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Out in the Mountains

by Hugh Coyle

With this issue, Out in the Mountains
celebrates the completion of its fifth year of
publication. A year ago, it seemed as
though the newspaper was doomed to die a
sudden death on its fourth anniversary.
Today, 0IT M continues to grow, supported
by the efforts of a group of people whose
monthly meetings make the paper less like
a business and more like a family, a gather-
ing together of positive energy.

My own personal involvement with
the paper is perhaps indicative of the need
for such a publication; if it were not for
01 TM , I would not have met the people who
have become some of my closest friends in
the past months. Over a year ago, I submit-
ted an article to the paper and, with some
inkling of pride and a greater touch of
innocence, allowed my name to accom-
pany it in print. Certain people saw the
article, mentioned it to certain others, and
through the generous efforts of a common
friend, we were all brought together one
night in February to come to know one
another, to share our experiences as lesbi-
ans and gay men, and, between bites of the
best brownies I’ve ever had, to discuss the
then-dire fate of OITM.

Maybe there was some secret ingredi-
ent in those brownies which spurred us on
to greater action, for a few weeks later, we
were all in attendance at the emergency
meeting scheduled to determine the future,
if there was to be one, of Vermont’s only
statewide gay and lesbian newspaper (at
that time, bisexuals were not included in the
paper’s masthead). A few months later, we
had joined forces with the committed group
of people determined to bring "the paper
back from the brink of extinction. Today,
we are happily engaged in a shared venture

DESKTOP" PUBLISHING STUDIO
TYP_E 8: DESIGN/WORKSHOPS/SELF-SERVICE

Dedicated to the Dedicated

  

 

 
  

none of us had ever thought would claim us
- publishing.

Over the past year, OITM has shifted
its focus more firmly into the heart of Ver-
mont and away from a monthly recap of
national news. We have opened our field of
vision to encompass the bisexual commu-
nity, searching always for new and bolder
ways to promote inclusion over exclusion.
We have, with some issues, added as many
as eight pages to the paper, thanks to the
alloying and generous support of our sub-
scnbers and advertisers. We have received
the largest grant in the paper’s history to
purchase our own desktop publishing sys-
tem (thank you very much, Green Moun-
tain Fundl). We’ve also added “Dykes to
Watch Out For,” to which we extend a
heartfelt thanks and welcome to one of the
newest members of the Vermont commu-
nity, Alison Bechdel!

The energies which produce this paper
are all voluntary, and I for one have been
truly astonished and impressed by the
amount and range of energy present in
Vennont’s gay, lesbian, and bisexual com-
munities today. This paper wouldn’t be
happening without it, and it wouldn't be
growing substantially if something BIG
wasn’t happening out there in the state.

So, to all those who are helping to
make it happen, even as the country heads
into a period of war-time crisis; to those
who continue to show us that we must stand
tall and carry on regardless of adverse
conditions; to those whose love and passion
have made Vermont a state more accom-
modating of the love and passion we feel —
this issue (and all the issues of the next five
years!) finds its dedication.

May our spirits and passions remain
strong.

 

863-1884 -

187 ST PAUL STREET