! S R A E Y 5 2 R O F Wednesday, July 23rd - Sunday, July 27th e g In Oakland, California n a h C r LESBIAN ACTIVISM o f CHANGING THE WORLD g n i z i n a g r O s n a i b s O e L l d Featuring: son a li s ag l o r A t o y s y M h r e t í h r o C r r e o h D C 25th Anniversary Program Book Old Lesbians Organizing for Change PO Box 5853 • Athens, Ohio 45701 Phone: 888-706-7506 Email: [email protected] www.oloc.org OLOC commits to women’s liberation, racial and class equality, and providing mobility, hearing, vision, and scent-free accessibility. zing fo ni r C ga h r a n O s g e n a i LESBIAN ACTIVISM CHANGING THE WORLD b s e F L o d r l 2 O 5 Y e ! a s r WELCOME TO THE OLOC NATIONAL GATHERING ur 25th Anniversary is a special occasion for OLOC, and how wonderful it is that you are able to join us for the celebration, in the place of our birth! The San Francisco Bay area is also home to our largest and oldest chapter, Owhose founder we honor with a Del Martin Old Lesbian Pride Award. You have made an effort to be here with us at the Oakland Marriott and we trust that you will find the program we offer well worth it. Along with committees formed by the local chapter, the national Steering Committee has been working for over a year on making sure that the Old Lesbians who gather with us have the time of their lives! Our program reflects our priorities and is designed to highlight OLOC’s 25 years of combatting ageism and of activism for racial and class justice. Our keynoters, workshops, and other presentations are meant to hone our activist skills and increase the variety of Old Lesbians who contribute to and benefit from OLOC. OLOC is committed to creating a supportive and positive space for all Lesbians. To achieve this, we want to remind everyone of guiding behaviors for the OLOC National Gathering. · Speak positively and respectfully to all. Do not use sexist, racist, classist, ageist, anti-Semitic, or ablest remarks and/or behaviors. · Environmental Illness is a comparatively new awareness for many of us. We want you to know that some women are badly affected by chemicals used in deodorants, soaps, shampoos, lotions, essential oils, laundry detergents, etc. We request that Lesbians attending the Gathering leave scented products at home and arrive fragrance-free. The hotel products do have scents, so plan not to use them. If someone asks you to move away from them because of scents, please do so. · Do not make assumptions about someone you do not know. Engage each other in friendly conversations. Listen to each other’s stories. · If you think another Lesbian may want help, please ask her first if she wants that help. · Be aware of wheelchair and scooter movement and keep spaces open. Do not block doorways while having a conversation. · If you smoke, please do so outside and away from entrances. California law requires that you be 25 feet away. If you smoke, please wait until your clothes are free of the odor before attending public events of the Gathering. We have more information available on all of these topics. Request them at [email protected], or find them at oloc.org or at the OLOC Information Table near Registration at the Gathering. Again, we are so very glad you are here, and we expect everyone will have a wonderful time. There is nothing like a crowd of Old Lesbians to enhance our lives. Old Lesbians Organizing for Change EMAIL: [email protected] • WEBSITE: www.oloc.org • PHONE: 888-706-7506 P-3 zing fo ni r C ga h r a n O s g e n LESBIAN ACTIVISM CHANGING THE WORLD a i b s e F L o d r l 2 O 5 Y e ! a s r P-4 zing fo ni r C ga h r a Old Lesbians Organizing for Change n O s g e n a i b EMAIL: [email protected] • WEBSITE: www.oloc.org • PHONE: 888-706-7506 s e F L o d r l 2 O 5 Y e ! a s r P-5 zing fo ni r C ga h r a n O s g e n a i LESBIAN ACTIVISM CHANGING THE WORLD b s F e o F L r o 2 d r l 5 2 Y O e ! a s r 5 Y e ! a s r CONGRATULATIONS, MAZEL TOV, FELICITACIONES FOR 25 YEARS OF ACTIVISM LAURIE LATHROP ALMY SUE EMMERT ANGELA SCALA CINDY BEAR UTA FELLECHNER LAURIE ROSE SIMON LESLIE BONETT DEBRA FRIEDMAN DEBORAH SMITH ESTHER BOOTH SHERRY FULTON PAMELA SPEVACK CATHY BRENNAN GINNY GARRETT GLORIA STANCICH CHARLOTTE BUNCH TERRY GRANT MICKEY STERN SUSAN CALLAWAY JAN GRIESINGER CYNTHIA SZAFRANIEC SUSAN CHACIN HEATHER HARRINGTON AMY TATNALL MARGARET (PEG) CRUIKSHANK MARY ANN HUCKABAY SALLY TATNALL PAT CULL EMRYK JENSEN JENNICE THOMAS RICK DAVIES OWEN JENSEN KATE ULLMAN DEB DAVIES LINDA JUPITER CRISTINE VEGA RUTH DEBRA BARBARA KALISH BONNIE WAGNER SHARON DEEVEY SAMARA KNOX LEE WHITRIDGE DAWN DENGLER CHERYL LARSEN PETE WHITRIDGE VICKI ANGELINE DENNIS CARMEN LAWLER SUSAN WISEHEART ALIX DOBKIN SHARON LILLY DONNA JEAN DOUGLASS JOAN POTTER Old Lesbians Organizing for Change P-6 EMAIL: [email protected] • WEBSITE: www.oloc.org • PHONE: 888-706-7506 zing fo ni r C ga h r a n O LESBIAN ACTIVISM CHANGING THE WORLD s g e n a i b s e F L o d r l 2 O 5 Y e ! a s r Contents Welcome Letters ............................pp. 4–5 Keynote Speakers ..........................p. 18 Congratulations Contributors .........p. 6 Workshops-At-A-Glance ................pp. 19–20 Old Lesbian Herstory Project .........p. 7 Workshop Schedule & Descriptions ..............................pp. 20–31 Mission & Vision Statements .........p. 8 Advertisers .....................................pp. 32–39 Why 60?/Why “Old?” ....................p. 9 Steering Committee Biographies ....p. 40 Del Martin Old Lesbian Pride Award ..........pp. 10–11 Chapter Contact list .......................p. 41 Special Events & Attractions ...........pp. 12–15 Thank yous ...................................p. 42 Schedule Expanded .......................pp. 16–17 Schedule-At-A-Glance ...................p. 43 The Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project or the last seventeen years, the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project has been driven to docu- ment the lives of Lesbians born early in the 1900s before their stories are lost. The work is done Fby recording personal interviews, which are then transcribed and put together with copies of photos and other supporting documents. Women are encouraged to tell their full life stories, not just about their Lesbian life. The OLOHP focuses on interviewing Lesbians who are 70 or older, but when special circumstances warrant, has interviewed a few women who were in their 60s. The collection of interviews now exceeds 270 life stories. The goal of the OLOHP has always been to make sure our stories are told and that the unique and wide-ranging experiences of Lesbians living during this era are documented and available for researchers. To that end, the OLOHP collection is being archived in the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Much more information about the Project is available at www.OLOHP.org. OLOC has proudly sponsored and contributed financial support to the Project for over a dozen years! P-7 zing fo ni r C ga h r a O n Old Lesbians Organizing for Change s g e n a i b s EMAIL: [email protected] • WEBSITE: www.oloc.org • PHONE: 888-706-7506 e F L o d r l 2 O 5 Y e ! a s r OLOC Mission Statement We are committed to: * addressing what it means to be Old and to be Lesbian * finding ways to gather groups of Old Lesbians together for ongoing support * working against all oppressions that affect Old Lesbians * standing in solidarity with allies for racial, economic and social justice OLOC Vision Statement OLOC will be a cooperative community of Old Lesbian feminist activists from many backgrounds working for justice and the well-being of all Old Lesbians. OLOC works for change by supporting • comprehensive immigration reform • elimination of violence against women • enactment of universal single-payer health care for all • all efforts to challenge/overturn racism, classism, sexism, ableism, and ageism • an end to corporate “personhood” • an end to any curtailment of voting rights Our Founders: This photo is of the second OLOC meeting (March, 1990) held in Santa Barbara, California at Betty Shoemaker and Sylvia Dobson’s house. It was taken by Cristina Vegas, OLOC’s long-time videographer and photographer. Standing - Left to right Vera Martin, Betty Shoe- maker, Gertrude Chasens, Ann Ramsey, Shaba zing fo Barnes, Shevy Healey. Crouching - Left to right ni r C ga h r a n O Elaine Mikels, Rosemary Hathaway s g e n a and sitting down Barbara Kalish. i b s e F L o d r l 2 O 5 Y e ! a s P-8 “Like” us r Why 60 and Over OLOC membership is open to Old Lesbians 60 and over. Why 60? The problems of younger Lesbians, even those in their 40s and 50s, are different from our problems of old age. As important and painful as the aging issues may be to younger Lesbians, we are committed to providing Lesbians age 60 and older the opportunity to be together and to speak for our- selves.