s home starting in June of 1997, and for the next few years, she hosted meetings in her home until she was able to have help planning events and meetings. DiFava advertised through Lebanon County initially, but eventually turned toward the entirety of Central PA.

People
Year
Origin
Gift of Marie DiFava
Collection
Location
LGBT-086 Marie DiFava Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-081 Robert ''Bob'' Deibler Collection

Number of Pages
5
Date
1961-2007

Robert “Bob” Deibler was born on January 20, 1940 in upper Paxton Township in Dauphin County, PA. He graduated from Millersburg Area High School and went on to attend Bloomsburg University with majors in social science and English, and later became a teacher. Deibler was an active member in two men’s clubs, the Pennsmen and the Satyr Men. After meeting his long-term partner, Ronn Fink, in 1985 and retiring from teaching in 1991, Deibler decided to move to Harrisburg, PA. While in Harrisburg, Deibler supported Fink in the running of the Bare Wall, a gift shop and video rental store and local landmark for the gay community in Harrisburg.

Within this collection, the papers of Richard Schlegel are also included. Deibler and Schlegel where distant family relatives, with their mothers being first cousins. Deibler kept Schlegel’s records for future reference.

Year
Origin
Gift of Robert ''Bob'' Deibler
Collection
Location
LGBT-081 Robert ''Bob'' Deibler Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-041 Sam Edmiston Collection

Number of Pages
4
Date
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 training. While in the US Navy, Edmiston was a dispersing clerk until he was dishonorably discharged for being gay in 1966. Edmiston fought to change the discharge, and his papers were later changed to a “general discharge under general conditions.”

After coming home from the Navy, Edmiston worked various jobs until he retired from working for seven years for personal health reasons. After the seven years, Edmiston found a job with the Social Security Administration through Administrative Careers of America. He went on to work for the Social Security Administration for the next 10 years until he finally retired permanently.

Throughout and after college Edmiston was active in the pursuit of gay rights. He started the Susquehanna Valley Gays United in 1976 with friend Sam Deetz, was the secretary for the PA Rural Gay Caucus, contributed to the Lancaster Gay Era Newspaper, and was part of Dignity/Central PA.

People
Year
Origin
Gift of Sam Edmiston
Collection
Location
LGBT-041 Sam Edmiston Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-038 Joy Ufema Counsel Collection

Number of Pages
6
Date
1991-1995

Joy (Ufema) Counsel was raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania. After completing high school, (Ufema) Counsel began studying to become a nurse at the Altoona Hospital, and later completed a nursing program at Harrisburg Area Community College. Throughout her career as a nurse, (Ufema) Counsel developed an affinity for caring for patients who were terminally ill.

Searching for direction after facing a roadblock in her career, (Ufema) Counsel decided to use her experience in hospice care to alleviate the suffering she had witnessed in the AIDS crisis. After proposing the idea to the mayor of York, PA, (Ufema) Counsel bought an old brownstone for one dollar and began renovations. In 1991, York Hospice House was born. Counsel used her expertise in death and dying to design the home based on a philosophy of extreme attention to detail. She wanted to create “a tone in this hospice of love and acceptance and peace.” From 1991-1995, the York House provided care to 95 dying AIDS patients.

Topics
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Joy Ufema Counsel
Location
LGBT-038 Joy Ufema Counsel Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-008 Dan Maneval Collection

Number of Pages
3
Date
1977-1980
Dan Maneval was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1947. Maneval’s activism included the founding of the Homophiles of Williamsport (HOW), the West Branch Gay Support Network, Susquehanna Lambda, Susquehanna Valley Gays United, and The Gay Switchboard of Williamsport. He also participated in several PA Rural Gay Caucuses, and he was a critical participant in the protest against Anita Bryant, who was the leader of the antigay Protect America’s Children campaign, when she came to the Bloomsburg Fair in 1978.
People
General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Dan Maneval
Collection
Location
LGBT-008 Dan Maneval Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-007 Dan Miller Collection

Number of Pages
3
Date
1992 - 2013

Dan Miller was born in 1956 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He earned his BA in Accounting from Elizabethtown College, later going on to get his MA in Finance from Penn State University. In October of 1990, after working for Donald L. DeMuth Professional Management Consultants as an accountant, Dan was fired for being gay. After the trial process, which Miller did not win, he continued to be an activist within the LGBT Community of Central PA. Miller ran for mayor of Harrisburg, PA in 2013. While he was not successful in that election, he has held numerous positions of leadership through the LGBT Community of Central PA.

People
Year
Origin
Gift of Dan Miller
Collection
Location
LGBT-007 Dan Miller Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-005 Margaret ''Peg'' Dierkers Collection

Number of Pages
2
Date
1990-1995

Margaret “Peg” Dierkers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1957. She earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Ohio State University and eventually enrolled in a doctoral program in Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University. Dierkers relocated to the Harrisburg area and soon began working for the South Central AIDS Assistance Network (SCAAN). After leaving SCAAN in 1994, Dierkers continued working for other social justice causes in Central PA, including the Domestic Violence Coalition, before ultimately returning to Ohio.

Topics
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Margaret (Peg) Dierkers
Collection
Location
LGBT-005 Margaret "Peg" Dierkers Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-004 Chris Dietz Collection

Number of Pages
1
Date
2012

In 2012 Chris Dietz was one of a record three openly gay candidates running for state representative, and one of two from central PA. While Dietz did not win his race for PA State Representative, he has served as the openly gay president of the Millersburg (PA) Borough Council.

People
General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Chris Dietz
Location
LGBT-004 Chris Dietz Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-003 John Campbell Collection

Number of Pages
1
Date
2011

This collection contains a campaign poster from John Campbell’s run for Harrisburg City (PA) treasurer as an openly gay candidate in 2011-2012.

General Subjects
Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of John Campbell
Collection
Location
LGBT-003 John Campbell Collection

LGBT History Project: LGBT-074 Anthony Silvestre Collection

Number of Pages
3
Date
1973 - 1985

Anthony Silvestre was born in 1946 in the Bronx in New York. He finished his final year of college at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and then attended Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) as a graduate student.

Silvestre was introduced to gay rights while at Penn State. While there, he became active in an organization called the Homophiles of Penn State (HOPS). He became president of HOPS and subsequently met many of Pennsylvania’s leading activists. He was appointed Chair of the Pennsylvania Council for Sexual Minorities and became a leader in the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus, which provided a forum for collaboration among numerous groups outside of the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Year
Time Period
Origin
Gift of Anthony Silvestre
Location
LGBT-074 Anthony Silvestre Collection