February Culture Series:
Glenne McElhinney
"Tales of California
1977 - 1982,
Briggs, Bryant, Homophobia and the Coming Pandemic"
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909 W. Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 741-0094
Sunday, February 21, 2010
2:00pm-5:00pm
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Greetings !
Great things are ahead in February! Our Culture Series event coming up on the 21st with Glenne McElhinney will be amazing. Please stop by our West Hollywood Gallery and Museum and catch the ongoing show "The Works of Tom Ellis"
Read on to find out more about the fascinating activities at ONE Archives.
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What the ONE Archives Means to Me
by Steve Schulte
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When I knew
Jim Kepner he had his huge, eclectic and unruly  collection housed in a building
on Highland Avenue,
just north of the Gay
Community Services
Center where I was
director. Jim and I met numerous times as I tried to learn from him about
history, check facts on specific items----or ask for his support from time to
time.
During that
same period I met Dorr Legg on a few occasions. These men could not have been
more different, although both were---and knew they were----historic figures
from the formative, tumultuous and often contentious Fifties. Both were indeed
important activists like Harry Hay, Morris Kight, Troy Perry, Don Kilhefner and
other peers. But they were also thinkers and builders in different and
important ways.
Today's ONE
National Gay and Lesbian Archives enshrines legacies from each of these two men.
It is also a treasure trove of rich historical detail and background on many,
many others who lived and worked to make today's community what it is. Some of
these women and men you will recognize, others you will not.
Recently I
visited the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives in their great facility on Adams Boulevard,
just north of the USC campus. There is a huge photo of Jim in the lobby as you
enter, reminding you of his strong presence. Otherwise the look of the place is
miles from the crowded space on Highland.
Much has changed---including organization, cataloging and ease of access to information.
I spent time at ONE to
prepare for a talk I was to give on some aspects of the late Seventies and
early Eighties. As I looked through scores of files and photos I was reminded,
moved and amazed. With the help of capable and friendly staff I was able to
revisit and piece together wonderful times that had begun to slip away and
blur. And be reminded of friends and co-workers I had long lost touch with.
What struck me was how truly
important ONE is. I was humbled by its existence as well as the stories it
seeks to tell. Not to put too fine a point on it, my mind drifted several times
while I was there to the historic and extensive collection on gay and sexual
history and works that Magnus Hirschfeld established in Germany in the
early part of the last century. The famous Institute for Sexual Research, that
Nazi hoodlums ruthlessly and gleefully destroyed in 1933.
Building and maintaining
such an essential institution is no easy task. The work must be upgraded,
refined and supported over time. It needs the energies of scholars, volunteers
and the curious. Like any not-for-profit ONE also needs frequent and sustained
financial assistance.
I hope you will take the
time to visit ONE if you have not already done so. Spend some worthwhile time
there. And I hope you will support these archives financially as generously as
you can. Do it soon.
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Volunteer Profile
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We are always thankful for our wonderful volunteers here at the archives. We only have 3 paid staff members and the rest of our "Staff" and Board exist solely due to blood sweat and tears of our Volunteers. Here is a Q & A with Ray Vargas one of our regulars.
Q: What drew you to volunteer at the
Archives? A: Some years ago, I read an article
in the LA Times about the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, and kept it.
Upon my retirement from government service, I fulfilled an interest in
learning and volunteering for the ONE Archives and attended a Sunday cultural
series program. I realized being part of
this project would meet many of my needs to contribute to the LGBT community,
and continue my activism in support of civil liberties and social justice. I
began my volunteer service in early 2009.
I volunteer one full day a week.
Q: Where are you originally from? A: I have lived most of my life in Los Angeles. My family is originally from New Mexico. I am a graduate of Cal State University-San
Francisco during the 1960's. It was an
early initiation into political activism and personal development for me - core
values which have remained with me through the years. I have lived in the Silver
Lake area of L.A. since 1979.
Q: At what period of life did you come out? A: I acknowledged my sexuality during
my teen years, however, I didn't come out of the closet to my parents until the
age of 30, when I invited them to dinner and shared the fact that I found and
fell in love with another man.
In 1970, I attended L.A.'s first gay pride parade, a year after Stonewall held
in Hollywood. The organizers needed a Spanish-speaking
interpreter for several of the speeches, and I volunteered!
Q: What is your favorite thing about the
Archives? A: The Archives is a wonderful repository
of literature, poetry, history, sacrifice expression of every type, art, and the
creativity found in our LGBT community, I am continually amazed at the diversity of our people from all walks of
life, and in every arena of talent and expression. It is important for me to be a part of
today's struggle for full LGBT civil rights, and a culmination of the actions
and sacrifices made by so many before me. The Archive work is inspiring! I
always feel refreshed after spending my day carefully archiving our cumulative
history of accomplishments and living. Pat Allen, the Volunteer Coordinator,
does a wonderful job of scheduling tasks, projects and training.
I enjoy seeing the researchers from
all across the US
and other countries come to the Archives to do their research. The Archives' collections are impressive.
Q: What do you like doing in your spare time? A: I enjoy introducing the Archives to
people, and visitors and encouraging everyone to contribute to the Archives'
survival. They are always amazed and
appreciative after visiting ONE Archives.
We are fortunate to have ONE Archives here in Southern
California and it is important for the LGBT community to continue
its support and introduce our history to new generations.
My pastime includes activities as
cycling, walks and hikes, and exploring the city using public transit and the
wonderful Metro. Los Angeles is a wonderful area to live and
explore.
I encourage all who want to
contribute to our legacy to help by volunteering or donating needed funds to
sustain ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
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From Our Collections
Rob Cole
Papers, Coll2009-019 |
Frederick Robinson Cole was born in Dallas,Texas,
on July 27, 1930. A self-described "loner", he suppressed his homosexuality
until the September 1969, when, while on vacation in Los
Angeles, he was introduced to the newly formed Metropolitan Community
Church. The following
year, after 15 years as an editor at the Dallas Times-Herald, he moved to Los Angeles and joined the Advocate as news editor, the first news
professional to work at the paper. During his tenure, Cole transformed the
paper from a local Los Angeles
bar rag to a respectable newspaper with national news coverage. Cole not only
assigned and edited stories, but often wrote them, covering serious issues such
as conditions for gays in jails, psychiatric abuse, and gays in religion.
All-Ohio Gay
Conference, rally in front of the State House, Columbus, May 21, 1972.Left to right: Jeff Arnold, co-chair, Ohio Gay Pride
Committee; Franklin Kameny, president, Washington, DC, Mattachine Society; and
Susan Vasbinder, co-coordinator, Columbus Gay Activists Alliance. Box 7, folder 14,
Rob Cole Papers, Coll2009-019, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
Cole served on the Advocate until mid-1971, when
homesickness and conflicts with the owners convinced him to resign and return
to his former job in Dallas.
He returned to the Advocate in
September 1971, but again resigned at the end of December 1973, after renewed
conflicts with the owners. After working on the short-lived GLBT newspaper Forum of Southern California, he
returned to the Advocate for the
third and final time, as managing editor, in September 1974. The Advocate
was purchased by David Goodstein late that same year. Although rumor suggested
that Goodstein intended to retain him as editor, Cole was fired in late
December 1974, being replaced by John Preston. Early the next year, Goodstein
moved the offices of the Advocate to
the San Francisco Bay area and refocused the paper on national affairs,
arts and entertainment, virtually eliminating local Los Angeles coverage. To fill in the void
left by the departure of the Advocate,
Cole founded the bi-weekly NewsWest,
the first issue of which appeared in May 1975. NewsWest continued the tradition of the old Advocate, including many of the same columnists, writers, and
stringers, and with the addition of Pat Rocco as primary photographer. However,
Cole's relationship with fellow members of the board of the paper's parent
company, Green Carnation Newspapers, soon became strained, and in October 1975
he was removed from the board; although he was retained as editor, his
relationship with the board continued to deteriorate, and he left NewsWest
shortly afterwards. (He continued to contribute occasional columns to
the newspaper until it ceased publication in 1977.) In the following years Cole
worked for other newspapers in Southern California
before leaving journalism to work as a real estate appraiser. He remained
active in the gay community, serving on the board of the Christopher Street
West Association, of which he was a co-founder in 1970, for most of the last 37
years of his life.
He died at his home
in North Hills, California, on June 30, 2007, after a
long struggle with Parkinson's disease, complicated by pneumonia and a chronic
back ailment.
The
Rob Cole Papers were donated to ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives shortly
after Cole's death by his former partner, Bob McCoard. The bulk of the
materials relates to Cole's career as a newspaperman. They include correspondence, draft articles, subject files, and other
documents that shed light on Cole's role as the first professional newspaperman
to run a gay newspaper in Los Angeles, and the
often contentious world of the Los
Angeles gay press in the 1970s. The collection also
contains issues of several newspapers, including, from Cole's days as a
newspaper editor in Dallas, issues of the Dallas Times Herald and Dallas
Morning News chronicling several significant events between 1962 and 1969,
as well as the newsroom copy of the Advocate for 1967-1968, the two
issues of the Forum of Southern California (1974), an incomplete run of NewsWest
(1975-1977), and the single issue of Out! which succeeded NewsWest
in 1977. The print material is supplemented by a significant number of
photographs published by or submitted to the Advocate, Forum, and
NewsWest. The photographs published in and submitted to the Advocate
derive from what is now the Advocate Records collection held by ONE National
Gay & Lesbian Archives, and how they came into Cole's private possession is
not known. The collection also contains Cole's typed notes and audiotapes of
interviews for stories, most relating to the Metropolitan Community
Church.
Cole's association with the Christopher
Street West Association, of which he was a co-founder, is less fully
documented. The records include
a handbill announcing the first Christopher Street West parade in June 1970;
minutes of the board of directors for 1975-1976 (including Cole's account of
police harassment of spectators at the 1976 march); souvenir programs for 1974,
1976, and 1985; materials relating to the 1984 and 1985 public relations
campaigns; documents from 1995 and 1996, when Cole was editor of the
association's newsletter; videotapes, primarily from the 1980s; photographs,
primarily from 2002-2004; and memorabilia, chiefly buttons and t-shirts.
The collection also contains a small amount
of a material of a personal nature, including Cole's unpublished short stories
from the 1950s, as well as a series of subject files, audio recordings, and
memorabilia.- Michael Palmer, Archivist
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Thank
you for reading our newsletter and for making our work possible. With
your help, we are able to offer our Culture Series events & can continue to create exhibits in our Gallery and Museum We can keep
our archivists working hard for you and your history. Especially in these
challenging times, we need your support to continue preserving our past and
securing our future. Please make a donation online today.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Hawkins, Ph.D
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
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