October 1st, 1997 to October 7th, 1997

Chicago Whispers

A Very Personal Gay and Lesbian History

Paris Dance ...
"The first time I went into Paris I was with friends from work, wasn't out to myself yet, but it was a place to go, to dance and have a good time, without having to worry about being hit on. The first time I went in there I was really nervous. I remember getting picked-on about holding onto my purse. I went to the big bash after the parade one year, wall to wall people ... it was quite an experience." - Kate
"One of my fondest memories of Paris Dance is meeting Suzanne there. That was five years ago, and we had not seen each other for 18 years prior to that. We knew each other before, at the Closet. We ran into each other again, and the rest is history." - Maria Kiss
"The first time I went to Paris Dance, it was probably about 1985. I was 16 and driving a 1976 Oldsmobile Delta 88. Interestingly enough, I never wanted to go in the bar, what I did was sit outside writing poetry in a little red notebook. The door lady who worked there ... her name was Mary ... befriended me, and she would bring me cokes, and sit out and talk to me. It was really cool. It was actually one of my first and fondest memories of my gay adolescence ... doing this weird stuff, and being a real individual, at the same time getting a foothold in the community, and seeing what it was like." - Lori Weiner
"Paris was wonderful. Linda and Barb, when they opened it, did a great job. It was a place for people who wanted to go to a sophisticated club. Barb sold out several years later to Linda. And I think Paris Dance served a real purpose in this community. I'm going to be sorry to see it gone [it closes Nov. 15]. It was a wonderful bar. I had many a good time there, and it was a nice group of people. Always pleasant. None of this fighting crap." - Arlene Halko
The Mattachine Society ...
"Was I a member of Mattachine? Oh yeah, '67 and '69 ... sort of casually like, not real tight or anything. There was One Incorporated, and there was the late Paul Goldman, the attorney ... he was sort of chief ... (Laughs) ... he was a very good lawyer. I went to a few meetings ... 10 or 20 people, maybe. A lot would be 10 or 20. I've been active in gay rights, but sort of independently, if I could say that." - Anonymous Ex-Military Man

"I can tell you a story about this ... I have no way to document it, I've never talked to Bill Kelley about it, but apparently it's true. [Bill and David Stienecker were] a part of the Mattachine, [David] used to publish the newsletter, and at that time ... [Sept. '69], there was an Officer Manley ... very beautiful, very blond, who, with a friend, would cruise Lincoln Park men's rooms and make numerous arrests. A very sick individual. Anyway, the Mattachine newsletter criticized him, said some derogatory things about him, so Manley knocked on [David Stienecker]'s door and arrested him on the spot [in Feb. 1970], strictly because of what he printed. It was unbelievable." - Gene Janowski
At the bathhouse ...
"I saw Bette Midler and Barry Manilow in Man's Country, that was back in the mid-'70s. I remember it being a very strange experience, several hundred gay men sitting around in white towels, having to act relatively well-behaved." - Fred Steinhauer
"I met Waylon Flowers at Man's Country. He was performing there. That was back in '78 or '79." - Jeff Courtouise
Christopher Street ...
"I loved Christopher Street. That was my neighborhood bar. It opened the same year I moved to Halsted Street, and when it first opened it was just the one storefront on the corner, the southwest corner at Cornelia and Halsted. I used to call it 'the thing that would not die.' It just kept growing, and growing, and growing, and changing character. In the first couple of years it was really a very nice place to be, very friendly upscale. Mainly people who lived in the neighborhood. Very friendly bartenders, the two owners, and the rest of their staff ... almost all of whom have died now, except for one or two. The space is still there, as Manhole, but it doesn't look like it did." - Bert Thompson
I thought it was a raid ...
"I remember when I first moved to Chicago, a bunch of guys came into the Bushes in Chicago police uniforms, and I was terrified it was a raid, but it was just a bunch of gay men who were into uniforms. I was the only one who freaked out." - Bert Thompson

In the '60s ...
"In the '60s it was pretty tight and you had to know somebody to get into a club or to meet people, and actually, I hired a technician that looked like the cutest butch I'd ever seen, just because I knew she was gay. I didn't know what kind of technician she was, but I hired her." - Arlene Halko
And even earlier ...
"I didn't do much cruising, and stuff like that in the '50s and '40s. You see, in 1947 I wasn't into the gay life itself. I don't want to say I was in the closet, but it was another way of carrying the banner. You did without. I didn't start coming out until I was in my early 30s in 1962. Otherwise, I was in the service, and there were problems ... the only thing is, until my brother died, and then my mother died, I didn't become very active ... openly, until then." - Anonymous Ex-Military Man
Coming out ...
"I came out in LA in 1974. I found myself dancing with a man in a negligee, so that's when I figured it out." - Ruth Ketchum

If you have any stories to tell, write to Sukie de la Croix at Outlines.

What a Difference a Gay Makes

The Gay/Lesbian Movement, 5, 10, 15 & 20 Years Ago

by Sukie de la Croix

What was happening in the gay and lesbian movement 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago this month?

Here's this week's Outlines overview to help you trigger the memories of yesteryear ...

Sept. 28-Oct. 4

1992: 5 Years Ago
U.S.: Salt Lake City passes two gay-rights ordinances, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and services. - In Portland, Ore., Police Chief Tom Potter receives death threats for openly supporting gay rights, in a state that is soon to vote on an anti-gay bill. Potter's own lesbian daughter, Kate, is an officer in his department, and he has joined her in two Gay Pride Marches. - Chile: Roberto Pablo, a member of the Movimiento de Liberacion Homosexual (MOVILH) 'comes out' on national TV, saying: "I've already received threatening phone calls. Our democracy is just on paper. The military is still crouched in the shadows. Nothing has really changed." - Phillipines: The Fourth Asian Lesbian and Gay Regional Conference takes place in Manila, and is dubbed 'a success,' even though lesbian delegates boycott the conference. Japanese spokesman, Teishiro Minami, says: "Lesbians in Asia have different agendas and don't seem interested in working with gay men." - Australia: PANDA (Poofs and Dykes Advocate) is the first gay newspaper published in Canberra.

1987: 10 Years Ago
U.S.: After coming out to his family, Michael Martini of San Mateo, Calif., and three of his friends are attacked with golf clubs and an ax by his parents and grandparents. While they're smashing up his car, one of Martini's friends, Dennis May, climbs out of the vehicle and is badly beaten. - The Sisters of St. Francis, a Philadelphia Catholic order of nuns, gives a $2000 grant to the New York-based Catholic Coalition for Gay Civil Rights, to conduct seminars on 'Homosexuality, Homophobia and Holiness.' - Canada: In Vancouver, a judge awards Gail Meredith legal guardianship of her lover Judy, who suffers from a degenerative disease causing premature senility. Meredith wins the case, after her lover's father and brother contested her right to control Judy's healthcare and legal affairs.

1982: 15 Years Ago
U.S.: Twenty uniformed police raid Blues, a New York Black gay bar, lashing out with billy clubs, and causing $30,000 worth of damage in the process: the jukebox, pinball machine and the DJs sound equipment are all smashed. - In Norfolk, Va., police confiscate copies of the controversial German film, Taxi Zum Klo, claiming it's in violation of the city's obscenity laws. - Scott Thorson, a former chauffeur of Liberace, files a palimony suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming he lived with the glitzy pianist as man and wife for six years. Thorson claims he was evicted from the house, after finding Liberace in bed with an 18-year-old man. The lawsuit is settled in 1986, with Thorson receiving $170,000, a gold Rolls Royce, a white Auburn, a Doberman pinscher, and an English sheepdog. - Iran: In Teheran, the country's Islami legislators establish new penalties for moral offenses: Homosexuality, drinking alcohol, and kissing for pleasure are specifically outlawed. 'Persistent Homosexuality' is now punishable by execution.

1977: 20 Years Ago
U.S.: California Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill into law that gives transsexuals the right to obtain rewritten birth certificates. - In US magazine, columnist Ann Landers shares her thoughts on 'that Anita Bryant dame': 'I would sooner leave my grandchildren with a homosexual, than I would with her.' - The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the case of James Gaylord, a Tacoma high school teacher who was fired for 'homosexuality.' - Pier Paolo Pasolini's controversial film, Salo, 120 Days Of Sodom, is shown at the New York Film Festival.

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