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Opinion Lambda Lore
 Circles
Life is full of circles if one knows where to look. On Sunday, May 29, while the thirtieth coronation of the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire was about to commence at the Sheraton Hotel, I was attending a memorial service for Paul A. Douglas at the home of Richard Packer and Steve Merrill. Douglas died May 15 after a lifetime of community service. While I personally did not know the man, I knew of him and felt the need to remember him by being present.
In July 1975, 28 year-old Douglas, along with Mac Hunt and Jim Beveridge, opened a gay bar called the Rusty Bell on the far west side of Salt Lake City. The bar was at 996 S. Redwood Road and later became the infamous Puss and Boots lesbian bar. Now it is a dilapidated Mexican meat market.
Douglas, according to his partner of 35 years, poured his heart and soul in making a go of the bar, but after losing two homes mortgaged to support the bar, the place closed in 1978. Inflation, like disco, killed many a gay business in the late 1970s.
The Rusty Bell, unlike some bars, was a community-minded organization. I know some people get agitated when you mention gay and bar in the same breath. But let me try to explain the significance of bars in the development of a gay identity in the 1970s. Back then, there were basically only two places for gay men to meet: the parks and the bars. The difference is that at the bars people talked to each other.
The Rusty Bell, thanks in part to Paul Douglas’ community spirit, soon became a place of convergence for gays and lesbians. In October 1975, the Rusty Bell held a 1950s party to raise building funds for the Grace Christian Church. The following month, two lesbian activists, Shirley and Camille, exchanged wedding vows at the Rusty Bell. Rev. Bob Darst, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church, in a double-ring ceremony, conducted. A reception was then held at the bar with, according to attendees, an abundance of champagne and wedding cake.
In December 1975 the Western Rustlers, a lesbian organization sponsored by the Rusty Bell, hosted a Sub for Santa. They were the first known gay organization in Utah to contribute to the Sub for Santa Charity.
But now I come back full circle. As I had previously mentioned, the Royal Court was celebrating 30 years of fantabulous glitter, glamour, gossip and generousity, while I was attending Paul Douglas’ memorial service. Perhaps 15 people were there to remember him, while 500 partied at the Sheraton. Few there, I suspect, knew that the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire held their first Coronation at the Rusty Bell in June 1976, when the court was originally called the Imperial Court of Utah. I wonder if Douglas’ spirit was torn between being with his friends at his memorial service or whether he was at the Sheraton still supporting his community. Paul may be gone now, but shall not forgotten in the history of gay Utah.
Ben Williams is the founder and president of the Utah Stonewall Historical Society at utahstonewallhistoricalsociety.com
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