Photos of Outings: 2010-present
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Reflecting on Loma Prieta Pride Roots
By Mike Zampiceni
Back in 1987, I casually mentioned to a lesbian co-worker and Sierra Club member that it would be nice if the Sierra Club had a gay and lesbian group for outings and socializing. I was astounded at her response that a group did exist! It was the Bay Chapter GLS, which was the only group of this kind in the country at the time. I immediately joined and enjoyed participating in their activities for a couple of years. Most of their activities were in the East Bay and Marin County, so the chances of developing friendships were somewhat minimized by the geographic distance from my home.
In 1990, I thought it would be nice if there were a GLS group in the south bay so that others in the area and me could participate in activities close to home.. On soc.motss, which was a national board for Members of the Same Sex, and ba.motss, which was a bay area version I inquired whether anyone was interested in forming a hiking group in the south bay. (I initially excluded the Sierra Club from my first posting.)
I was encouraged by the number of responses, and was soon able to form a group. Paul Schoemaker was one of the first to respond, and was also the primary person that diligently worked with me to lay the foundation for the group. He also persuaded me to create the group under the auspices of the Sierra Club. Bill Schweickert was another significant person who was also involved in the early days. Bill, Paul, and I made several trips to Bay Chapter GLS board meetings to inform them of our intentions, get their mailing lists for members in our area, ask for assistance in setting up our group, and persuade them to use their newsletter to advertise our events and intentions.
First Hikes
Meanwhile, I also set up some hikes to get people out on the trails. The first hikes as an unofficial group were held at Rancho San Antonio Park, which is where we had our brunch hikes for several years. The first organized hike, in late April of 1991 at Uvas County Park near Morgan Hill, generated around two to three dozen hikers. Paul helped lead other hikes from that point forward. Other early hike leaders were Bill Schweickert, John Whetten, Jim Barnett, and Linda Barr.
Jeff Tucker was another significant contributor in the early days. Jeff handled the publicity, and did a great job setting up a booth for us at the 1991 San Jose Pride Festival, creating our T-shirt and newsletter logos, and producing our first couple of newsletters. Alas, he has vanished from our trails, but we still remember his efforts. In the July, 1991 issue, there was a Welcome to GLS column that stated, "We currently have 260 names on the south bay mailing list." Pretty impressive for a fledgling group! Reading further, it states, "The south bay group is the brainchild of Mike Zampiceni and got started with the help of Paul Schoemaker and Jeff Tucker."
Things were going strong by the fall of 1991. Our October newsletter stated, "Mike and Paul have led eight hikes since April with as many as 35 participants per hike. Mike and Paul have been enthused by the response that is appearent in a burgeoning mailing list of approximately 300 people. Paul says, "The response has been particularly rewarding considering that it's only been five months since our first hike."
Official Activities Section
Despite all of this success, there was still one major hurdle. We still weren't an official activity section of the Sierra Club. Up to this point, we were calling ourselves the South Bay Gay and Lesbian Sierrans. But we all decided that we really wanted to be part of the Sierra Club to support the efforts of the club and to operate under its well-established umbrella. Here's where the fifth influential person became involved with our formational efforts. John Whetten had been a participant a few months after the group's inception, and was very adept in business and legal matters. He teamed up with Linda Barr, our chapter's Sacramento rep at the time, to create the GLS Formation Committee.
The efforts of the committee paid off in spades.The December,1991 newsletter read as follows: "A GLS Formation Committee was assembled to work with the Loma Prieta Chapter towards becoming an official activities section by April, 1992. The great news is that we're six months ahead of schedule! Several members of the committee presented the proposal to the Loma Prieta Chapter in October. We were delighted when the Executive Committee voted unanimously to accept our application. Thanks are in order to Linda Barr, Andrea MacKenzie, Paul Schoemaker, Bob Walker, and John Whetten for their dedication in working towards achieving official recognition status." We were now the second GLS activity section within the Sierra Club.
We installed a provisional committee that served until the first general election in November,1992. The committee consisted of the following board positions and individuals:
Chair - John Whetten
Vice Chair - Linda Barr
Secretary - Mike Zampiceni
Treasurer - Paul Schoemaker
Onward!
Since that time, there have been several other GovComs. Early chairs I can recollect include Linda Barr, Jim Barnett, and George Roark. As time passed, our scope of activities also expanded. Initially, we just conducted day hikes. After the first year or so, we added weekend backpacking trips and game nights.
I'd like to personally thank all of the early contributors mentioned in this article for their efforts. We also owe thanks to the GLS Bay Chapter for setting the precedent, letting us use their newsletter to publicize our early events, and providing us with invaluable information about becoming an official activities section.
As for me, in 1993 and 1994 I was seriously ill, so I dropped out of the group entirely. But by 1996, I was back in GLS and served as GovCom treasurer in 1998 and 1999.
Well, as it seems in life, the last 25 years have rolled by faster than the first 10 when I first wrote the article above for our 10th anniversary. It is gratifying to see that this activities section is alive and well, considering that I've not contributed as much as I've wanted to. In fact, in the early 2000s, I had moved up to the Sacramento area and participated in several of that GLS section's events. When I did return to the Bay Area, my side music business ramped up, so it was more difficult to participate in hikes. However, I did serve one term on GovCom in 2005 as secretary. As if I didn’t learn my lesson the first time, I moved up again to the Sacramento area, only to return here again less than two years later.
It's also wonderful that a number of our early veterans -- Cathy Roberts, Dave Ellison, and Ron Levesque -- are still as active as they were in the first decade. Alas, John Wilkinson is no longer one of them. I, too, hope to once more become more active this year and get to know the many members that I don't know.
I hope you enjoyed this account of the history of this activities section, and let's enjoy ourselves between now and our 50th anniversary. I’ll only be a spry 92-year-old by then!