Page 10 HIGH GEAR

Today's gay scene locally

by John Nosek

Some years ago Leon Stevens and I turned over the editorial reins of High Gear to Dan Miecznikowski On the occasion of this. High Gear's fifth anniversary. I'd like to share some personal perspectives on the 1979 state of the gay scene in Cleveland. No longer the rabid activist I once was, I offer the following remarks as a detached observer, if that indeed is possible.

First to the bright spots. As my travels around the Great Lakes region and the nation's eastern seaboard have broadened. I have become increasingly aware that within the past two years. Cleveland's bar (and social) scene has emerged among the best available in the Northeast among comparablysized cities.

The fact that almost all of the Lakefront City's entertainment spots are downtown makes barhopping easy and enjoyable. But more importantly, the relatively liberal climate in Cleveland continues to attract a large and varied clientele from all of Northern

Ohio and western Pennsylvania. This was not the case only two years ago when most weekly visitors were from Akron or Canton. Dimensions on a Saturday night is as hot a club or hotter than any other gay disco I've ever visited, including those in the so-called glamour cities. Point Two

The Vaults on early Sunday evening has ushered in a new era of gay socializing and cruising at civilized hours. It is quite incredible to me how the Vaults on Sunday has become such an attraction that people from as far east as Buffalo, as far west as Detroit and as far south as Cincinnati make special trips to Cleveland just on Sundays to participate in the festivities. Now that is a reputation with power! Point Three

Thanks to the leadership of a very special downtown Park resident, local gays have been able to participate this past summer in weekly Sunday volleyball games off Marginal Road on the Shore way. This has done therapeutic wonders for the closet activists among us and would have been only discussed in the abstract

IT'S NO MYSTERY HOLMES!

two years ago. Point Four

The Greater Cleveland Gay Coalition's synthesis of gay businesses and gay rights groups toward the creation of the first annual Cleveland Gay Picnic this Labor Day weekend is a true marvel. Several years ago, I can remember certain bar owners absolutely forbidding their employees to even set foot in a rival club. Let's hope this new found communication is not just a consequence of the death of the Erie picnic and will continue in manifestations other than the annual Cleveland picnic (ie.,winter festivals, roller skating extravaganzas, etc.) Point Five

Within the past two years. there has been a striking migration of Cleveland's gay people to the West Side. The Gold Coast has become a virtual stable of gay male stallions. Ohio City's restoration continues to allure gay property investors and West Cleveland's and Lakewood's comparatively low rents attract a wealth of cost-conscious gay tenants. Indeed, the conspicuous absence of gay neighborhood

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bars on the East Side attests to the demographic shifts. As Edgewater Park is restored by the state, no doubt, even more gays will join the movement West. It is an encouraging sign to see that gay residential communities are finally beginning to gel in a semiorderly fashion Point Six

Weathering all sorts of abrasive storms. The GEAR Foundation and High Gear persevere. !! my sources are correct. Cleveland's High Gear is now the third longest running newspaper in the States, following California's Advocate and Boston's Gay Community News. Other papers seem to come and go, yet High Gear has expanded its outreach beyond its immediate home environment to all of Ohio. No mean feat. It is not wishful thinking to hope that the GEAR Foundation can keep its momentum going long enough to see a gay rights ordinance get through Cleveland City Council Now that would be a triumph!

Turning the gay city over to view its underbelly is not plea sant; but then gay Clevelander's problems are not unlike those facing gay people in other large metropolises. Oddly, what follows were precisely the same issues and conflicts facing those of us in GEAR two to four years ago: Point One

Political activism is at a low point. With no major rallying issue, Cleveland's gays are peaking in apathy. There was no Gay Pride March this year because there was little energy to coordinate one. Perhaps the proposed gay rights ordinance will excite people, that is, if the leadership is there to make it happen. Point Two

For the most part, lesbians and

gay men still rarely communicate in an organizational fashion. Point Three

Likewise, gay blacks and gay whites don't talk much outside of individual contacts; maybe MistA-Henry's can help change that. Point Four

The Gay Community Center has been under utilized. While the Gay Switchboard/Hotline is extraordinarily well used and an indispensable local resource, the Community Center has not quite reached its promised potential. Sadly, it seems the Center treads financial waters perpetually. Point Five

Gay volunteerism in local activist activities (the GEAR Foundation, the Community Center. Dignity and High Gear) is not exactly booming. The need for fuller involvement is paramount.. especially so far as this writer is concerned, with High Gear, an established organ of communication which is essential to local and statewide progress simply

via its continued existence.

I am not presumptuous as to offer solutions to these problems which have perplexed many highly competent local gay activisits for the past five years. The fact is, change is slow to come to Cleveland. We are a secure populace so long as our patterns are habitual, predictable and to some degree, self-serving. Creativity and innovation are typical Cleveland characteristics; ironically, taking chances is one quality not so prevalent.

Time inevitably moves Gay Cleveland forward. How much we control that motion depends on our collective responses to a number of challenges which could make gay life in Cleveland more desirable and satisfying for all its residents.

Badlands

419 Plum Street

FLORID

This is definitely the hottest spot in town. So hot, in fact, that HIGH GEAR could get only one picture shot.