LGBT History Project of the LGBT Center of Central PA Located at Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/ Documents Online Title: LGBT Oral History: Colin Kreitzer Date: February 16, 2017 Location: LGBT Oral History – Kreitzer, Colin – 060 Contact: LGBT History Project Archives & Special Collections Waidner-Spahr Library Dickinson College P.O. Box 1773 Carlisle, PA 17013 717-245-1399
[email protected] Interviewee: Colin Kreitzer Interviewer: Barry Loveland Videographer: Catherine McCormick Date: Thursday, February 16, 2017 Place: Colin’s home in Harrisburg Transcriber: Amanda Donoghue Proofreader: VJ Kopacki Finalized by Mary Libertin (July 2020) Abstract: Colin Kreitzer was born in 1947 in Enola, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania with his parents and his younger sister. He attended West Chester College and moved to Harrisburg in 1977, where he began getting involved in the gay community through activism and social activities. In this interview Colin reviews his involvement in the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg, Dignity, Metropolitan Community Church, and volleyball. He also talks about the stigma of growing up as a closeted gay man, the bullying he experienced in primary and secondary school, and how he came to accept his sexuality and come out when he was in college. He discusses his past relationships and the struggles that he has experienced trying to forge healthy, emotional connections with others. Colin is also involved in Alcoholics Anonymous, he and explains the values he has gained from the organization and the changes in his own character and behavior. CM: So we are recording. BL: Okay, my name’s Barry Loveland, and I’m here with Catherine McCormick who’s our videographer, and we’re here on behalf of the LGBT Center of Central Pennsylvania History Project.