PRIDE GUIDe 1996

GAY PEOPLE'S ChroniICLE B-33

Oral History Project wants to hear your memories

Do you remember what being lesbian or gay in Cleveland was like before the annual Pride Parade and Festival? Did the notion of an open public gay and lesbian Pride Festival seem inconceivable to you

growing up in the 1930s, 1940s, or 1950s? Do you recall some of the early gay bars in town, Gloria's Cadillac, the Tool Box, or Little Ted's?

Did you fall in love for the very first

Patrons of Cleveland Pride

Corporate Sponsors

Alice Paul Printers & Mail Service American Express Financial Advisors Curve Magazine

Gay People's Chronicle

Out of Bounds--the Gay Yellow Pages

Rainbow Sponsors

Gay Invitational Fellowship Tournament (GIFT)

Lesbian-Gay Community Center of Cleveland

Northern Ohio Coalition, Inc. (NOCI)

You Two Clothiers for Women-Rudy

& Louise Bielert

Proud Sponsors

5¢ Decision

Rutabaga News

Curve Magazine Sponsors

Attorney James J. Connelly

Paul Grubbs

Interweave

In Your Pants Publication

Tim K. & Paul B.

Patrick McCabe & Scott C. Hare

Parkside Travel

Karen Slavin

R. Woodward

Joel Zureick

Community Sponsors

A Friend

Sharon K. Bair

Cedar Lee Theater

Floyd Fike

5¢ Decision Bartenders Gay Lesbian & Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) Jim Hassel

Sandy Hooper & Jo Francis Jan Kozarik

Audrey Luthringer & Lisa Rees The Rockettes

Peggy Stewart/Carole Sechler Ted Stoll

Town Tavern-Kent, Ohio Bill Tregoning

Advocates

Among Friends Art Gallery Elizabeth Ashley & Joan Burda Jim Sims

Martha Webb

Mary Zaller & Mary Prevelianakis Tom Zavesky

Pride Friends

Black & White Men Together, Cleveland An Alternate Choice

Emmanuel Christian Fellowship Church Jerry Wagner

time with a fellow World War II G.I.? Do you remember hearing about a “new” organization, the Mattachine Society or the Daughters of Bilitis? Do you have memories of being "in the life," before the gay liberation movement?

If you can answer yes to any of these questions or know someone who can, you are just who we are looking for.

The Lesbian and Gay Oral History Project of Greater Cleveland is looking for older Cleveland residents who are willing to share their memories of living in the greater Cleveland area.

The Oral History Project is working through the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center and in conjunction with the Western Reserve Historical Society. The oral histories (as well as the archival materials collected while recording oral histories) will be organized into a format established by the historical society.

The Western Reserve Historical Society has been widely recognized for the excellence of its archives developed with the highest ethical standards and professional judgement.

The project is collecting oral histories from within the Cleveland lesbian and gay communities for future generations.

The world for all of us has changed radi-

cally since World War II, a watershed period, but nowhere has this change been more profound than in the lesbian and gay community. People who were adults prior to and during World War II are now in their 70s and 80s, and if their histories are to be preserved, the time is now.

These histories will provide a valuable insight into the Cleveland of that period when we exercised great effort to keep these matters a deep, dark, secret. Most importantly, the oral history program will be a resource for historians, scholars, and social scientists for generations to come.

If you are interested in participating in the project, or if you know someone else who might be interested in sharing their life experiences, please contact Heather Thorp at 216-371-0104. The project is looking for people who are willing to share their histories, as well as people who are interested in volunteering to become an interviewer.

The Oral History Project will soon be starting a new training session for interested volunteers who want to conduct oral history interviews. We hope to start a new training session this summer. If you would like to become an interviewer (no previous experience necessary) please contact Thorp at the above number.

P-FLAG to march in Pride parade

Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays from the greater Cleveland area will march with the local P-FLAG chapter in the Pride March June 15, in a demonstration of the group's support for the lesbian and gay community.

In an effort to promote higher visibility for the group and its concerns, a resource

table with P-FLAG literature and material will be available at this year's festival.

P-FLAG, now in its tenth year, serves to create a bond between families and their gay and lesbian children.

The Cleveland chapter of PFLAG can be reached at 216-321-7403 or 216421-8759.

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