Bar History in the Twin Cities.

Bar History in the Twin Cities.


Of course we all remember Discovery before it moved from Asher and University to its present location. Then there was the French Quarter located downtown with its upstairs dance floor and its second floor quiet bar and it basement restaurant.


Across the street in the basement of the Manning Hotel was the Drummers Club and for many years the only gay bar in Little Rock. As hard as the following might be for the younger gays to accept, Saturday night might consist of going to the Drummers Club; and eating dinner, maybe even with straight friends, staying in your chairs (moving around was discourage) and visiting and listening to the quiet juke box. The employees there practically make it a full time occupation to monitor your actions and any display of affections (even holding hands under the tables) was enough to get you barred. The employees quickly told you that this was not a gar bar; but didn’t you want another drink. The ? seemed to be that the gay dollar certainly was welcome but not the gay reputation. Dancing, of course, was out of the question.

Then around 1975 or 1976, due to the dwindling weekend crowds who journeyed to Hot Springs some 50 miles away either to the Royal Lion (a private club) or the Peacock Lounge (later Norma Kristie’s just to be able to dance, dancing was finally permitted at the Drummers Club. At first only after ten o’clock and only on weekends and only after a large sign was placed on the locked door proclaiming that a private birthday party was being held inside.

Big David came to Little Rock around 1976 and started his shows on Wednesdays and business boomed. The gay community is credited with keeping the Manning Hotel open for perhaps 2-3 years longer because of the business it generated. A cover was later put on the door there and it seems to have become standard practice that if dancing is permitted a cover will be charged.

Women did appear at the Drummers after dancing was permitted but there was little mixing between the sexes with the men staying on the left and the women on the right. The women had their own bar called Tommie3’s on Arch, Pike and there was also another women’s bar known as Nina’s located on Fouche Dam Road.

In the early 1970’s there was the El Toro Club which was near the Rixey Road exit in Jacksonville and it was popular with men and women alike for a short time, dancing was permitted and liquor and beer served. The same owners had previously operated the Actors and Artist Club on the New Benton Highway; there was occasional shows a both bars. At the El Toro, there were problems with local authorities who used block off the two exit out of club, arrest drivers for DWI and put everyone in the car they could, regardless of the hour.

The Gar Hole located in the basement of the old Marion Hotel closed April 31, 1970. The Marion Hotel was a regal old downtown hotel and was a well know gather place for a cross section of the city. To this day formers employees deny any knowledge of gay gathering place, however, it apparently was well know through the Southwest and while maybe closeted gays apparently make up a large section of the clientele.

Also about the same time as the Gar Hole, there was the Brown Jug, in area of 13th and Scott. It was well known for its food and was certainly mixed but had a large gay following and people remember the large fireplace, the lacquered player piano. On rare occasions at closing time dancing was allowed.
Also for a short time in the late sixties, there was Brittany House on the old Memphis highway. Dancing was permitted and there were occasional shows. There were also considerable problems with harassment from authorities. It soon closed.
In the early sixties and late fifties there was the Continental and the Pit. The Pit was opened first and this was in the vicinity of 2nd and spring, and it featured live entertainment, folk singers, etc. and was well known for their food.

It attracted a considerable gay following so the owners opened up the Continental next door as a private club. This was probably the first openly gay bar in Little Rock and it was popular with the men and the women. It featured a black band known as Sweet Mama Newman. After this bar closed in the 1964, the crowd seemed to shift to the Gar Hole.

Also as far back as 1940 until it closed in 1960, there was the Brass Rail, which was located next to the Manning Hotel. This was quite popular with the many soldiers stationed at Ft. Roots during the war. People still remember the patio in the back and the fishpond.

In the early seventies, there were a couple of private party clubs, which flourished for a short time, and entertaining at home was probably more popular than it is today.

We realize that this report may not be complete due to hazy memories and faulty recollections. We welcome corrections and additions. Ark Bar History

Keeping LGBT youth alive The Trevor Project runs the only national 365-days-a-year hotline for LGBT youth—or any adolescent—who’s considering suicide. Logging 1,000 calls a month at 866-4-U-TREVOR, the help line is a vital resource at the holidays and all year long. By Ryan James KimAn Advocate.com exclusive posted, December 22, 2005

The year-end holidays bring joy to many—and depression and thoughts of suicide to others. When those at risk are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth, the Trevor Project is there to help every day of the year, including Christmas. The organization runs a toll-free national suicide hotline—(866) 4-U-TREVOR—as well as suicide-education programs for LGBT youth. Jorge Valencia, executive director of the Trevor Project, spoke with Advocate.com by telephone.

How is the Trevor Project different from other national suicide-prevention hotlines? The Trevor Project runs the only nationwide hotline for gay and lesbian teenagers. It is open 365 days of the year. The thing that makes us different than everyone else is our focus is the highest-risk group, LGBT youth—that is, 15–to–24-year-olds. Suicide is the number 1 killer of teens today, and every hour and 45 minutes, a gay teenager is lost to suicide. That’s a Columbine every single day of the year. That definitely justifies why we’re around.

How many young people do you help in a year? We get approximately 1,000 calls a month from teenagers all around the nation. However, when awareness of our help line is raised we get four times as many calls. For example, last year, after we were mentioned after an episode on the WB’s One Tree Hill, calls increased fourfold. That’s one reason why we’re so adamant about raising awareness, because 95% of all youth suicides are preventable. That means more lives being saved if we can talk to them. That’s a statistic that we can speak to.
Is the Trevor Project hotline just for gay teens?Forty percent of our callers are people who don’t define their sexuality—and we don’t advertise our hotline that way either. For instance, one of our posters advertising the hotline asks the question “Who?” as in, Who are you? Who can you turn to for help? The thing we’re trying to avoid by having open-ended posters like this is a situation where a kid who’s still confused about his sexuality [doesn’t want] to stop and look at the poster because of fear of being harassed.

What other projects besides the national hotline does the Trevor Project run?We just opened the “Dear Trevor” section on our Web site [http://www.thetrevorproject.org/]. It started because we would have teens asking our webmaster over the Internet, “I’m confused, I think I might be gay. Can you help me?” We created this section on our Web site so they can e-mail us, and we have our counselors respond to them. We keep those letters and their answers online so others can get comfort from the letters. Of course, if someone needs help immediately, we ask them to call the hotline so we can help them directly.
Where did the name “Trevor Project” come from?Trevor came out of James Lecesne’s [play] Word of Mouth. The show had a segment about a 13-year-old boy who develops feelings for a friend of his, and he’s ostracized. This segment was made into a short film and in 1994 it won the Oscar [for best live-action short]. It wasn’t until ’98 that HBO decided it wanted to air the film, and when HBO approached the film’s creators, [the creators] thought that they should set up a hotline for any teens who saw the short and were going through the same thing. Since then over 35,000 youth have been helped by the hotline.


ContinuedNext page>> If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the Trevor Project at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386). All calls are completely free and confidential. Keeping LGBT youth alive Exclusive Advocate.com

House keeping Yearly AGH Disclaimer

This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, civic, and public history ect . We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Thanks Editor

Arkansas Gay History

Town Hall Series in Conway to discuss LGBTQ issues: rights, fairness and community

A couple of groups in Central Arkansas are planning a Town Hall Series in Conway to discuss LGBTQ issues: rights, fairness and community.
The Conway Town Hall Series will be presented by the Conway League of Queer Activists and the Center for Artistic Revolution (CAR).
The four week series is open to the public and will feature special guest panels. Topics include: equality, families, discrimination, harassment and violence. Meetings will open with personal stories from LGBTQ community members relevant to the subject for that evening.
Anyone interested in being a panel member or those who have a story to share during that section of each event should contact the groups as soon as possible.
The following meetings will be held at the Agora Conference Center, 705 Seibenmorgan Rd., Conway, Ark.
Feb. 2, 2006, 6:30 p.m. Harassment-Discrimination-Violence
Feb. 9, 2006 6:30 p.m. Families-Adoption-Foster Care
Feb. 16, 2006 6:30 p.m. Equal Rights-Marriage-Fairness
Feb. 23, 2006 6:30 p.m. Summary & Next Steps
For more information or to join one of the panels, call: (501) 603-2138.

Regional ST Louis MO lesbian History Project

St. Louis Lesbian History Project

BeginningsOriginally, this research was planned as part of one UMSL graduate class that I had planned to take. It was to be an independent study course and just one small step in a series of graduate studies. Most of my graduate program would not have focused on lesbian history, as that is currently not an approved specialization at the University.

I anticipated doing some research and writing a 15-page paper. But several things have changed my plans.First, my work obligations (the one that pays the bills) in the field of information systems did not mesh well with the graduate program at UMSL. Secondly, as I began to see what was involved in researching lesbian history in St. Louis, it did not seem to be something that could be accomplished in one semester, even if I had unlimited free time. Consequently, I re-evaluated my plans and determined that I would forgo the graduate degree. Instead, I would do a more independent gathering of St. Louis lesbian history. I have not ruled out working with some of the instructors at UMSL and I am currently plowing through a comprehensive reading list that I put together with their help.

TodayMy plans are to interview any and everyone that I can in attempt to record lesbian history from as far back as is feasible. I will be focusing primarily on the fifties, sixties, and seventies but will not rule out stories from other times.

As I am not a professional historian, this project is a hobbyist effort and may or may not result in a formal historical piece. But I am interested in putting together all the research and maintaining it for the future.As I do have limited free time to pursue this project, I will be glad to take assistance from anyone willing and able. A book called “Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold” which is a lesbian history of Buffalo NY focusing on the forties and fifties particularly inspired me. Two women worked on the project for over ten years, which gives me some idea of the magnitude of a project like this.

I am not so ambitious to think that I will end up with a book such as that. But I will have records and writings that will form the basis of whatever may follow.My plan depends on the help of others.
Without a referral to speak with others, I will reach a dead end rather quickly. I am looking forward to meeting a number of fascinating women in the course of this adventure. And as I stated earlier, I expect it will take years to feel that I have even scratched the surface of the many stories and perspectives that I feel should be recorded.If you are interested in participating in this project in any way,

please contact me via e-mail attravis40@swbell.netSharon

St. Louis Lesbian History

Please Visit and Help Sharon Out if you have infomation to the History of lesbians in the MID-South Region and visit her blog and help her with infomation and the History of the ST Louis MO gay and lesbian Community .

Thanks Editor AGH

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From Arkansas Gay History
2005

Candidate for lieutenant governor seeks education ballot measures

Candidate for lieutenant governor seeks education ballot measures Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 By Aaron Sadler Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK -

A Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor said Wednesday he would sponsor petition drives to authorize a statewide lottery and elect a constitutional officer to oversee public education.

Drew Pritt of Warren said he would spearhead petition drives to collect enough signatures to place both issues on the November 2006 general election ballot. Pritt said he mailed popular names and ballot titles of both measures to the attorney general's office Wednesday.

Attorney General Mike Beebe's certification of ballot titles is required before signature gathering can begin. The proposals are Pritt's response to last week's state Supreme Court ruling that public school funding in Arkansas is constitutionally inadequate.

"The children of Arkansas deserve more accountability and more funding," he said in a news release. "If the governor is not prepared to call the state Legislature back into a special session to achieve reform, it's time for the people to take the lead."Huckabee said Tuesday that calling a special session without a plan to address the Supreme Court ruling would be premature.

Under Pritt's proposal, a state superintendent of education would be elected at the same time and in the same manner of Arkansas' seven other constitutional officers. The state superintendent would replace the education commissioner, who is appointed now by the governor, as head of the Department of Education.

The superintendent would appoint members of the state Board of Education and would supervise and manage all state and federal public school dollars.Pritt did not estimate how much money would be raised but said most revenue from a lottery would be allocated for teacher salaries and school facility construction under his proposal.

A five-member commission would oversee the lottery, with four commissioners appointed by the Legislature and the fifth appointed by the governor.State law requires the attorney general's office to review ballot proposals to determine whether the proposals are clear and unambiguous.By their nature, both initiated proposals would be constitutional amendments. Pritt would need 80,570 signatures - 10 percent of the total number of voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election - before the issues could appear on the Nov. 7, 2006, ballot.

Beebe has already authorized the name and ballot title of another lottery proposal. State Rep. Charles Ormond, D-Morrilton, is sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment to authorize casino gambling, a lottery and charitable bingo. Ormond's petition names him as the first director of the commission that would oversee to oversee the operations.Pritt said his lottery proposal differs from Ormond's in that the language in Pritt's measure reflects language of successful lottery initiatives in four other states.

He said only he and a few supporters of his campaign for lieutenant governor are backing the proposals so far."I have a feeling there are going to be more supporters to join in, and more legislators," he said.Pritt is among seven people vying for the lieutenant governor's job next year. Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, a Republican, is prohibited from seeking re-election because of term limits.
Pritt, State Sen. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould, Rep. Jay Martin of North Little Rock and former Rep. Mike Hathorn of Huntsville are seek the Democratic nomination in a May primary.Republicans in the race are Sen. Jim Holt and Rep. Doug Matayo, both of Springdale, and former U.S. Attorney Chuck Banks of Little Rock.
Click here: Arkansas News Bureau - Candidate for lieutenant governor seeks education ballot measures

Little Rock Pride Sends Season Greetings. Visit Them Soon

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

We wanted to remind anyone who has not visited the site recently to read a profile that has some interesting information and might get a few people motivated to be more politically active in 2006.

Not only can you read about Attorney Alice Lightle here, you can also learn about the legislative process and how a few people got some attention for the gay community with a bill that, while it didn't pass, was a positive move.2006 promises to be an exciting year for the GLBT community in Arkansas.

Don't miss the Eureka Springs' Valentine's Day events or the Spring Diversity and Fall Diversity events.Members of LRGLP are meeting often to plan Capitol Pride events for June 2006.Also the state will elect a new governor and many other positions that can have an effect on gay rights.

Please have a happy and safe holiday season and let's make some progress in 2006 for the GLBT community in Arkansas!

Your friends at Little Rock Pride


http://www.littlerockpride.com/index.php

December 20, 2005 ACLU files brief on Arkansas gay foster care ban

ACLU files brief on Arkansas gay foster care ban
The Arkansas supreme court has been asked by the American Civil Liberties Union to uphold a lower court decision that said state officials improperly barred gay men and lesbians from serving as foster parents.In papers submitted to the court Monday, the organization asked justices to uphold a ruling last year by Pulaski County circuit judge Tim Fox that said such a ban was unconstitutional. Fox ruled that the Child Welfare Agency Review Board did not have authority from the legislature to craft the policy, which Fox said was based on the board's sense of public morality. Fox also said testimony did not prove gay foster parents posed a hazard to the children.The ACLU said it was joined by an array of child advocacy organizations, including the Child Welfare League of America and the American Psychological Association. "This anti-gay foster parenting ban goes against the recommendation of every major children's health and welfare organization in the country," said Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas. "These experts all understand all too well how this policy hurts the many children in Arkansas in need of safe, stable homes."The ACLU submitted its papers Monday but the papers were not filed because of a technical error. Sklar said the organization would refile a corrected brief later this week.The state appealed Fox's ruling in November. The ban started in March 1999 when the board ruled children should be in traditional two-parent homes because they are more likely to thrive in that environment. Four Arkansans sued, saying they were qualified as foster parents but had been discriminated against.The ACLU argued the regulation violated the equal-protection rights of gays. In his ruling, Fox said gays are not a protected class, but Fox said said banning gays did not promote the Child Welfare Agency Review Board's mission of ensuring the health, safety and welfare of children. Fox also said that public morality, as determined by the Legislature, is a legitimate state interest, within constitutional limits. (AP)

http://pageoneq.com/rssfeedstuff/index.php?id=4966

Brokeback Mountain : Local press Media and Editorals

Brokeback Mountain
Frank Rich of the NYTimes (subscribers only) addresses something in his Sunday essay that we'd been wondering about -- the lack of a Fox TV-led campaign against "Brokeback Mountain," the gay love story that is enjoying powerful ticket sales in mainstream theaters in major cities. Rich finds good news in this about the country.
It's not for nothing that the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage vanished as soon as the election was over. Polls show that a large American majority support equal rights for gay couples as long as the unions aren't labeled "marriage" - and given the current swift pace of change, that reservation, too, will probably fade in the next 5 to 10 years. The history of "Brokeback Mountain" as a film project in itself crystallizes how fast the climate has shifted. Mr. McMurtry and Ms. Ossana bought the screen rights to the Proulx story after it was published in The New Yorker in 1997. That was the same year the religious right declared a fatwa on Disney because Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet in her ABC prime-time sitcom. In the eight years it took "Brokeback Mountain" to overcome Hollywood's shilly-shallying and at last be made, the Disney boycott collapsed and Ms. DeGeneres's star rose. She's now a mainstream daytime talk-show host competing with Oprah. No one has forgotten she's a lesbian. No one cares. ANOTHER startling snapshot of this progress can be found in a culture-war skirmish that unfolded just as "Brokeback Mountain" was arriving at the multiplex. The American Family Association of Tupelo, Miss., a leader in the 1997 anti-"Ellen" crusade, claimed this month that its threat of a boycott had led Ford to stop advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover lines in glossy gay magazines. Last week Ford, under fire from gay civil-rights organizations and no doubt many other mainstream customers, essentially told the would-be boycotters to get lost by publicly announcing that it would not only resume its Jaguar and Land Rover ads in gay publications, but advertise other brands in them as well.
As we mentioned earlier, the movie is scheduled to open in major theaters in Little Rock in January, as well as the doughty Market Street cinema, which normally has a monopoly on edgy movies.

Arkansas Times

Fraternity for gay men to get started at MU

Fraternity for gay men to get started at MU
The Associated Press
Published Tuesday, December 13, 2005
A national fraternity for gay and bisexual male students and their supporters is headed to the University of Missouri-Columbia.


Delta Lambda Phi, which began in 1987 in Washington, D.C., consists of 18 chapters nationwide, including groups at Purdue University, the University of Minnesota, Southern Methodist University and the University of South Alabama.

On Friday, the MU group will be inducted as a colony, the first formal step toward full recognition. Eight MU students are in the inaugural induction class. They emphasize that the fraternity is about celebrating brotherhood, not sexuality.


"It’s a fraternity, not a gay fraternity," said Joe Bowmaster, a junior at Westminster College in Fulton who plans to transfer to MU to fully participate in the group.

A three-day ceremony this weekend will include chapter representatives from Kansas State University, Iowa State University, the University of Missouri-Rolla and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

Fraternity for gay men to get started at MU

FOR IMMIEDIATE RELEASE Bond Question One Arkansas

FOR IMMIEDIATE RELEASEContact : Drew Pritt at 1.501.454.4093 or drew@drewpritt.comDrew Pritt,

Democrat for Lt. Governor & leading opponent of the Bonds had the following statement :"The people of Arkansas have spoken and the message that they have sent isloud and clear .... do not try to take away our right to vote! I am extremely proud of the results. Its a sign that democracy is alive and well in Arkansas.

I am pleased and proud that in my home county, we turned out the vote for a 72% margin AGAINST the bonds, even though the County Judge, LaVern Rice, and former Highway Commissioner John Lipton were actively for the bond proposal.

I am pleased that in counties where I actively campaigned against this measure and ran advertising, the margin was significantly larger against, then in counties I did not get to, to campaign. But this victory is not about me, the Truckers, or any of the other groups in the coalition. This victory belongs to the people of Arkansas!"

The History of Conway Pride Parade & Festival

The History of Conway Pride Parade & Festival

The very first Conway Pride Parade was held in 2004. The event was organized by John Schenck and Robert Loyd, partners for 30 years, Conway residents and business owners.

In 2003, John and Robert were arrested without provocation by Faulkner County deputies after asking that their driveway be cleared of cars attending a former mayor’s funeral. After an inordinate amount of trauma to their lives and relationship resulting from the arrest, the charges were dropped. In addition to the arrest, John and Robert have been threatened at various times and have had their property vandalized. Unsettling comments from Governor Mike Huckabee in regard to gay marriage and the proposed anti-gay marriage amendment were the final straws for John and Robert.

In addition to staging the first gay wedding on the state’s capitol steps, John and Robert organized the first Pride Parade in the city of Conway. Besides being a protest, regarding the discrimination against the LGBT community, the parade was also a tribute to mark the 35th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. For several nights in New York, a group of gay men, drag queens and lesbians fought back against the institutionalized harassment by police against the customers of a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. This was considered by many to be the launch of the equality movement across the nation for gays and lesbians. John was a participant at Stonewall.

The morning of the 2004 parade, John and Robert awoke to find their lawn and the parade route covered in manure. The city responded quickly and had the route cleared by the parade’s start. Once the parade began, its path was filled with protestors citing their religion and condemning the parade’s 300+ participants. Many of these individuals proselytized and harassed parade goers at the rally site. A radio personality gave out pornographic DVD’s to parade participants including a 16 year old youth as a publicity stunt. The next day a deaf gay resident of Conway was badly beaten and his apartment robbed. Despite the belief by many that the victim was targeted because he is gay, the Conway police department refused to see it as a hate crime. All of this, coupled with the passage of the anti-gay marriage amendment, further resolved John and Robert’s determination to continue their activist work and to make the parade an annual event.

In 2005 John and Robert, both members of the Center for Artistic Revolution (CAR) approached the organization in regard to a partnership to produce the 2nd Annual Pride Parade & Festival. In addition to the parade the organizers have added a schedule of speakers and live entertainment along with vendors and information booths.

Despite no wrongdoing on the part of last year’s parade participants, the mayor has changed this year’s route without consulting the event’s organizers. Not only does this new route keep the parade out of downtown and on the “other” side of the railroad tracks, it has been shortened significantly. A mixed bag of reasons has been cited by the mayor; security threats and a new restaurant named Mike’s Place are the ones most often given. Not to worry though, discrimination only increases the determination for justice. The organizers are already planning a bigger event to be held on multiple days for next year!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Center_for_Artistic_Revolution/files/Conway%20Pride%20Parade%20%26%20Festival/

http://www.artisticrevolution.org/