"Like one gay leader ( name withheld so he won't be embarrassed ) who rode in the Gay Pride Parade down Clark with his bare ass hanging out the window. I know that is true as I was in the car. There were a lot of outrageous things such as the Ann Landers Look-Alike Contest-;she was invited to be the judge-;I still have the letter from her thanking us but declining. The contest was won by a neutered dog. Of course, that was a coffeehouse project with Herb Kovasny in 1973 or 1974 and was really outrageous."
A Christian objects ...
"The Gay Pride Parades became a moment for real expression. Obviously, as Richard Pfeiffer could tell you, they have probably toned down, but we had ( probably still do ) people coming from Iowa City, Iowa and Bloomington, Indiana, where they had their own special Halloween parties in the IU student Union. One moment that I will always remember is when I was helping get the Gay Horizons float out ( it was my Gremlin decorated up ) and a float from Iowa City, a woman came up to me ( I was in my ministerial garb, collar and all, probably one of the first to do so in the parade legitimately ) , and demanded what I thought I was doing and that I should be ashamed of myself, etc. I told her that on the contrary, that we were proud and that the Bible told us to love one another, which she obviously wasn't doing. There was some tension as she grabbed a hold of me, but there was a policeman nearby and her friend said, 'let's get out of here.' It was memorable."
The people ...
"As I said, individuals made up the issues-;the guy who came to the clinic and thanked me in person and sent me checks later ( not to GH but to me ) as a donation. He was from Philadelphia and I shall remember him always. We obviously helped him, not only in the VD realm, but personally as well. I will, of course, always remember the Gay Medical Students ( I wish I knew where some of them were today ) and their dedication. But the everyday work of Larry Parlett, Larry Gehrke, and the staff of the Gay Switchboard including Steve Datko, Steve Moffatt, and many others. These people and our adventures made those times times to remember.
"Of course, since then we have had the tragedies-;the beautiful Glenn Mansfield who died of AIDS in 1986-;he won Mr. Broadway and contributed to Gay Horizons. There was the fabulous Dr. Allan Bouffard, a dedicated human being, and one I was proud to know. He helped me personally but was dedicated to the clinic and helping people. There was the great Jim de la Cerda, who died of AIDS in 1993 and had actually moved to San Francisco ( I missed seeing him ) , but he helped when people were shy. Being a nurse practitioner, he could dispense medicine and he actually gave one guy a shot of penicillin in my apartment when the guy couldn't make it to the VD Clinic. Jim was a wonderful supportive person."
Fundraising ...
"Another area not touched and, of course, was critical, was the fundraising. Our fundraising projects were notorious. We did raffle a trip to London in conjunction with the Gay Pride Committee ( I have the paperwork ) and a Barry R. won the trip. We also used a bar near 850 Diversey next to the El STop as an English Christmas Party fundraiser-;plum pudding and all. That was something of a disaster, but it was fun. There were various bars who held fundraisers for us all the time-;the Gold Coast, Broadway, and others. Then, of course, the famous Winter Carnival which raised $3,000 for the clinic, and was one of the most memorable and fun fundraisers of the whole period. The Lincoln Park Lagooners were a wonderful group of yuppie gays who wanted to do something for the community, and they certainly did. Some of our ideas weren't practical, but we had a lot of fun trying some of them."
The street preacher ...
"One personality ( straight ) that moved in and out of the early scene was Iberus Hacker, a so-called street preacher of appalachian background. He let us use Liberty Hall for the Coffeehouse/Clinic and where we literally built the clinic ( Bill Hendricks, Larry Gehrke and I put up some walls ) . Iberus died, I think, in the early '80s. But he was a factor for GH having a starting place for our projects. He was a great one for that kind of thing."
Those were the days ...
"It has been interesting recalling those days. Obviously, I cannot recall a great many details, and some I don't particularly want to ( like everyone else ) . I do wish I could recall Gary's ( the medical student ) last name and know something about what happened to Bob Stanley, Juvan ( a Black medical student and a gay Methodist ) , and others. Some of these people have died, such as Dale Shaskey, Barry Graffagna ( a contributor to GH ) , Cleveland Gates ( one of our people who came around though he didn't work a lot ) , Michale Sands, and of course, that great soldier, Paul Stensland. Every organization needs and should have at least 20 Paul Stenslands—they are there, they are dedicated and it was a privilege to watch him grow up in the gay community from age 18 on. I am sure Chicago misses him tremendously."
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 Windy City Times. You can leave a message on his voicemail at 773-871-7610. He interviews over the phone, in person, or via e-mail sukiedelacroix@iname.com
