A Look Back at the
Paper's History

by Miki Thomas -

I remember back in the fall of 1985
when the idea of a gay and lesbian newspa-
; perforVermontstartedtogainmomentum.
As Philip Roberts wrote in an article cele-
bratingthesecond anniversaryofoutin the
Mountain: in February 1988, the now de-
_ funct Vermonters for Lesbian and Gay

Rights (VLGR) felt that “a vehicle was
needed to help the lesbian/gay community
develop a method of sharing what was
- happening in our political. social. and per-
sonal lives.“

' late November of thatyear,ameeting
‘ was held at the Peace and Justice Center in

the Mountains

Vermont). To

money.
People's Fund

later held. and
issue of Out in

to Burlington

OITM Celebrates Fifth Birthday

Burlington to start up such a paper. Repre-
sentatives fmm VIJGR and interested
community members such as myself at-
tended the meeting. We discussed the con-
tents of the paper and the name of it (Out in
gay pride logos of New Hampshire and

applied for a grant front the I-laymarket
People's Fund of Boston for start-up

The grant from the Haymarket

get the paper going. Several meetings were

Carrie Coy joined 017‘ M after moving

Onand On, Better and Better

        

   

OITM Retrospectivet;..,,........,..,..,
met, and the other three had all reached the
burnout point. This would have been the
end of OIT M unless, as Carrie Coy put it,
“we could scare up people to help out."

An insert was put into the January
1990 issue with the ominous declaration
that “This is 017‘ M ‘s last issue." The insert
hadoneray ofhope- italsosaidthata
meeting would be held the next month to
discuss whether 01'!‘ M should be kept alive
or be allowed to die a dignified death.

On February 17, 1990, over forty
people from all over Vermont met at the
Fletcher Free Library in Burlington. Local
media showed up as well, and the meeting
was covered on WCAX News that night
and the Burlington Free Press the follow-
ing morning. 'I‘lieconsensus wasthat0lTM _
needed to be kept alive, for OITM served a 1
vital role in the lives of gay and lesbian
Vermonters and their friends.

For Carrie Coy, however, even this
positive reaction left her a bit skeptical: "I
wasn't sure if the group was willing to put
the work into it." But now, she says. “lt’s
wonderful to see the paper thrive."

Since that Febniary meeting, a group '
of fifteen or so individuals has met iegulary
toputihepaperoutonamonthlybasisand
tolive uptothepurposeasitwas statedin
the very first issue five years ago and as it
continues to be stated today.

  

areas to receive OITM were Montpelier,
where a man distributed 200 copies. and
Brattleboro, where copies were sent off to
Colors. one of the town's gay bars.

Over the next four yairs, OIT M began
to gain power as the mouthpiece of Ver-
mont's gay and lesbian communities. A
case in point is the political polling often
done. When VLGR would poll candidates
before the November elections regarding
their stands on issues of interest to the gay
and lesbian communities, it received little
response. However, when OIT M con-
ducted a similar poll in 1986, almost all of
thecandidates responded when it was made
clear that the results would be published.

OITM covered major stories as well.
' The first issue of OIT M covered legislation
‘- thatwouldbandiscriminationagainstthose
'_ who are l-lIV+. Since then, OIT M has cov-
‘= ered the Pride parades. the l986 ERA
: campaign, the Gay Rights Bill hearings of
4 1987 and 1988, and the 1987 March on
‘ Washington
Membership, however, did not grow
during that period. A handful of people
g were still doing the jobs of writing, typing,
.. laying out, and distributing the paper. By
1989, key people had left and new ones
_~ hadn't come in. The collective had
‘ dwindled to four people. One member was
going to leave the area the following sum-

remembers that it was exciting for her to
work on the paper. A small handful of
people would meetatthe beginning of each
month to plan the next month's issue and
then would meet later to read over and edit
whatever stories and press releases came
into the office, which at that time was
rented from the Peace and Justice Center.
As OIT M was not yet computerized, all of
the layout was done by hand.

Once the paper was printed up, the
collective members would then collate it
and get it ready to mail to subscribers and
distribute around town. There were only
fifty to sixty subscribers at that point, with
the emphasis being on free distribution
around the Burlington area. The only other
(continued on page 4)

      
    
    
  
 

   

  
  
   
   
 
  
   
  
       

     
 
  
   
  
 

was chosen based 0l'l past
finance the enterprise, we

  

  
   
   
  
     

   

came through for 32.000 to

  
 
  
 

the next February, the fust
the Mountains appeared.

 
  
 
   
  
 
  
 

 
 
   
 

      
   
     

in Febniary of 1986. She

  

    
   
     
    
 
  

 
 
 
 
     
  
  

  
 
  

  
     

Hugh Coyle ‘X

     
      
     
   
    
 
    
      

RIPTON -- Out In The Mountains has
: comea long way since its inception a
decade ago. Looking back on that
relatively short history, I am amazed by.
how much gay, lesbian, and bisexual
Vermonters have accomplished in that
time. Our newspaper has reflected that
success and growth, developing from a
sometimes “catch as catch can”
underground flyer into a substantial
publication whose readership continues to
expand.

     
   
  
     
    
  
 
 
 
    
   
     
    
     
   
   
    
    
    
    
      
 
 
 
    
      
 

My own history with the newspaper began
in February 1990. when OITM was in
serious danger of disappearing entirely. A
special public meeting was convened to

  
 

Continued from page 1

received a note via campus mail expressing surprise
and joy at the article, along with a brave confession:
‘I've read those books too!"

Within weeks we were gathered together officially for
the first time, and 0l'I'M's pending demise was high
on our list of topics to discuss. (Actually, it was the
only topic we had to discuss, other than how good the
brownies were that our hostess served. Just what had
we hoped to accomplish by meeting like that
anyway?) We ventured off to Burlington together. at
that time content just to listen. and marvel at the
strength and comrriitment displayed by those who had
previously been associated with the newspaper.

A follow-up meeting was scheduled, and that’s when
it happened. Somehow, for reasons I cannot fully
recall or explain, my right hand went up in the air
when the facilitators asked if anyone was interested in
becoming the new editor. Several other people offered
to help out, and a month or so later, the “Phoenix"
issue of the paper rose from the ashes. 'I'liough that
issue was only four pages long and somewhat rough
in its conception, the crisis had been averted, and
1 0l'l'M lived to see its fifth year.

       
     

One cannot say enough good things about the group
of people that came together in those years with the
common mission of saving the paper. I recall long
meetings and sorrietimes heated discussions about
form and content. Likewise, 1  the
follow-up socializing over pizza at 2achary’s or ice
cream at Ben" and Jerry's. Soon, we were stuffing
newspapers once a month on a Saturday nioniing,
then heading off to stuff ourselves with lunch

    
    
   
   
    
 
 
 
    
     
  

or three hour business rneetiiigs in the-afternoon.

  
  
   

inooipomion.

effort, we felt it entirely jiistified).

  
   
     
  

   
  
    
  
   
  
  
  
    
  
 

lastedthelongest forme.

Thoughts from a former editor

somewhere in Burlington, then returiiing to have two

and moved to include bisexuals in the
masthead(everaoontroversy,btitwithtwo bisexuals,
niyselfincltideipmtiltginagreatdealoftiniearitl

While coveringstorieslikethebrutal beating of agay
rnanoutsideofl’earls.wesupportedoneanother aid
rmisteredtheeouragetoeryinsyinpathyinthe
morningttienspeakuploudlyathearingsonttiellate
Crimes Bill (then in legislaion) in the evening. As
journalists, weweteallhyper-sensitivetothe stateof
gayaffairs'inthestate.1'liattranslatedintomonierits
ofextremefrustruionaid disappointmentas wellas
timesofgi'eatdelightandliappiriess.1'helatterfiave

Receiving expIicit“safesex" articlesonthefax
inachineinmydaytirneoffice (and havingthe

in readthernbefdedelivei-ingthemtoirie)
always left me wondering abotiI_this new

address the situation; in many ways, that
meeting was my first introduction to a
g/Vb community that I have come to love
and respect even more with each passing
year.

At the time, four staff members at
Middlebury College (including myself)
had just come together to create a group
that would eventually bear the name
GLEAM (Gay and Lesbian Employees At
Middlebury). That group owes its
existence to OITM; an article of mine
reviewing gay and lesbian books served
as the catalyst for the four of us finding
one another. Shortly after its publication, I

   

Continued on page 5.

    
 

  
 

extracurricular activity of mine. Opening letters from
_people who thought Out In The Mountains was a
backpacking newspaper always brought a smile.
Listening to jokes on Alison Bechdel's answering
machine as we discussed the inclusion of “Dykes To
Watch Out For" in the paper also amused me.
Unveiling our official OITM T-shirts during a
cloudburst at the 1990 Gay Pride Day in Montpelier
made an otherwise stonny day seeiri full of light.

Most of all, though, I remember the people who
volunteered long hours (and plenty of muscle moving
boxes of papers up and down stairs). To think that such
a staff of unpaid and often dissimilar individuals could
come together to create something so meaningful each
month. It was truly the first time I ever felt optimistic
about the power of community.

Whenwe_gatheredonthestepsoutsideour30
Elmwood Avenue offices in Burlington‘ (rented to us
by VeririontCARESatthetime)foraholiday
greeting photo,Ifeltariincredible upswell of joy and
pride. ’l'liatptioto,whichappearedintheDeceiriber
l990issue.rneansagreatdealtorrieaslconsiderthe
newspaper’shistory.Forthefirsttii_rie,wewere
wtuingtoinciuaeltmowntntotosinutepapenniuie
time, it seernedlike such an incredible risk given the
eventsof the previous year. 'l‘oday,lamexcitedto see
somariyrnorefacesappearingirithepaperwitheach
issue, smiling faoesproudfaces. beautiful faces.

   
  
  
  
  

  
 
 
 
 
     
  
    
    
  
  

Even then, you could feel something momentous happening in the
: state. and that impetus continues to this day. We had rescued the
paper from a critical time, built-it up into a much larger, more
nclusive, and more comprehensive publication, and we were

  
  
  

 
  
  
  
  

featured in our pages. As gay people,.we were still lea-ning how
tos_tandupartdbecountedinotirstate.1‘liatlesson,tatight,tome
during my editorship, hm changed my life for the better, and I
thank the paper for having provided me with the opportunity.

      
  
  
  
  

   
   
   
  
  
     
  

l£J0ltingattliepapertoday.Iieniainarnaudatliowmiichwe
eormntie_toaccornplishinthisstate,aIidatthelI'ghleve|ofgrace
anddignitywithwhichweachieveourgoals.Ver1noritooIitinues
toheaplacelilte nootherintheootintmwithitsnaiiralbeaity
aitdcoinmttinerittovaluesenharicedbythestrengtliofits gay.
lesln_an.artdbisexuali'esidents.’I1ierefore,wedeniaidaritl
coritriiuetoproduceaqualitypublication thatiefleetsthejoys
andsorrowsofourooirimuriity. '

One gesture stands alone as the most significant
moment of my tentireaseditor.Forthe “Coming Out"
issueofthepaperin0ctoberofl990,weasVan
editorialboard also “came out"arid.forthe first time
in thenewsnqoefs liistor_y,..printedotn'narrtesintlie
mastheadforalltosee.Bylinesbegantoappearmore
andmoreregularly,andthosewriterswho|iadonce
resortedtopseiidoriyrnsbeganreqiiestingtliattheir.-V
realnarnesbet5ed.Subscr'1iersevenwrotein
reqitestingtliatwestophidingtliepqierinmariilla»
mailing envelopes. -

    
 
    
   

    
 
 
  

    
     
  
    
  

 
 
  
   
   
 

M_ay0t1'Mliveonforanotherdecade.andanotherbeyondthat...
andonandontlrotightheentire2lst 
newsgetbetterand.betterwitheveryg|tit'ioiisisstie.V