Clevelander to take pride in

by Bob Boone

Small businesses ofter fail within two to three years. In the shadow of this statistic, Linus Herrell founded a business which recently celebrated its sixth anniversary, with this last year being its brightest so far.

Body Language is self-described in its ads as "the thinking person's adult store." It sells lesbian and gay erotica, books, magazines, and videos. There is a room filled with a variety of sex toys, complete with a dildo shrine. And there is a sign out front on West 115th Street proudly advertising the store's existence. All of this stems from the concepts and hard work of Linus Herrell.

Born in Barberton, Ohio, Linus has lived the past ten years in Cleveland. He had worked at bookstores downtown and at the Leather Stallion. Six years ago he opened Body Language. With a dedicated Linus behind the cash register, and at one point even living in an apartment over the store, Body Language has developed into a stable part of the gay community over the years.

Along with the diversity of merchandise, the store offers a safe space for people to come and explore the issues around their sexuality. Phone calls to the store occasionally sound like calls to the Lesbian-Gay Hotline. People call and ask for resources in the gay community and Linus and the other workers patiently do their best to help or refer them to the Lesbian-Gay Community Center.

On one wall in the store is a black and white photograph of two men in embrace. One is Linus. The other is Steven Schochet, his lover of about four years. The photograph was taken by Mark Chester on Linus and Steve's first trip to San Francisco. It was on the same trip at Haight Street that Linus picked up his leather jacket emblazened with the face of Marlene Dietrich across the back.

Linus has worked hard to involve himself in the lesbian and gay community. He has manned tables at the business fair in 1988, at Pride '89, and the Case conferences. Body Language is also a supporter of Gaywaves on WRUW-FM. One employee, Sharon, is involved with

the Metropolitan Community Church. She relates how one day she walked into the store and Linus just handed her a check for MCC. He had seen in the

Linus Herrell (r) and Steve Schochet paper that MCC had a program to feed the hungry and he simply had wanted to help.

Over the years, Linus has added to the supply of women's materials in the store. Especially since the closing of Another State of Mind, he has worked to expand

the selection of feminist literature and

magazines and lesbian erotica. The les-

bian videos turned out not to be to profitable, however.

As well as an interest in tattoos, Linus holds a fascination for piercing. When he and Steven met, Linus told him that he was the only person between New York and Chicago to offer such a diversity of piercing services.

The knowledge that he is HIV-positive and his subsequent development of AIDS did not extinguish the spirit that drives Linus. His work at the store con-

tinues, though slowed, and he is still present at community events. In the com-

fort of his Marlene Dietrich leather jack-

et, he attended the first Women's Coffeehouse to welcome men.

In 1988, Linus and Steven attended

the March on Washington. They stood in front of the IRS building and joined together with many others to be a part of the commitment ceremony. Then with a piece of white chalk, they drew a large white heart with the inscription "Linus and Steve." In time, the white chalk wore away, but its message remains today undiminished, just as the effect and the spirit that Linus offers Cleveland's community unwaveringly continues.▾

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July, 1990

OF GREATER CLEVELAND

This space has been donated to the Center by the Chronicle, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Chronicle staff or management.

by Robert Laycock

Garden PartyThe Center is holding a Garden Party Benefit on Sunday, July 15 at the historic home of Cleveland's turn-of-the-century architect, Charles Frederick Schweinfurth. This elegant setting will ensure a pleasant and enjoyable afternoon for all.

The party will start at noon with light refreshments and a silent auction. Later,

a buffet lunch will be served and a live auction held, headed by Evelyn Hayes, auctioneer extraordinaire. The live auc-

tion will include various works of art and a weekend trip for two to Key West, and much more! Admission is $25; $50 including accomodations and air farefor patrons. Patrons will arrive early for a special tour of the home.

Schweinfurth was the architect of the Euclid Avenue mansions of most of the prominent families at the turn of the century, including the Mather mansion still standing on the CSU campus. In addition to designing homes for the Hannas,

Fords, Rockefellers and Gliddens, he also designed most of the early buildings on the Case Western Reserve University campus and the stately arched bridges of

Rockfeller Park.

like to attend, contact us right away. Tickets are limited, so if you would Please RSVP by July 7 by calling the

Center at 522-1999. See you there!

Gays and the Media At the Center's general membership meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24 will be a panel of Cleveland media representatives to

discuss the treatment of lesbians and

gays in the mainstream press. Panel participants are still being assembled at Chronicle press time, but will hopefully include representatives from the Plain Dealer and local TV and radio stations.

Following the panel, we'll vote on two revisions to the Center's bylaws proposed at the last meeting in March. But don't let that scare you, 'cause in addition the meeting will include refreshments and door prizes.

Center membership-The General Membership Meeting is open to everyone, so you don't have to be a member to attend. But, we hope you'll think about joining anyway. It doesn't cost that

靈氣

Michael Beck Michelene Reddish

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 7

much, and your membership contribution can help keep the Center working to serve the community. It takes $200 a day to keep the Center's doors openthat's eight members a day.

Individual membership is just $15-25 a year, and a household membership is just $25-40 a year. If you would like to give more and do so painlessly, monthly or quarterly sustainers are a great way. For just $10 a month you can give the Center $120 for the year.

The Center today operates almost 15 programs and offers 14 independent organizations a place to meet. We're looking for ways to expand our space and programming, so now's a good time to join and help this effort. Give us a call at 522-1999.

Leather Stallion fundraiser Thanks go out to the Leather Stallion for their successful fundraiser June 23 in support of the Living Room. It really helps.

Lavender Elephant Sale Thanks also to everyone who contributed to the Lavender Elephant Sale or who bought items at the sale during the Pride '90 celebration. Over $2000 was raised with your generous support.

Gay bashing-CBS-TV's 48 Hours examined the growing problem of gay bashing in a recent Thursday night edition. As we all know, Cleveland joins the rest of the nation in suffering this brutal expression of society's bigotry and homophobia.

The Center's newest program is the Maryann Finegan Project to assist victims of anti-gay violence and harassment. The project is named after a Cleveland lesbian who died from a gay bashing attack several years ago.

Volunteers are needed to join the project as Victim Advocates, assisting people attacked, threatened or harassed for being gay of lesbian. If you'd like to help, call the Hotline at 781-6736.

It's a Stage Sing along with us this month to the scores of Zorba and Little Mary Sunshine. Our monthly gatherings around the piano are held every second Saturday of the month at 7:30 p.m..

Centertainment If you like movies, join with others from the Center for our movie nights. We also take in a live show from time to time, visit museums and restaurants, and more. Call the Hotline to check what's planned next.

Youth group--If you're age 22 or younger, we invite you to join PRYSM, the Center's youth group. Meetings are each Saturday at 1:00 P.M. Over 20 attend most weeks, and we hope you'll join us too. Just drop in. ▼▾

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