Fire Island ...
"It was located at Elston and Division, right on the corner. There's a bar there now, I think it's called the Slow Down. Fire Island was a very nice bar, it had a patio in the back and a patio along the river. It had a high patio and then you went down some stairs and there was another patio on the bank of the river. It was a very short-lived bar. What happened was, they had a barge and they put people on it and went up the river with it. But the coastguard came along and said, 'You have to have a Captain on this thing.' That wasn't even the big problem, because they also said, 'You must have a life preserver for everybody.' Well, I can understand that; if a speed boat comes through and hits it, and you sink a barge with 500 screaming faggots on it, you'll have watered fruit in the Chicago river. Once they couldn't use the barge, that was it. I don't know who owned the bar, but to tell you the truth I was only in it once, and the only reason I know what happened to it, was that a friend of mine, who was a bartender there, came over and asked me for a job. He was the guy who was tending the bar on the deck. It lasted one summer, but it was nice. The one time I was there, I went out on the water, and even then, the talk of everyone was, 'Well, what if this thing sinks?'" — Chuck Renslow
The almost White Party ...
"I was going to have a White Party on a barge one time. It would have been great, because barges are huge. I figured everything out, I could even park it at Michigan Ave., but once again you need life preservers for everybody. I tried to see where I could rent them, and I figured out I would have to rent 2000. It was cost prohibitive." — Chuck Renslow
Another Place ...
"Around 1969, there was, at the corner of 73rd and Cottage Grove, Another Place. This was one of the first clubs I came out to. It was kinda divey but it's where I grew up. It was one store front. It had a long bar on the south side wall and booths along the plate-glass windows that faced 73rd Street. It had windows in the front too, but once it was dark you couldn't really see inside. The DJ booth was in the back and it was built on a platform with a window cut out of the brown paneling that lined the walls.
"Douglas Middleton and John Boyd were the owners. John also worked as a manager for Jewel. Douglas was at the club more. I remember Douglas sitting in the window in the front, as if he was watching for something, like maybe the police. He was always calm, but I'm sure he had a temper, not in public. Bruce was one of the bartenders; a heavy guy with big eyes, a real bear. He also worked at Savoy roller rink as a guard, on 79th and Cottage, and he could skate his ass off.
"The DJ's were AFW and WFW. AF was Alvin something and Willie Watson was the other DJ. They alternated on the same nights. The booth was really a closet, just enough for one person to sit and play. There was a ladder to get up there with about five steps. It was in the back. The washrooms were right next to that closet booth, and all this was located in this little back room that had a see-thru partition.
"As in any bar, there were regulars, and the girls often carried protection, but I never remember an incident, probably everybody was packing; what did I know, I was 17. One of the regulars was 'The Gripper,' she was about 190, slicked back hair, eyeliner ... well just Imagine Pre-Sylvester at the end of the '60s ... always painted, but dressed as a man. Nobody messed with her. Why? ... She let it be known she was packing!
"Hi-Fi was a regular, I got to know him, cause my dad played in the house band at the Club de Lisa where Hi-Fi performed. But it wasn't 'til I 'came out' that I realized this guy was a little different than most; he always had a Cadillac and could read you in a split second! He really had a great set of pipes, and he never got the recognition he was due. Behind the bar was mirrored, so you could watch yourself or who was behind you, and we danced in the aisle between the bar and the booths.
"I also remember a regular, Charles Douglas, the fashion commentator. He was what I wanted to be, always fashionably correct. Flawless execution and always sip your drink. He was Dorian Grey to me." — email from Craig Anderson
Memory check: Fire Island ( 1177 N. Elston Ave ) is now called Slow Down Life's Too Short.
The first White Party took place Aug. 18, 1974, at the Dewes Mansion. It was hosted by Chuck Renslow, Dom Orejudos, and Bill Swank.
Another Place ( 7300 S. Cottage Grove ) , was later the location of the Bitter End.
Does anyone have memories of the Orange Ball at the Aragon on May 22, 1977?
Looking for 1970s, early '80s, members of the following groups: Cossacks, Chicago Knights, Tradewinds, and Rodeo Riders. What happened to Fred and Wally who owned the Virgo Out, which opened at 642 W. Diversey in November '74, then moved to 2546 N. Clark St. in May '76?
Future historians take note: The memory section in this column contains just that—Memories!—and are only to be used as a starting point for your research. Send your stories to Sukie de la Croix at Outlines. He also interviews over the phone or by e-mail sukiedelacroix@iname.coy
What a
Difference a
Gay Makes
The Gay/Lesbian Movement, 5, 10, 15 & 20 Years Ago
What a
Difference a
Gay Makes
The Gay/Lesbian Movement, 5, 10, 15 & 20 Years Ago
June 11-17
1995: 5 Years Ago
U.S.: Belgian-born lesbian-feminist novelist, May Sarton, dies from breast cancer aged 83. t The Martin Duberman Fellowship in Lesbian and Gay Studies is announced. Duberman is founder and director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at Graduate School and University Center of CUNY. t The Clinton administration creates a new position: White House liaison to the gay and lesbian community. Marsha Scott, 47, is named to the post. t Country singer Ty Herndon denies soliciting an undercover male vice officer for sex in Fort Worth, Texas, after being arrested for drugs and exposing himself in a wooded area. t Belgium: The International Lesbian and Gay Association says it has "an acute and immediate financial crisis."
1990: 10 Years Ago
U.S.: An anti-violence march in Greenwich Village turns violent as participants are taunted and heckled by spectators. An estimated 1,000 people march behind a sign reading "Queers Take Back the Night," but some 50 marchers start chasing a few bystanders who yell anti-gay slogans and epithets. t A protest targeting Boston's Bernard Cardinal Law draws 700 activists to Holy Name Cathedral to protest Law's long-standing opposition to gay/lesbian rights and AIDS prevention. t Twelve Marines beat three gay men—two of them unconscious—outside a Washington, D.C. gay bar. Two Marines are disciplined with fines of $400 each and a 30-day restriction to barracks. t In Columbus, Ohio, Michael A. Gelpi, an openly gay man, wins the Democratic primary race for Ohio's 12th congressional district.
1985: 15 Years Ago
U.S.: Gay author Armistead Maupin agrees to serve on the Gay Rights National Lobby's new advisory panel. t In New York City, fundamentalist ministers with bibles in hand march on the steps of the Harvey Milk School, the nation's first public high school for gays and lesbians. They call upon Mayor Koch to close the school down. t In Cincinnati, gay and other civil-rights groups—including the National Organization for Women—protest the questioning of fire and police department recruits on whether they have had gay sex, had sex with a child or been involved in a rape. Recruits are also required to describe their "most outrageous sexual experience." t The Wisconsin Assembly votes to approve $200,000 for AIDS education and outreach over a two-year period. The legislature also approves a statement on confidentiality for persons taking the HTLV III antibody test. t Stating that "homosexuality is a relevant consideration in any custody case," a judge in Philadelphia refuses to expand the visitation rights of a lesbian mother. t Murder in the Collective by Barbara Wilson is in bookstores.
1980: 20 Years Ago
U.S.: The Pennsylvania House bans poppers in the Commonwealth, adding them to the list of Schedule 1 drugs. t In Albuquerque, N.M., the 1980 Continental General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Churches of North America passes a resolution calling upon its member churches to renew their 1970 commitment to end discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual persons. t Italy: Gay Christians from all over Europe meet in Turin for a seminar called "Homosexuality and the Christian Faith." t Spain: More than 2,000 gay men and lesbians from 21 countries meet in Costa Brava for the 2nd annual conference of the International Gay Association. t Northern Ireland: Lesbians and gay men fight attempts to close down the first lesbian play to be performed in Ulster. The musical, I Like Me Like This, was produced by Gay Sweatshop Women's Company.
