A History of Gay Support in Concord
Although not a big city, Concord has hosted gay men's support groups since at least the early 1980s. The earliest known reference is an announcement of a young men's group that met on Sunday nights in Concord; this appeared in the November, 1982 newsletter for Seacoast Gay Men, itself only 3 years old at the time. Two months later, SGM reported that it was distributing N.H. Services for Gay Men, a paper written by "the Concord Group." The card at right joins these items and gives us a name; it was printed in the June, 1983 SGM newsletter. Thanks to SGM for access to their archive for this information.
The group itself would eventually adopt the name "Gay Men's Professional Association." The first reference to this group appears in the ? SGM newsletter. This group probably continued to meet until the early 1990s. Expect this to be revised if I learn more.
Around 1993, "Out & Proud," a support group for gay men began meeting on Friday nights above Foodees downtown. The late Jim Bretz served as the moderator for this group during it's six-year run. He also answered the phone at the Gay Info Line and was one of the most actively involved people in the state. Out & Proud celebrated its 5th anniversary at an apartment clubhouse in 1998 with about 20 people in attendance. But by June of 1999, as meeting attendance slowly dissipated to 5-6 men per week, Jim announced that he would step down as moderator.
After Jim's last meeting in late June, the 4 remaining regulars decided that a gay men's support group was still viable in Concord. During July, the group examined what it was that kept newcomers from sticking. The brainstorming led to only one solution: break free from Concord's old Friday night formula, remain vigilant of cliques, be welcoming in whatever we do, and find a brighter, friendlier place to meet. Four newcomers had arrived during July to join us still on the ground floor. These 8 men, CGM's "Founders," held an election, asking Jeremy to lead the group as its new moderator. Jeremy's first meeting was held on July 30.
By August, it was clear that the original Out & Proud was closed, so only 1 question remained. Who are we? Jeremy asked that the attendees submit possible names, with a vote to be held at the end of the month. Many names were submitted, but only 1 prevailed. The first full meeting of Capital Gay Men was held on September 3, 1999. Jeremy was the moderator and Dave was the treasurer. CGM inherited $52 left over from Out & Proud's treasury. CGM moved into it's new home, the U.U. Church in Concord on November 12, thanks to the efforts of Mike E.
Like all new groups, CGM had growing pains. Jeremy preferred to let the group grow and evolve on its own, rather than be led by individual vision. Thus, meetings often included a "business segment" to gather input on decisions. By June of 2000, some of these segments consumed the entire meeting time. A workgroup formed to move business decisions offline. A new structure was created to serve as the backbone of CGM, which solved many problems.
More to come...
Last 10 Meetings at CGM
| Dennis Kucinich invited himself to the meeting but didn't show...perhaps Iowa was even more sobering than we thought. Alas, we discussed the New Year’s Eve civil union celebration, the Concord Monitor coverage, and the Baptist response. We also discussed the upcoming primary and the somewhat rapid liberalization of New Hampshire. | ||
| Bill showed part II of a documentary on the ex-gay movement. | ||
| Christmas Party and Yankee Gift Swap. Tonight we enjoyed a hot supper from the Puritan Backroom. Yum! Dennis M. raffled pieces of his art, too. | ||
| “Being Gay In World War II.” The Rev. Robert Wood was our guest again tonight to share another of his fascinating life stories. This time he spoke of basic training, his months in combat, taking a bullet and bayonet, and recuperating from these injuries. He brought his diary from this period. He has a list of demands for politicians, including the reversal of dishonorable discharges for folks kicked out solely for being gay. Bob earned a rare but genuine standing ovation from the group tonight. | ||
| Benefit Auction. Tonight we held a fun event to raise funds for our anniversary and Christmas parties. Attendees donated items that Dennis and Jeremy auctioned off to other attendees. Some items fetched over $100. Wow! | ||
| Mini-groups and board meeting. The board took advantage of the mini-group format to meet earlier and finalize decisions for the anniversary party. | ||
| Bob P. led the group in an open forum discussion. He asked what kinds of relationships are best suited for civil unions and whether they existed in the gay community. One member noted that they should make gay men work harder to maintain their current relationship rather than take the easy step and walk away from it. | ||
| Dennis M. gave a preview of the kind of quality information CGM members can get each quarter in his new column, “One Man’s Trash.” In it he teaches you how to make your home look like a million bucks...for pennies. | ||
| Tonight Steven Law was our guest, teaching us how to “record our history.” Steve has written an autobiography of Rev. Robert Wood. Robert has been fighting for GLBT rights for 50 years and is ready to pass on the torch! | ||
| Tonight Jeremy relayed every detail of his recent bicycle accident in a bid to get more folks to wear helmets. He was easily upstaged, however, by even more horrific tales from the other attendees! |