Lesbian Elders Oral History Project: Interview with Gloria A. Olson

Titles: Lesbian Elders Oral History Project: Interview with Gloria A. Olson (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Born May 16, 1928 in Pepin, Wisonsin; has one older sister and one older brother; father was farmer among other jobs; moved several times, including to Frogtown in St. Paul when she was 15; left home at 17 or 18 to join the Raney Brothers carnival; moved to San Francisco when she was 21; returned to Minnesota when she was about 50; has two sons, Tim and Paul; married sons' father, who was bisexual, and later divorced him; works as a hairstylist. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The struggle to determine why she was in a female's body; her two sons; carnival work and travels; the predominantly gay bars in downtown St. Paul; church involvement; lesbian society in San Francisco; what brought her back to St. Paul; motorcycle riding; distinctions in labels for homosexuals; house parties for black and white women in the 1950s; other lesbians who received shock treatments; sodomy laws; the Holland Bar in Minneapolis; current involvement in GLEAM and former involvement in GOLD (Grand Old Lesbian Dames); her pregnancies; people who helped her to raise her sons; biggest changes she's seen in the community; same-sex marriages; trying to understand her Christian faith in relation to her sexual orientation.

Dates

• 01/22/1997 (Creation)

Creation

• interviewee: Olson, Gloria Ann
• interviewer: Weiland, Mary R.

Identifiers

• Library Call Number: OH 67
• Accession Number: AV1999.251.4

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

• Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, sound cassette: 'Lesbian Elders Oral History Project' <OH 67>

Quantity: 1.5 hours sound cassette 27 pages transcript

Format

• Content Category: sound recordings
• Content Category: text

Measurements

• 01:25:00 running time

Subjects

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