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St. Louis Public Radio |
By
Nancy Fowler

Published January 18, 2018 at 5:20 AM CST

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Credit Nancy Fowler | St. Louis Public Radio
Credit Nancy Fowler | St. Louis Public Radio
Credit Nancy Fowler | St. Louis Public Radio

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Nancy is a veteran journalist whose career spans television, radio, print and online media. Her passions include the arts and social justice, and she particularly delights in the stories of people living and working in that intersection.

Dozens of gay men gather for a pool party in a secluded spot in Hillsboro, Missouri. Home movies capture their easy affection and carefree dancing.
But they’re not recent videos. The movies were taken in 1945.
St. Louis filmmaker Geoff Story has begun weaving the films into a documentary, “Gay Home Movie.” It offers a rare glimpse into a largely invisible world, a time when same-sex relationships were not only looked at as immoral — they were illegal.
As a gay man, Story is fascinated by the brittle, flickering scenes that include a uniformed World War II soldier kissing another man.
“There was such a beauty in that moment,” Story said. “I kind of couldn’t believe I was seeing it.”
St. Louis’ ‘hairdresser to the stars’
Watch a clip from the 1945 home movies of gay men at a pool party.
Story stumbled upon the films in the mid-1990s, a half century after the pool party, at an estate sale. It was at the Lindell Boulevard home of the now-deceased Buddy Walton, widely known as St. Louis’ “hairdresser to the stars.”
From Eleanore Roosevelt to Ethel Merman, whenever celebrities and dignitaries came to town, they all went to Walton’s salon at The Chase, said Walton’s niece Susie Seagraves.
“Queens and presidents wives and movie stars — he was always around fancy places and fancy things,” Seagraves said. “He had a beautiful life.”
Walton and his partner Sam Micatto were known for their lavish gatherings by the pool on a property owned by the Micatto family. Story began learning about their world when he found Seagraves through a jagged journey to locate anyone who appears in the films, or their relatives. He and co-director Beth Prusaczyk have found several family members besides Seagraves but so far no living pool-party guests.
“We naively set out thinking, ‘Oh, these men might be in their mid-90s, they could still be alive,’ and that might be true,” Prusaczyk said. “But I don't I don't know if we'll actually find them.”
Richard Eaton talks about being a gay man in mid-century St. Louis, and what it was like to lead a double life.
Several people who aren’t in the home movies can testify to what it was like to be gay in mid-century St. Louis. Among those is Richard Eaton of Soulard, who grew up in the 1940s and '50s. He dated women publicly and men, on the side.
For years, Eaton, 78, couldn’t imagine having a partner, much less a husband. He and John Durnell were among the four couples married by St. Louis Mayor Slay in 2014, before same-sex marriage was legal.
In the '60s, Eaton remembers looking over his shoulder as he ventured to gay bars like Martin’s, near Union Station.
“There were a couple of places like the old speakeasies, Eaton said. “They would open the sliding door to see who was out there before they would open the door.”
But it wasn’t just going out to the bars; even the prospect of getting medical care was fraught with peril.
“I went to my new doctor, and one of the first questions he asked me, [was] have I ever had any sexual experiences with other men — and I lied,” Eaton said. “I didn’t know what he would do with the information.”
Eaton worried the doctor might call his employer, the Ladue School District, jeopardizing his job as guidance counselor at Ladue High School. In most of his 40 years there, Eaton led a double life. To keep track, he only went by “Richard” in his social circle.
“If somebody approached me and called me ‘Rich,’ I knew they were associated with the Ladue School District,” Eaton said. “And so that’s how I kept my identity separate.”
Something else that was kept separate: whites and people of color. Gay life, like all life in St. Louis, was segregated. The only African-Americans in the pool party footage are wearing white uniforms, serving food to the other men.
Such elaborate gatherings likely were denied to gay men who were not wealthy and white, Prusaczyk said.
“When I first watched the movie, I noticed that a number of the men have wedding rings on, and I thought … ‘These men have to go back to their lives where they can’t be as open and can’t be who they are,’” Prusaczyk said. “And that’s even more significant for African-American men, lower-class men.’”
Story agreed: “There is a sadness when I look at these films. And I think people who maybe were of less means had a harder time,” he said.
The other people missing from the pool party were women. But 81-year-old Betty Neeley of Webster Groves says the lesbians were having their own clandestine gatherings.
Neeley’s basement is a treasure trove of albums, posters and other memorabilia. A poster-size photo of Neeley in the early 1950s, with her trademark leather jacket and impressive set of wheels, once hung in a local lesbian bar.
“That’s a 1952 K Model Harley Davidson motorcycle, sportster.” Neeley said. “I’m outside of a bar on South Broadway, and I’m older than 16, because I’m on the street.”
Bars like the Kit Kat Club, 2802 California Ave., felt like the safest places to get together with friends.
“People say, ‘Why didn’t you have a house party?’” Neeley said. “Oh, yeah, that’s great. Neighbors next door complain to your landlord you had 12 men-looking women in your house last night — next day I’d have to move.”
Story has come to believe that it was mostly Walton behind the camera, filming the pool party in 1945. Though the footage is rare, the parties were frequent, according to relatives of the men who attended.
Story was in his 20s when he purchased the films in 1994. He marvels at how he’s aged, but the men in the home movies are eternally young.
“These men are still in their 20s in the sun, swimming, like they always will,” Story said. “There’s a real sweet pain, and when you watch it, there’s a happiness but you can’t believe it’s so long ago, and you can’t touch it — it’s gone.”
The haunting images are confirmation that gay men did live and love at a time when no one dared to even speak of same-sex attraction. Story is amazed that the men allowed a camera to capture home movies in this sacred space.
“I just knew that it was gold, it was something special,” Story said.
Story thinks his documentary could make it big: It’s caught the interest of Hollywood executive Brian Graden, who, in 1995, backed a film that launched the TV show, “South Park.” The project has “huge potential,” Graden said.
“It speaks to a wide array of people on a very deep level,” Graden said. “What are the chances someone would go to an estate sale and pick up these canisters of old footage? It’s almost like these men are trying to talk to us from beyond the grave.”
Follow Nancy on Twitter: @NancyFowlerSTL
Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.

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What trans looks like: Transgender men & women share stories
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Published: 07:49 BST, 31 March 2016 | Updated: 09:28 BST, 31 March 2016
Transgender men and women are showing jaw-dropping photos of their transformation as a new hashtag sweeps Twitter.
The hashtag #MomentsInTransition has seen members of the community sharing pictures of themselves when they were living in the wrong bodies and now after transitioning.
Gabrielle Diana, 17, from Ottawa, Canada, kickstarted the trend to boost other people's confidence by sharing her own pictures and a message about her experience.
Gabrielle Diana (pictured) started the hashtag #MomentsinTransition to encourage the transgender community to share their transition journeys
In a post on her Instagram account comparing an old photograph that shows her as a clean-cut young boy, to how she looks now - as a glamorous young woman - she discussed her personal journey with her followers.
She wrote: 'I used to wear my mom's dresses and make-up, and it wasn't easy in the beginning since I wasn't transitioning, I was just a gay boy experimenting with my image.
'But now I'm a transitioning woman, almost getting to the next step of a major surgery that I never imagined would be in the cards.'
Gabrielle (pictured before transitioning, left, and now right) says she started the hashtag to both inspire a younger generation of trans people and also encourage the existing ones to acknowledge their success
Gabrielle, pictured here at the start of her transition, first started the hashtag on her Instagram account but it really took off on Twitter
She continued: 'Half of the people who follow me don't know even one part of the struggles and hell I endured on the road to happiness but my struggles made me a confident young woman, and I'm truly f****** blown away because if you asked me 3 years ago, I would have genuinely thought I would be dead if I couldn't explore this world of gender identity that led me to transitioning.'
Following the powerful message with the hashtag many of Gabrielle's supporters and followers took to Twitter to share their own incredible stories.
The overriding message was one of pride and acceptance with both trans and non-trans Twitter members tweeting their support for the photos.
It wasn't long before other transgender people were sharing their own transition photos. Alex Jacob (pictured) wrote #momentsintransition when you first cut your hair
Gabrielle says that she has been surprised by the reaction but hopes that the positive response will help those on transitioning journeys themselves.
Speaking to MailOnline she said: 'It (the hashtag) was something I created in hopes of boosting people's confidence and reminding people who are comfortable sharing these special moments, that we have come far in our transitions.
'That includes with/without hormones, with/without haircuts, with/without surgeries.
'Our transitions are completely personal and these moments are defining as who we are, also remembering that we are always developing as people and we have no real idea of what the future holds for us!'
Many discussed becoming comfortable in what they were wearing such as Benben (pictured)
Benben tweeted: #momentsintransition when I started taking control of my appearance and discovering my gender! early June 2015
Ashton (pictured before, left, and after transistion, right) tweeted: #momentsintransition looking more and more like the real you as the days pass
As well as encouraging future trans generations Gabrielle says she was keen for those who are or have transitioned to reflect on their own hard work.
She continued: 'I was inspired by many things. Particularly looking through old photos of me, from even before I transitioned. I saw how much progression I've made, and I thought of how far I've come instead of thinking about the desires I have for the future.'
Gabrielle continued to explain that the recent death of Emma Greer, a good friend and Vine star, who lost her battle with a rare soft tissue cancer reminded her to reflect on what was good in her life.
Clucus (pictured before transition) remarked that having a haircut can make all the difference
He tweeted: '#momentsintransition haircuts r cool and also i started t almost two months ago which is pretty amazing'
She said: 'Another big thing was the passing of my friend Emma Greer, and once she passed it just gave me such clarity about my life, being that she was so young and was lively. I've had many accomplishments and I wanted to highlight that.'
Despite the increasing exposure of LGBTQ communities in the media Gabrielle says that there is still plenty to be done in the quest for transgender rights.
She continued: 'I would like to believe that there is more acceptance and understanding but the reality is, the more we gain representation and recognition, the more people want to fight against us.
Luke (pictured now) said: #momentsintransition pretending to be a girl and hiding any masculinity, to a cute, out, happy trans boy
He shared a time line of photos from being a young child (left) to teenage years (centre) and finally as his true self (right)
'This is very visible to Trans POC who are highly at risk, and seen being subject to hate crimes. In the mainstream media there is more coverage and that is great, but that still perpetuates more transphobia which needs to be addressed by our governments to ensure that we are protected federally and socially.
'There is still a long way to go for the trans community, and we are doing the most we can to create awareness, now it's up to the people who are targeting us to end the violence towards trans identifying people.'
Although Gabrielle recognises there is a problem she has not lost hope in a solution and says that she is thrilled to see the transgender community become more active in their fight for equality.
Brendon (pictured before, left, and after transitioning, right) agreed that hair cuts were important, tweeting: #momentsintransition when you get your first haircut
This throwback picture was shared on Twitter by Scott to accompany the hashtag
Scott shared these further two pictures accompanied without a message and simply the hashtag
'I think that people need to listen. The trans community is not silent, we are very vocal about the fact that we face large amounts of violence, hate, and injustice.
'For example, we speak up for our right to go to the bathroom in public, but get dismissed due to the fact that these people want to make up false facts and create more stigma around trans people.
'We're vocal, we fight, we know we need protection, we need representation that is not going to give us a harmful reputation like some people that we have seen in mainstream media.
'The people need to listen to us, and the people are social workers, the government, our families, they need to listen to OUR voice about the journey we are enduring.'
Emma Greer's family have set up a GoFundMe page to help them with medical expenses. To donate visit their site here .
e tweeted this picture of his younger self while still living in a female body
He also agreed in the power of a haircut. He said: #momentsintransition I guess a haircut is pretty important
Kayden was another user to tweet about the power of a haircut. He said: #MomentsInTransition getting my first super short haircut
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The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

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Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group

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