Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-09-06
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Chicago street renamed in honor of Chuck Renslow
by Matt Simonette
2018-05-20

This article shared 2580 times since Sun May 20, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Dozens of community members gathered just outside Full Kit Gear, 5021 N. Clark St., the afternoon of May 19 as a portion of Clark Street was renamed in honor of gay businessman Chuck Renslow, who passed away in June 2017.

Renslow, the proprietor of the former Man's Country bathhouse on the same block, owned a number of businesses and was especially active in Chicago Democratic politics in the 1970s and '80s. He also published GayLife newspaper before that folded in 1986, and founded the annual International Mr. Leather competition, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Renslow's longtime partner, Ron Ehemann, emceed the brief unveiling ceremony, noting that, while he obviously knew Renslow as a "family man," it was Renslow's spiritual side that for him left behind the most indelible impression.

"On the most intimate level, I knew him as a spiritual person," Ehemann recalled, noting that Renslow's guiding principle was always, 'Do what thou will.'

As such, Ehemann awarded the first "How Great Thou Art" awards, intended to recognize exemplary service to the local LGBT community. The 2018 recipients were activist Lori Cannon as well Windy City Times Publisher Tracy Baim, who along with Owen Keehnen authored the Renslow biography Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow. Ehemann also acknowledged Full Kit Gear's Chip Beam for helping him to organize his affairs and priorities following Renslow's death. The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce and 47th Ward Ald. Ameya Pawar helped to get the street dedication confirmed.

Speaking about the impact Renslow's life and career had on the community, Ehemann said, "Chuck belonged to many more people than me."



This article shared 2580 times since Sun May 20, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Three films score 10 nods each in Chicago Film Critics Association's 2023 Awards
2023-12-08
--From a press release - Chicago, IL (December 8, 2023) — The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) announced nominees for their top film honors of 2023; winners will be announced at the organization's annual awards ceremony to be held in Chicago ...


Gay News

Trans actress, gay actors, 'Kokomo City' receive Spirit Award nominations
2023-12-06
The nominations for the 39th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced—and LGBTQ+ actors, directors and productions definitely made their mark. Trans actress Trace Lysette was announced as one of the nominees for Best Lead ...


Gay News

Santos voted out of Congress
2023-12-01
Now-former U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-New York) was voted out of Congress on Dec. 1. Santos is the sixth House member in U.S. history to be booted from Congress, and the third since the Civil War, ...


Gay News

'She was here...and she is here': Street to be renamed after Elise Malary
2023-11-30
By Alec Karam - The memory of the late activist Elise Malary will soon become a permanent part of Andersonville's Catalpa Avenue. The renamed "Elise Malary Way" will encompass the Catalpa Plaza area, a planned pedestrian plaza between Ashland Avenue ...


Gay News

BOOKS Lucas Hilderbrand reflects on gay history in 'The Bars Are Ours'
2023-11-29
In The Bars Are Ours (via Duke University Press), Lucas Hilderbrand, a professor of film and media studies at the University of California-Irvine, takes readers on a historical journey of gay bars, showing how the venues ...


Gay News

BOOKS Owen Keehnen takes readers to an 'oasis of pleasure' in 'Man's Country'
2023-11-27
In the book Man's Country: More Than a Bathhouse, Chicago historian Owen Keehnen takes a literary microscope to the venue that the late local icon Chuck Renslow opened in 1973. Over decades, until it was demolished ...


Gay News

Disney exhibition chronicles a century of entertainment history
2023-11-21
Disney100, a large-scale traveling exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, has opened at the Exhibition Hub Art Center, 2367 W. Logan Blvd., in Bucktown. Hundreds of props and artifacts from the company's ...


Gay News

Out sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson receives multiple honors
2023-11-17
Over the past few weeks, LGBTQ+ sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson has received several honors. The city of Dallas honored LGBTQ+ sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson—twice, according to LGBTQ Nation. Her former high school named the track where she ran ...


Gay News

Rustin film puts a gay pioneer into the spotlight
2023-11-16
The story of activist Bayard Rustin is one that should be told in classrooms everywhere. Instead, because Rustin was an openly same-gender-loving man, his legacy has gone relatively unnoticed outside of LGBTQ+-focused history books. Netflix hopes ...


Gay News

IDHS head Dulce Quintero reflects on making history, being an advocate
2023-11-13
Dulce Quintero has always believed in helping people—and decades of doing so has resulted in an especially noteworthy achievement. Recently, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appointed Quintero, a member of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, as ...


Gay News

AVER celebrates LGBTQ+ veterans at annual Veterans Day dinner
2023-11-12
Writer and historian Owen Keehnen was keynote speaker at the the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) Chicago Chapter's 32nd annual LGBTQ Veterans Day Banquet held on Veterans Day at Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont. Keehnen ...


Gay News

Rainbow wave: Historic number of LGBTQ+ Candidates elected in 2023
2023-11-08
--From a press release - Washington, DC — Over 200 out LGBTQ+ candidates won their elections in 2023 — including 148 tonight — more than in any other odd-numbered election year in U.S. history. The number of victories is expected to ...


Gay News

Mississippi makes history with first LGBTQ+ state lawmaker, county supervisor
2023-11-07
On Nov. 7 Fabian Nelson—backed by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund—won the general election to represent District 66 in the Mississippi State House, making history as the first out LGBTQ+ candidate to win election to the state ...


Gay News

30th anniversary of LGBTQ+ Bud Billiken Parade contingent celebrated
2023-11-06
The 30th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays celebrated the original Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who in 1993 actively participated as ...


Gay News

WTTW doc chronicles the activism of Danny Sotomayor
2023-11-03
Practically everything the late Chicago AIDS activist Danny Sotomayor did was "a fight." So says fellow activist Victor Salvo in the new WTTW documentary The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor, which is part of the station's Chicago ...


 


Copyright © 2023 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.