Pre-Gay L.A.: A Social History of the Movement for Homosexual Rights

5. Separation (1960-62)

5 Separation (1960–62) Life is defined through its extremes, where passions reign: there is no middle ground of reason. —F. G. Bailey, Tactical Uses of Passion I have come to think of the late 1950s and early ’60s as the golden years for ONE, Incorporated. Though plagued with personality conflicts and paucity of resources throughout its history, the organization had pulled though very difficult times and operations had become routine. After the dust settled, ONE Magazine emerged as the voice of America’s homosexuals, and men and women from all over the country regularly turned to its pages for support, encouragement, and a sense of unity and fellowship. It was during this time that my primary consultants joined the corporation, Jim Schneider in the winter of 1959 and Billy Glover the following year. New Blood and Fresh Perspectives Jim Schneider was born on the family farm on April 4, 1932, the second of seven children. When he was thirteen years old, his father was incapacitated in a tragic accident involving a hay stacker. Through determination and hard 94 . pre-gay l.a. work, Schneider and his older brother managed to keep the family together until their father’s death in 1954. Throughout his youth, Schneider always put the needs of his family before his own desires. Although his family was tight-knit and loving, he often felt isolated and alone. After his father’s death, he left the farm and moved to Oakland, California, to live with one of his other brothers. After only three months’ residence in the Bay Area, he realized that he could not tolerate the perpetual fog. He next spent a year in Fresno before settling in Huntington Park, a suburb southeast of Los Angeles. Jim Kepner described Schneider at this time as “a shy but determined young bachelor with a burning desire to ‘get ahead in life’” (1971, 1). Disliking his newfound solitude, he tried meeting women through a dating agency, but nothing clicked with any of them. He became increasingly aware of his attraction toward men, and this awareness did not sit well with him. Troubled by his lack of interest in women, Schneider visited a young psychologist named Dr. Timmer. The two met twice weekly for a period of months and gradually developed a rapport. A breakthrough came when Timmer introduced Schneider to The Price of Salt, a novel by Patricia Highsmith , writing under the nom de plume Claire Morgan. Schneider read this book about two women who fall in love with each other and, tearful at the happy ending, reconciled himself to his sexuality and set about learning what it means to be a homosexual. Dr. Timmer also told Schneider about ONE Magazine and suggested he obtain a copy. Schneider set out to do just that. Around Christmas of 1959, he got up the courage to call ONE’s office. Editor Don Slater answered the phone. When Schneider inquired as to where he might find the magazine for sale, Slater directed him to the Florence and Pacific Newsstand close to Schneider’s Huntington Park home. There, virtually in his own neighborhood, Schneider at last found a key to his own identity. Schneider was intrigued by the cover of this December 1959 issue depicting two young men facing each other beside a campfire. One is crouched and leaning toward the other, his face and torso aglow as a burro looks on in the background. The cover art is attributed to the Swiss publication Der Kreis and the illustration to one Rico from Zurich. Schneider first read an editorial by Don Slater recapitulating a discussion among ONE’s staff regarding what a homosexual might ultimately desire were he or she granted a Christmas wish. Slater’s articulate and thoughtful response appeals to both the common or “same” aspects of homosexuals in society while simultaneously noting clear differences: “The homosexual like everyone else is concerned with the tax rate, the policies of armies, the practices of churches. . . . Like everyone else, separation (1960–62) . 95 the homosexual works and fights, plows the fields and harvests the grain— but as a homosexual. He plays and swims and skis and climbs mountains, dances and sings and drives cars as a homosexual. His homosexuality can be seen to affect his whole life. And this he must understand if he is to be gay, sure-footed—a happy lover who is able to succeed in his individual...