Lonnie Lappie Artifacts
March 8, 2015: Last year during the Project's exhibt at PHD Gallery, a visitor was suprised to see a picture of her uncle on display. She knew that her family had several momentos of her uncle and reached out to the Project to see if we would like to add them to our collection. The Project thanks Rachel DiDonato Tinsley for assembling a collection of artifacts documenting the life of Lonnie Lappie. Lonnie was a well known member of the St. Louis LGBT community in the 1980s and 1990s. He was an accomplished athlete, winning the gold medal for physique (middleweight division) at the 1986 Gay Games. Rachel and her family are still gathering additonal items to donate to the Project. Thanks Rachel for these important additions to the Project.
Vital Voice Adds to Project's Media Archives
February 10, 2015: The Vital Voice had added to the Project's media archives. Darin Slyman, CEO of Vital Voice, has donated copies of the last five years of the magazine. Darin has just celebrated his five year anniversary as CEO of the publication, whose roots trace back to the Lesbian and Gay News Telegraph founded in 1981 - making Vital Voice one of the oldest operating LGBT media outlets in America. Thanks Darin for these most recent pages documenting the history and vibrant life of St. Louis' LGBT community.
Goodson/Dowling Donations
February 8, 2015: The Project sincerely thanks David Goodson for recently donating several new finds for the Project's archives. Dave provided regional LGBT publicaitons and a fun dinner menu from Bootsie, Winkie and Maude’s bar and restaurant that was located on Tucker Blvd., in the early 1990s. But the highlight of his donations is a polo shirt from City Centre bar in East St. Louis on behalf of his partner Seumas Michael Dowling, who sadly passed away last summer. Thanks David for these great memories.
Tim Cusick Donation
February 6, 2015: The Project is thrilled to receive a treasure trove of donations from Tim Cusick. The items include regional and national LGBT publications and an amazing collection of pins and buttons . In 1992, Tim was the first "out" LGBT candidate for State Representative in Missouri. Although unsuccessful in his bid for the 64th District seat, he paved the way for other "out" state-wide and regional candidates that have followed. Thanks Tim for this great addition to the Project's archives.