1901 Backman Will Defend- In the case of
William Dean and Frank Brown charged with the “Crime Against Nature” on the
person of John Langenbecker, a young boy; the time for pleading was set for 10
o’clock Thursday. G H Backman was appointed to defend Dean. Brown will provide
his own counsel. Deseret News
1976 The Salt Lake Tribune revealed
that "Douglas A. Wallace was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints Sunday for ordaining a black man into the church's
priesthood."
1979- Deseret News prints an article quoting
a BYU professor “Y Expert Says Marriage Won’t Cure Homosexuals Section” D-1
1982-US Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA)
convened the first congressional hearings on the outbreak of opportunistic
infections in Gay men.
1986- The Lesbian and Gay Student Union at
the U of U hosted a two week Lesbian and
Gay Conference 86. Theme of the
conference was “Looking Forward”. Jim Hunsaker was President of LGSU. Joe
Redburn of the Sun Tavern and Michael Morris of Jeff’s Gym helped financed the
Conference.
1988-Morton Downey Jr. was acquitted of
assaulting Andy Humm, a Gay activist, on his television show. Humm said he
brought the charges against Downey because to do otherwise would have been a
statement that Gay people may be used as punching bags.
1988-Rep. Pat Schroeder of Colorado spoke
before a Washington DC Gay Democratic club, saying liberals must challenge the
narrow right wing concept of the American family, and that as long as the
government collects equal taxes from Gays and lesbians it should take measures
to provide them equal rights.
1990 - It sounds so trite to say it but
Marty Withers got away with murder today. The jury found him not guilty because
of the issue of self defense.
Unbelievable. Darrell Webber had
no weapon, he could not have over powered this ex-convict, and Withers admitted
to stabbing him to death and yet this is self defense? The Defense Attorney
argued that under Utah law if someone is passed out and is having a felonious
assault on his/her person then that person has the right to use deadly force to
repel the attacker. Withers claimed that
he was drunk when Darrell picked him up on State Street and he passed out in
Darrell's car. He said when he awoke the
next thing he knew Darrell had his pants down around his ankles and was
unbuckling Withers' pants. Withers said
he panicked, struggled, and then Darrell attacked him. So Withers pulled his five inch
"hunting" knife and slashed Darrell across the thigh and then plunged
the knife into Darrell's heart. Self
Defense! Innocent? Any Faggot basher can
now kill off Gay people by saying I was defending myself from a felonious
assault (rape) and get away with murder. Darrell was a 39 year old, pudgy
interior decorator for Leavitz Furniture Retailer. Even if Withers story was true, which I don't
believe because it wasn't Darrell's style, Withers could have resisted Darrell
with one good punch. Hell, even saying
" fuck off faggot" would have done the trick with Darrell. He didn't have to kill him. What makes me incredibly angry is the
incompetency of the Prosecuting Attorney, Robert Shepherd, who did not call to
the stand even one of the witnesses whom
Willie Marshall and Robert Smith had tracked down who could verify that Marty
had been seen at the Gay Bars. Withers
had a spider tattoo on his neck and two two tear drops on his cheek, so he was
easy to be remembered. Much of the
Defense's case rested on the fact that Withers claimed that he was totally
straight, that he was attacked by a Gay Man, and if Withers would have had any
Gay tendencies the Prosecution would have brought it up! Darrell surely was cheated out of justice on
this one. But is there any justice for Gay people in Utah? [Journal 1990 of Ben
Williams]
1993 Tuesday- Lester L. Match III, age 26,
passed away April 13, 1993 after a gallant battle against AIDS. His interment
will be held in San Diego, California. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to
the AIDS Foundation. He is much loved and will be greatly missed. (Deseret News
04/15/93)
 |
| Chris Brown |
1993- Chris Brown director of the Utah
Anti-Violence Project held sensitivity training for the Salt Lake Police Department
and the Utah State police academy.
1994-- Steven Nathanael Gray age 41
died in Salt Lake City, Utah of AIDS. He grew up in Magna and graduated from
Cyprus High School, 1971; received his B.A. (1976) and Master of Divinity
(1980) from Mount Angel Seminary, St. Benedict, Oregon. He was ordained a
priest April 23, 1983. He studied at Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, and
Notre Dame University. Graduated from the University of Utah (1990) with a
Masters in Social Work. He was employed at the Western Institute (1987-1990)
and since 1990, the Community Counseling Center as a social worker. He was a
member of the Salt Lake Men's Choir for several years and was a volunteer for
the Utah AIDS Foundation
1995 Brent Carpenter, a 46 year old mentally
handicapped cyclist, was beaten in a Logan Utah store parking lot because a man
thought Carpenter had made a homosexual advance toward him. Carpenter was
punched and kicked by the 27 year old man. Carpenter was a familiar site in
Logan, where he rode his mountain bike as many as 50 miles every day, waving at
passers-by. Carpenter who is mentally handicapped and had worked 18 years at
the Junction, a Utah State University cafeteria. The suspect was arrested at
the Logan department store where he worked after a witness to the assault
recognized him and called security. Collins said the suspect admitted to the
assault and said he hit Carpenter because he thought he was Gay and was making
a pass at him.
1999 Page: B1 East High
Parents Call on Principal to Resign After Presentation on Homosexuality East
High Parents Want Principal Out Byline:
BY HILARY GROUTAGE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Nearly 300 people packed a meeting of
the East High School Community Council on Monday to protest a six-minute presentation
last Friday by the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). The presentation was part of
the school's annual multicultural assembly and was approved by Principal Kay
Petersen. At Monday's meeting, Petersen took responsibility for the
presentation that outlined historical events significant to homosexuals and
told the crowd he would retire at the end of the school year -- a
decision that has been made for months and had nothing to do with the latest
firestorm surrounding the school's gay club.
"If there was a lapse of sensitivity, it's mine," he said.
"I see people stand up and dodge bullets all the time, but you're not
going to see a man do that here. I'm telling you, if anyone erred, I erred. I
did it based on what I thought was legal and right." The presentation
included information about symbols such as the pink triangle and the rainbow
flag; definition of the words gay, lesbian, bisexual, dyke and faggot. There
was mention of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, and communities in the United
States that are more accepting of gay and lesbian residents than other places.
The presentation also included a list of famous people who are gay, lesbian or
bisexual. Other presentations in the multicultural assembly included dances
from Africa, Fiji, Tahiti and Samoa. All non-curricular clubs in the Salt Lake
City School District were banned in 1996 rather than allow a gay club to meet,
but students formed a Gay Straight Alliance and have continued to have weekly
meetings at the school under provisions of the Utah Civic Center Act, which
allows groups with outside sponsors to rent space from the school for meetings.
The GSA's sponsor is the Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network of Utah, or
GLSEN. At issue for many parents was a
rule new at East this year that made the attendance at the assembly mandatory.
Students who were offended at the content of the presentation and tried to
leave were told they had to return to their seats. Assembly coordinator Ann
Storey said the mandatory attendance requirement was put in place to curb
neighborhood crime and truancy that had become a problem during other
assemblies. Parent after parent stood at
the Monday meeting and said GSA's presentation did not belong in the assembly
at all and that a sensitive administration would have provided an alternative
activity for students who were offended. Many of the parents called on Petersen
to resign. But as in past years, the
gay community heralded Petersen's actions. After the 1996 club ban, GLSEN held its
first national convention in Salt Lake City and gave Petersen an award for his
support of students who wanted to form a gay
club. Petersen continues to downplay the award, saying that he is not an
advocate for homosexuality, just for children. And he believes that every
student has the right to feel safe at school. Gay students frequently do not,
he said. Indeed, GSA historian Ben Vigil said he was taunted in the locker room
after Friday's assembly. "They kept
repeating things from the presentation and calling me a faggot. I reported it to
the teacher right away," he said. "But my PE teacher is a woman, and
she couldn't really go down into the locker room. "We should be able to express our
culture in the multicultural assembly," he said. GLSEN/Utah issued a statement thanking
Petersen for including the GSA in the assembly. "The struggle for gay
rights is a continuation of the civil rights movement," said GLSEN/Utah
Co-Chairwoman Tracy Vandeventer. "GLSEN/Utah recognizes Kay Petersen and
the students as heroes. " Parent and former school teacher Pam Nielsen was
one of many in attendance who did not see it that way. "As a graduate of East High, the
daughter of graduates of East High and a retired teacher, I think your judgment
stinks," she told Petersen. "I've had it, by godfrey, and if this
happens again, I will take him [her son] out of the school," she said as
she pointed a finger toward Petersen. The School Community Council heard more
than one hour of comments on both sides of the issue before chairwoman Alta
Davis issued a plea for tolerance and understanding. "Please go home and talk with students
about tolerance with one another," she said. "No one wants to see
another division of students over this."
- 1999 Gay presentation at East creates flap
Alliance seeks awareness; parents call it propaganda By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret News staff writer Published: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 An East
High presentation about the gay community raised the ire of hundreds of parents
and students, but students in the Gay-Straight Alliance say it is a significant
step forward in cultural awareness. "We just wanted to express our
culture," said Ben Vigil, alliance historian. "People are going to be
opinionated, and that could hurt us . . . but we're going to go down for a
little while, then come back up even more strongly. It betters us. We've taken
another step."The Gay-Straight Alliance, which meets at East after school,
presented a slide show Friday during the school's popular cultural assembly,
which also featured dances from Polynesian, African and Latin countries. The
alliance presentation was reviewed and approved by principal Kay Petersen, who
took responsibility for the fallout expressed at a school community council
meeting attended by some 300 residents Monday. The council is seeking community
input for future policy decisions. "I see people stand up and dodge
bullets and not take responsibility. You're not going to see a man here do
that," he said. "If anyone's to blame, look right here . . . (I did)
what I felt at the time was legal and right." But dozens of parents said
the slide show was gay propaganda and indoctrination that was illegally shown
to their children without their consent. They said the administration should
have known the presentation would offend most East students. "This is
propaganda," said Sandra Rodriguez of America Forever Foundation, which
may seek legal action over the issue. "Most parents don't understand this
is the tip of the iceberg." The slide show defined terms such as gay,
lesbian and bisexual, events and symbols of importance to the gay community,
such as pride day and the rainbow flag, gay-friendly places to live in the
United States and gay community centers. Some parents said the slide show
needed to present the downside of the gay lifestyle and were angry that
students were told the assembly was mandatory. Students who tried to leave were
told to take their seats. Administrators said students are not allowed to leave
campus during assemblies to prevent vandalism during school hours and maintain
safety of students. Safety was a sticking point for both sides at the meeting.
Some students said the school, already losing unity because of a 1996 club ban
in the Salt Lake City School District, was split deeper by Friday's
presentation. Several students booed and yelled epithets at Friday's
presentation until stopped by a faculty member. "We have tried time after
time to work with you . . . you need to stop excluding yourself from East High
School," senior class president Stacy Bauman said to the Gay-Straight
Alliance. "I think that you know . . . prior to a slide show like this,
whether you thought it was educational or not, is going to cause so much more
infighting." Parents of alliance members, some of whom said they have been
thrown down the stairs and had their tires slashed at school, also expressed
their fears. "I don't appreciate that I have to worry about my son's
safety every time he attends school," Consuelo Alires, Vigil's mother,
said through tears. "I didn't want another (Matthew) Shepard incident
here." Shepard, a University of Wyoming student, was lured out of a
nightclub by two men pretending to be gay and then pistol whipped and lashed to
a country road fence. He was discovered several hours later, and died at the
hospital. The slaying resulted in anti-gay protests and national cries for hate
crimes legislation. The Utah chapter of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education
Network, led by Tracy Vandeventer and Robert Austin, applauded Petersen for
allowing the presentation. "The struggle for gay rights is a continuation
of the civil rights movement into the new century," Vandeventer said in a
statement. "The climate still exists where many perceive that it is still
OK to harass and exclude people who are gay. Some day, gay, lesbian and
bisexual students will be safe and included in our schools. Assemblies like the
one at East bring that day closer to reality." The network sponsors the
school's Gay-Straight Alliance, which is suing the Salt Lake City School
District and Board of Education to have all clubs reinstated in the district.
Motions filed in the lawsuit will be heard Friday in U.S. District Court.
2000-Republican presidential candidate George
W. Bush met with Gay and lesbian Republicans.
2003 THE RCGSE, CROWN PRINCE & PRINCESS
27, MARK THRASH & MISS MILLIE
PRESENT COMING TO AMERICA... THE JOURNEY BEGINS CROWN PRINCE &
PRINCESS BALL 2003 Sunday, April 13 - Club Splash Cocktails & Dinner - 7PM
Journey Begins - 8PM TICKETS - $10 Special Guest Performances ODYSSEY DANCE
THEATRE FIRE BALL TROUPE JO TU
PERFORMANCE ART BLUE LOTUS BELLY DANCERS Proceeds benefiting the Mayor's
Multi-cultural Arts Youth Program Splash is a private club for members
 |
| Aaron Swenson |
2003 TRIBUNE REVIEW ABOUT PLAN B's CURRENT
SHOW Swenson‘s Hedwig’ Bold, Dynamic and Sincere Sunday, April 13, 2003 Michael
Westley, The Salt Lake Tribune For those who think that the term beautiful drag
queen is an oxymoron, Aaron Swenson has something to say to you. In his role as
Hedwig Schmidt in Plan-B Theatre Companys production of Hedwig and The Angry
Inch, Swenson shows that beauty and truth reside on many levels. His
performance Friday night in the Rose Wagner Studio Theatre was bold, dynamic,
funny, touching and sincere.If Hedwig were to hear such praise, she might
remark that it would be funny that anyone would consider touching her
sincerely.And so goes the dry wit that comes from balancing a life of pleasure
and pain so vividly displayed by the East German transsexual rocker. Through
song and dialogue, Hedwig tells her tragic tale of betrayal and abandonment.
The most important element of the show is Swensons voice: a rich tenor that
sweeps dynamically through the vast range of musical styles encountered in the
show. His East Berlin accent carries through to his singing. His delivery was
consistent and thorough, capturing every nuance of the brash performer.Also
impressive was the band, under the musical direction of Dave Evanoff, who
brilliantly played guitar, piano and sang back-up vocals for Hedwig. He was
joined by Van Christensen on drums, Alex Rowe on bass and Christopher Glade on
guitar.Jeanette Puhich was convincing as Yitzak, the jaded lover and back-up
singer. Her vocal talents, directed by Jerry Rapier, to accidentally shine
through and upstage Hedwig, were like rays
 |
| Jerry Rapier |
of light from Yitzak’s sullen
disposition.The set was sparse, as it should be, meant to look like the budget
was blown on Hedwig’s costumes and then pieced together to make it work.The
long and short of it. Hedwig and The Angry Inch continues through May
11.Tickets are $18 and can be purchased through ArtTix at 355-ARTS. Salt Lake
City
2005 Students at Salt Lake Area High Schools
Take Part in "Day of Silence" and Create "Night of Noise"
Salt Lake City, UT—April 13, 2005: Get
ready for area campuses to be a little quieter during school hours on
Wednesday, April 13. On that day, over 300 area high school and
college students will join students across the nation in a Day of Silence. The Day of Silence, a project of Gay, Lesbian,
Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is a nationwide, student-led event during
which hundreds of high schools and colleges protest the oppression of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their allies. During Day of Silence,
participating youth, in addition to wearing t-shirts and stickers, will carry
"speaking cards" to pass out to those interested in the protest. The
cards read: "Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am
participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the
silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies
in schools. My deliberate silence echoes
that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the
first step toward fighting these injustices.
Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the
silence?" GLSEN's 2003 National School Climate Survey found that more than
4 out of 5 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school
and 29% report missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear
for their personal safety. The Day of
Silence is one way students and their allies are making anti-LGBT bullying,
harassment and name-calling unacceptable in American schools. Following their
"Day of Silence" this year, area youth are planning a special
gathering to further draw attention to the issues faced by LGBTQ youth. "Night of Noise" will be hosted by
the Youth Activity Center at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community
Center of Utah. The event, starting at
7 pm, will give area youth an opportunity to join together and reflect on their
day of silence. It also will provide an
opportunity to let the community know that although they have been and still
are silenced, youth are going to be the change they wish to see! Youth will speak out against injustice and
speak powerfully about their lives and experiences living as queer youth in
Utah. "The Day of Silence,"
according to one local youth organizer Amanda Krebs, "is especially
relevant to Salt Lake because of the growing visibility of LGBTQ youth and the
accompanying backlash of harassment against them." Krebs hopes that Day of Silence, followed by
Night of Noise, will contribute to ending some of the fear and hatred students
face.
2005 April 13th at U of U Andy Wong
entitled: “Gay, Asian, Mormon: A
Conversation about Identity and Empowerment.” Standing at the intersections of
race, sexuality, and gender, Andy Wong has been a vocal advocate for women's
rights, LGBT equality, and API (Asian Pacific Islander) visibility. Last year,
Andy helped spearhead the movement for same-sex marriage in San Francisco and
transform the city into a national epicenter for marriage activism. Since then, Andy has directed his energies
toward educating communities of color, and has emerged as a leading Asian
American voice on the issue. Andy is also the Director of Development and
Communications at Community United
Against Violence (CUAV) and the Susan Schechter Leadership Development Fellow
at the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF). A graduate of Swarthmore College
in Pennsylvania, he received a double major in Political Science and Women's
Studies, with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies. He has an
extensive background that includes working for Hillary
Clinton's U.S. Senate Committee, Communities United Against Violence (SF),
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (SF), Amnesty
International (NY), and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.
April 13th at U of U Andy Wong entitled:
“Gay, Asian, Mormon: A Conversation about Identity and Empowerment.”
2005 From: "Dr Buck" To:
Ben Williams Subject: Charles Van Dam and Gordon B. Hinckley “I remember first
reading your article and thinking what sensationalism. But I was talking to a female friend of mine
in Spring City, Utah and she told me something that she said she wouldn't tell
anyone else. That she had a friend or acquaintance who said a few years ago that he was excommunicated from the
church because he said that he grew up with Gordon B. and that he was gay. He
wouldn't retract it and was promptly kicked out of the church. I can't verify this but I thought it
interesting after reading your post. Robert in Spring City (Sanpete County)
 |
| Boyer Jarvis |
2006 Why some can't wait Salt Lake Tribune I
love Boyer Jarvis, even though I've never met him. His April 9 op-ed,
"Gays deserve full equality," meant so much to me. As a gay man who
served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War, who lived in New York and
attended the Stonewall riots of 1969, lived in San Francisco during the plague
years, now resides in Salt Lake City and is living with HIV, I can't believe
that almost 40 years have passed since Stonewall, and we (the GLBT community)
are still not recognized and accepted by our government in the United States of
America! We are not looking for special treatment, we just want what the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution tell us are our rights. I was
so certain after the riots in New York that, before the end of my life, gays
would have the same freedoms as everyone else in America. And now, here I am
near the end of my life, and still we don't have the same rights as everyone
else. What is it going to take? And I'm so frustrated by the younger gays! They
say it will happen. Just wait around a few more years. Well, I don't have a few
more years to wait! What do we have to do, take up arms and march on Washington
for people to understand? We are deserving Americans. I hope everyone read
Jarvis's column. It should be printed on the front page of every newspaper in
America! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Jim Powell Salt Lake City
2007 A BINGO WITH THE UTAH CYBER SLUTS Join
the Utah Pride Center and the Utah
 |
| Ruby Ridge |
Cyber Sluts for an evening of wickedly funny
entertainment, prizes, and friendly cutthroat competition! WHEN: Friday, April
13 @ 7PM and continuing the 2nd Friday of every month. Doors open at 6:15 pm -
by there early for best seating! (due to scheduling conflicts, May's bingo will
be held on May 18th, rather than May 11th) WhY: To have fun, win prizes, and
raise money for the Utah Pride Center and other local charities. WHERE: The
Baptist Church on 777 South 1300 East in Salt Lake City. Spacious seating,
surround sound, wheelchair accessible. Additional parking available across the
street. Admission is just $5.00 which includes your first bingo bash card!
Refreshments are available! Bingo with the Utah Cyber Sluts is a drug and
alcohol free event. Pril
 |
| Laurie Mecham |
2009 Laurie Mecham's Coming Home Written by JoSelle Vanderhooft
 |
| Joselle Vanderhooft |
Monday, 13 April 2009 Readers who remember
Laurie Mecham’s hilarious columns about Utah life from previous issues of
QSaltLake and its previous incarnation, Salt Lake Metro might not be surprised
to learn that the now Oregon-based writer once did stand up comedy. But they
might be surprised to learn that she’s now helping a Utah actor perfect his own
one-person show. Currently, Mecham is flying back and forth between her home in
Portland and Salt Lake City to direct The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon, a
play about KRCL’s infamous Mormon mother and unlikely gay rights activist by
KRCL host Troy Williams and actor Charles Frost, who plays Dottie. Mecham said
she was a little surprised when Williams, Frost and producer Fran Pruyn emailed
with the
.jpg) |
| Dottie S Dixon |
offer. “They said, ‘We know that you’re in Portland and we’re doing
this play in Salt Lake and it won’t really make sense, but how about this
proposal?’" she recalls. “I said, ‘If you’re willing to be responsible for
choosing me, I’ll be willing to do it. It sounds like fun.’” Mecham assumes the
three chose her for the job because she had once created a character very much
like Sister Dottie. Years before lovable Dottie took to the airwaves with tales
of her gay son and colorful ward members, Sister Fonda ala Mode performed for
Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons, a group of former and current Latter-day
Saints coming to terms with their sexuality and their Mormon upbringing. There
were some key differences between the two characters, however. “Dottie’s really
feisty and has strong political ideals, and Fonda was so naive,” says Mecham.
“She used a lot of malapropisms and misspoke a lot. In an attempt to say the
right thing in the right way, she put her foot in her mouth a lot. But the
thing they have in common is they’re very devout Mormon women who have hearts
of gold. Just loving people.” “[Fonda] was sort of a healing laughter kind of
thing,” Mecham continues. “I think that’s what Dottie is, and I think this play
[The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon] will be a wonderful vehicle for people
to laugh at common experiences. I think they’ll have a lot of fun with it.
There’s a lot to laugh at, but there’s a real deep vain of pain and trauma that
people are going to relate to, that you need to laugh about.” In fact, it was
that undercurrent of pain that Mecham said she found missing in the script when
she first flew out to help Williams and Frost shape the play earlier this year.
Mecham said she liked the jokes and the broad ideas the two men had sketched
out, but she felt that they needed to go further. “I said, ‘Come on, you guys
have been there!’” Mecham says. “[Based on] my friendships and people I know, I
think so many men have had just such a big crisis when they’ve had to come out
to their families. They’ve struggled and realized this [being gay] is true.
Their parents [have been] devastated and [have had] to choose between their
church and their child sometimes.” She should know, she adds. After she came
out she and her father did not speak for three years. Mecham says she was
astounded at how fast Williams could flesh out her suggestions. Often, she
says, he would leave the room to write while she and Frost worked on something
else and return shortly with a draft of a new scene. “I’m really happy with
what we’ve got. They’ve just come up with some lovely gems,” she says. Mecham
returned in April to help Frost with blocking and refining his performance. She
will also come back a week before opening night to do some last-minute touch
ups. I mean I can’t really direct the play in the traditional sense because a
director does all the tech things and harnesses all the production staff and
makes a lot of decisions about the look and feel of the play and I’m only
peripherally involved in a lot of that,” she says, noting that things such as
putting together sound effects are handled by Frost and Pruyn. “There are things that have happened that
Charles and Fran have largely put into place,” she says. “It’s a collaborative
thing.” Returning to Salt Lake has brought back memories for Mecham. Despite
Utah’s flaws, she says she misses the sense of community she had here.
“Portland is a really cool place, I really do like Portland, but I don’t have a
community here. That’s something that takes a long time to develop,” she says.
While in Utah, she notes that she could try out acting, creating characters
like Fonda ala Mode and writing for Salt Lake Metro while feeling supported by
the gays and lesbians here. “I’m not like
yearning for Zion, It’s not like I sit and miss it, but it was sure nice to
have a community,” she says. And whether directing plays about eccentric Mormon
women or talking with people from Portland, Mecham says she doesn’t miss an
opportunity to “let people know how great alt Lake is.” “There’s just so much
to do. It made it easy to write a column,” she laughs. “All you had to do was
open a newspaper, especially if the legislature was in session. Nobody cares if
you’re gay here in Portland. It’s like OK great, see you next time.” The
Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon will run May 1 – 16 at the Rose Wagner
Performing Arts Center, 138 W 300 S.
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