
AADL Talks To: Steve Culver, Publisher of the LGBTQ+ focused Magazine Out Post

In this episode, AADL Talks To Steve Culver. Steve first visited Ann Arbor in his early 20s, and soon began his publishing career in Ann Arbor at the Ann Arbor News. In 1990, he released the first issue of his LGBTQ-focused publication Ten Percent, which later became the Michigan Tribune and finally Out Post. Steve reflects on 34 ½ years of covering Ann Arbor & Southeast Michigan’s queer community, how his publication has changed over the years, and broader changes in Ann Arbor’s social scene.


Ann Arbor District Library's LGBTQ+ Walking Tour

The Ann Arbor District Library’s LGBTQ+ Walking Tour documents historical locations important to the queer community, pulling from interviews with community members in podcasts like AADL’S Gayest Generation, LGBTQ+ Washtenaw oral histories, and other archival collections. We heard from community members about their favorite hangouts over the decades, including bars, bookstores, and sites of political advancement for LGBTQ+ rights. This tour walks you through important locations, some of which have changed over the years and may no longer exist.


LGBTQ+ Washtenaw Oral History Project - Maggie Hostetler
Maggie Hostetler was born in 1944 in Bay City, Michigan, where she grew up with four siblings. As a young adult, she worked for her parents’ newspaper, the Fremont Times-Indicator. She moved to Ann Arbor in the late 1960s to complete her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Michigan, and she went on to become a social worker and a technical writer. She recalls that being an activist for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1970s was primarily about coming out to friends and family and creating community. She was a founding member of A Woman's Bookstore and a contributor to The Leaping Lesbian magazine. She and her partner Lorri Sipes have been together for 43 years, and married for 10 years. They enjoy many shared activities including gardening, golfing, and hosting dinner parties.


LGBTQ+ Washtenaw Oral History Project - Lynden Kelly
Lynden Kelly, who goes by Kelly (she/her), was born in 1954 in suburban Detroit. In 1972, she moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. She became involved in countercultural organizations and collectives such as the Ann Arbor Tenants Union and the People’s Wherehouse, a wholesale warehouse for the Michigan Federation of Food Co-ops. She recalls visiting LGBTQ+ spaces in Ann Arbor and beyond, including the U-M Gay Advocates’ Office (now called the Spectrum Center), Canterbury House, the Rubaiyat, and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. From 1990 to 2003, she and business partner Kate Burkhardt ran Common Language Bookstore, which catered to feminist and LGBTQ+ readers, on Fourth Avenue. Kelly also discusses gender roles, coming out to her parents, marriage equality, and co-founding Ann Arbor Queer Aquatics (A2QUA), a queer swimming group.

Gay, Feminist Bookstore Sold To Bar Owners

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Keith & Martin/Martin & Keith: Elegy for the \aut\BAR
“From 1995 to 2020, Ann Arbor’s Aut/Bar was the mecca for the LGBTQ+ community. Its founders, Martin Contreras and Keith Orr, created a cultural and political hub that bridged the AIDS era with assimilation of the queer community and urban gentrification. This film is both tribute and elegy to a moment of significant hope when Ann Arbor lived up to its reputation for harboring a tolerant and liberal-minded population. It is dedicated to the two men who were at its heart and whose proud determination to make it happen was both fierce and tender.” - Peter Sparling

Candace Gingrich Signs Books At Aut Bar, October 1996 Photographer: Francisco Kjolseth

Year:
1996
Ann Arbor News, October 26, 1996
Caption:
Candace Gingrich talks with customers at the /aut/ Bar in Ann Arbor Friday.
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Martin Contreras at the Aut Bar, June 2000 Photographer: Robert Chase

Year:
2000
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Owners Create "Art-Free" Zone at Aut Bar During Art Fair, July 1997 Photographer: Lon Horwedel

Year:
1997
La Casita De Lupe Changes

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