Vintage Gays Sharing Thanksgiving

December '63 - perhaps a Christmas dinner? And yes, very lovely.

Nice lookin' bunch. I'd be proud to share their table.

The pic could have been taken at Thanksgiving and developed in December.

No diversity...they must be racist.

R4 Get a life.

I find the clean cut, conservative look very sexy!

Is that Mike from Palm Springs at the head of the table? He looks annoyed.

When I first moved to the big bad city I would get together with gay friends for thanksgiving. We called ourselves the "orphans". God I miss those guys.

Oh, what a night!

Then they all unzipped and blew each other's dicks around the hearth, tenderly and thankfully.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The turkey wasn't the only one to have their hole stuffed that night!

the guy on the right in the middle was a looker.

It looks to be a mix of elders and young gays.

Seven couples counting the guy who took the picture.

Ah,back when there was a sense of community. Granted,the reasons for it were less than stellar,but it was nice to feel like you belonged somewhere. Do young gays feel like that now ? Like they are part of something? Id ask one but I dont know anyone under 50 !

When did men stop wearing ties at dinner?

I guess "Vintage Gays" is nicer than "Eldergays."

Sad to think they're all dead now.

Every single one dead by 1985.

Wearing a dress shirt and ties all the time, everywhere. Ugh. How uncomfortable.

No - today we gay millennials eat at home and stare at each other’s pictures on Grndr on our phones at the same time instead. It’s kind of the same.

I wonder if they used the leftovers to make turkey meatballs.

[quote]I hope they had long and happy lives.

That's a sweet thought and I hope so too OP. Because you know they had to have had some rough times as well. But I join you in hoping there was more joy than struggle. It's a lovely photo.

Oblivious to the horror about to descend on them...

What a sweet moment! I would have been about 2 years old.

Do you know these people OP? If not why do you care?

[QUOTE] Every single one dead by 1985.

This photo is from 1963 dear.

^ Right, but they became the eldergays wiped out in the 80's.

How do you know they were all slutty bottoms in the '80s R29?

How do you know they were all slutty bottoms in the '80s R29?

R29, they were old though. Casual sex wouldn’t have been as easy to come by as it was back when the pic was taken.

Don't confuse R25 and R29 with facts.

I agree, R24 - a lovely sentiment, OP.

It’s a very moving image of what looks like a happy occasion. Whatever their individual circumstances and the challenges of being a gay man in 1963, I’m glad they all had this moment.

It can take 10 years for AIDS to develop. Gay man didn't use condoms in the 1970's. Everyone in that picture must have died of AIDS. And you don't have to be a bottom.

Picture taken in 1963. All infected by 1973. All dead by 1983.

They all seem slim yet their plates are full lol. Ah, the good old days.

Before my time, but never the less am glad when these sort of pictures surface.

World would have us all believe gays all were sad and lonely back in the day, totally cut off from family without any sort of community or lasting friendships.

[QUOTE] Everyone in that picture must have died of AIDS.

Right. Because there are no Gay Boomers or Silent Generation Gays.

^ They're too old in that pic to be Boomers. And the only Silent Generation gays to survive were closeted. Any gay going to gay parties in 1963 was doomed.

Silent generation gay here. I was very sexually active in the 1960s and 1970s as a top and as a bottom. Never used condoms. Some of us survived.

[QUOTE] And the only Silent Generation gays to survive were closeted.

Sure Jan.

[QUOTE] And the only Silent Generation gays to survive were closeted.

Sure Jan.

[QUOTE] And the only Silent Generation gays to survive were closeted.

Sure Jan.

Then you were exceedingly lucky r43. I have been to 63 funerals from your cohort that were not so lucky.

With facial recognition software we could probably find out if any of those people in the photo have social media accounts today. Presumably if they do that means they didn't die.

With facial recognition software we could probably find out if any of those people in the photo have social media accounts today. Presumably if they do that means they didn't die.

Where's Matthew Dempsey?

[quote] Oblivious to the horror about to descend on them...

Been there. Done that.

I know the difference to this one, but also notice similarities.

OP was trying to do something nice but the AIDS Troll had to agendify the thread and ruin it. Sorry OP.

This photo takes me back...

These get togethers rarely happen because the boyfriend is welcome at home.

And because socializing with other gay men on anything but a “dating” app is totes awks

Where did this come from OP? How do you know they’re gay?

I'm still a ghetto gay. Boomer here.

How do you poop pushers even know that these guys are all queers?

Frank Bushong is at the head of the table and the man wearing glasses is his partner Roger Pegram.

If this the same guy he died in 2004.

[quote]I know the difference to this one

Other than those people being Mormon, where it's always 1963 and everyone is heterosexual?

Seems like the worst time to be born with regard to AIDS was the mid-50s to early 60s. These guys would have been older and probably a bit less horny.

That you ask that question, R27, shows who you are.

These guys were all born in the 30s.

Pictures were part of collection about the couple "Roger and Frank; Gay Love and Life in 1950's, which may (or have already) become a book

Remarkable!

R59

No, do not believe same person.

Charles Franklin Bushong came from Ohio, while obituary above is Texas. Also CFB was in Navy so that certainly would have been mentioned in any obituary.

Finally this is 2019, not 1979 or even 1989; there wouldn't be any way or reason that if either man died recently their obituary wouldn't mention surviving lifetime partner or am assuming once it became legal a few years ago, spouse.

He may have been a DL regular, R59. All those guys in his crew look lovely.

May have to rethink previous post.

Apparently these photographs were purchased from a collector in 2010 who himself got them from a Philly "junk shop" ten years earlier. Thus we do not know if Frank and Roger remained together as a couple past 1960's. It very well could be one or both men died an their belongings simply "thrown away" as wont to happen when apartments/homes are cleared out.

"Bob Young, a librarian and collector of vintage photos, will give a talk about a collection of rare 1950s snapshots that document the life and love of a gay couple named Roger Pegram and Frank Bushong. Young purchased the snapshots in 2010 from a collector who found them ten years earlier in a Philadelphia junk shop. He will describe the biographical research he’s done in attempt to learn as much as he can about the lives of the two men, and he will place the photos in historical context by discussing what they can tell us about gay life in the years before Stonewall. In addition, examples of 1950s snapshots from The History Project’s collection, that complement and enhance Young’s talk, will also be presented."

*RIP* Charles F. Bushong, died in 1985, aged 61.

Buried in his home state of Ohio

Ugh. '85. Plague?

R20 got it right 😔

Sadly yes, it is looking that way.

Charles F. Bushong predeceased his father who lived well into his 90's it seems.

"Franklin Bushong married to Margaret E. Monnin -------------------------------- The Repository Canton, Stark County, Ohio 15 August 1986 CHARLES F. BUSHONG, SR. Charles F. Bushong, Sr., age 92, formerly of 201 Rose Lane SW, North Canton, died Wednesday at Gaslight Nursing Home following an extended illness. A resident of Canton most of his life. He served in France in the Army during World War I. Former owner of Mutual Loan and Discount, former secretary-treasurer of Crescent Finance Co., a 59 year member of the Canton YMCA. Survived by a daughter; Mrs. Germain (Virginia) Swanson of North Canton; grandson and wife, Scott L. and Lynn Swanson of Pittsburgh, PA; granddaughter and husband, Nancy and James Brady of Cincinnati; two great-grandchildren, Cara and Andrew Swanson. Preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, in 1984; son, Charles, Jr. in 1985. Private funeral services will be held Saturday in the Karlo & Sons Funeral Home. Burial in North Canton Cemetery. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Community Christian Church."

Cannot find an obituary for Charles. F. Bushong Jr as of now, not even a published death notice which is odd. He was an only child, and with entire family now gone, and the father in advanced years before his passing perhaps no one bothered.

So what happened to Roger?

Looking at the Flickr pictures, Frank Bushong was with a man named Charles Heath by the late 60s, and living in St. Louis

Cannot find a thing on "Roger", and don't have time for more research atm.

If born in early 1920's like "Charles" or even in 1930's he'd be in his late 80's going into 90's by now, not unheard of as have several family members in same demographic sill alive and kicking.

NYT did a feature few years ago on the "oldest of older" New Yorkers; and in keeping with NYT's current woke and inclusive coverage story included persons from all backgrounds including John Sorensen and 90 something gay man living on UWS of Manhattan.

So you see not every gay man who was born in 1920's or 1930's was taken by the "plague".

Ok, like a dog with a bone couldn't let things go, so sat back at computer and with a few more clicks.....

*RIP* Roger M. Pegram, aged 70, buried in North Carolina. He was only four years older than bf at the time (Charles Franklin).

Poor soul, his grave looks so desolate and forlorn, not even maintained much less any sort of flowers or evidence of recent visitors.

This is our common end my friends, well for most gay men then and now. Hopefully gay marriage along with greater acceptance and inclusion will mean less people dying and being buried along with their name with no one mourning their departure.

More:

"At the time of his death, Roger owned homes in Philadelphia and Palm Springs, CA. According to an obituary that was published in the Charlotte Observer in March of 2000, he died in Palm Springs. Investigating the Palm Springs connection, I found that Roger had been a member of the gay seniors group Prime Timers of the Desert. The Prime Timers publish a newsletter and a short “in memory” notice for Roger appeared in the spring 2000 issue. The newsletter’s “in memory” notices usually mention the name of surviving partners, but in Roger’s case there was none. The Charlotte obituary also noted that Roger’s body was cremated and his ashes were interred on March 25, 2000, at the St. John’s Lutheran Church Cemetery, located in Concord, NC. I was hoping that the obituary might provide the name of surviving relations, but none were listed. "

It turns out original purchaser of these photos and subsequent current owner spent many hours researching those pictured in attempts to fill in some of the "blanks" as it were. You can read results at link below.

Ok, DL, will be sending along an invoice for billable hours on this project, and expect to be paid promptly! Thank you. *LOL*

Well done, R77. Payment forthcoming. Take the rest of the evening off :)

Thank you r77 for your great detective work. We had a thread not too long ago about a wedding album belonging to a gay male couple in the 50s and nobody can track down what ultimately happened to them. When you see artifacts from the past like this, it always makes you curious as to how things turned out.

When we were discriminated against, there was a bonding, a sense of belonging, and a welcoming to the gay community. I was helped and mentored as a gayling moving to the big bad city. Introduced to repertory films, bagel brunches, and, yes, we had gay thanksgiving dinners. I received much kindness I am still grateful for today.

R72 The Gaslight Nursing Home?

Jaysus!

Me again.....

Roger M. Pegram owned a home in Philly, and died in 1999; batch of photographs were purchased a few years later in a Philadelphia "junk shop", my sleuthing mind sees a connection. With no direct heirs it very well may have been whoever cleaned out his home/dealt with estate just threw things away, gave to charities or thrift shops, etc...

People tend to think or call "junk shops" something like what Fred Stanford (of Stanford and Son fame) owned, but thrift and antique shops are often lumped into same category. Makes one wonder what else from Mr. Roger Pegram's estate is floating around.

His wicker dildo collection probably fetches a pretty penny.

R72

Me again, and am happy (if that is proper word) to learn from research Charles Frank Bushong apparently died of lung cancer, not the Madness.

From link one posted earlier:

"He and Paul would see Frank at New York City parties in the 1960s, and by that time Frank was in a relationship with another man. Leo only knew Frank as an acquaintance and thought his last name was either Beauchamp or Bouchard. He didn’t know Frank’s exact vocation either but was pretty sure he was a businessman. He did remember that Frank had died of lung cancer in the 1980s."

While researching Frank Buchong couldn't help but notice like many men in 1950's and 1960's he seemed to always have a cigarette in hand when photographed. Thought to myself (that guy likely died of cancer from all that smoking....).

For white males born in 1920's or 1930's living to 60's through middle 70's was pretty average lifespan. For gay men of course the plague that began claiming lives en masse by 1980's (when many of these men would have been in their 60's or so) does skew numbers slightly.

So you see thus far all the nasty and ignorant comments about these men in those pictures have been proven wrong. Two boyfriends died of natural causes, a few from those parties are still living, and there you are.

Good detective work. Now solve the murder of Robert Wone.

R84, where is Judge Crater?

I blame the unsolved murder of Wone on an incompent police force. These are the same people who couldn't solve the case of Chandra Levy.

[quote]Ok, DL, will be sending along an invoice for billable hours on this project, and expect to be paid promptly! Thank you. *LOL*

Can I pay with nature's credit card?

Me again!

Working from above, Charles Franklin Bushong's sister, Virginia (Ginny) Swanson R.N.

Gay drama! Charles Heath was a friend of Frank and Roger!

Within insular gay circles of friends or acquaintances is was not unheard of then, nor even today for lovers, partners, boyfriends or whatever you want to call them to be passed around if you will.

You go to a local gay bar or maybe a party and everyone is the former bf/lover of someone else in the room.

R89

Mr. Heath does not look at all happy.

On another note know countless apartments in the city (NY) that look pretty much the same. *LOL*

Well, R92, it was just 5 days after JFK's assassination.

Charles Heath was very cute, I wonder if he's still alive.

Everything is just so, lol. "Would you stop touching things!"

R90 that is one well organized kitchen!

I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to the 50s and fuck Charles Heath.

R96

They have to be, cooking a meal for 4, 14 or even more in those tiny galley NYC apartment kitchens is no easy feat.

Again know plenty both back in day and still today that make do with such tiny kitchens, and they all do fine. Few guys (and one trannie) can put out gourmet meals of several courses out of those small kitchens. Truth to tell for a Manhattan or even Queens, Brooklyn apartment that kitchen large believe it or not. Many studio apartments in city have kitchen areas part of main living space.

Also know people living in rent regulated apartments whose kitchens look pretty much the same. Their buildings having gone up in 1960's with nothing being done in terms of a new kitchen since. Well a new fridge obviously and perhaps range, but that is about it. That little "house" on wall behind Mr. Heath likely was to hold matches in case pilot went out for gas burners or oven. That is if the rage even had, otherwise you used matches to light things when you wanted to use burner or oven.

Just to put this out there, the 1950's weren't just about hunting communists; there was the "Lavender Scare" as well. Gay men were being hunted down, locked away (in jails or mental hospitals), so you really had to watch your step.

Private gatherings like this must have been a savior for gay men to get together and relax. However as with those gay wedding pictures there obviously had to be a friendly drug , camera store owner or whoever developed pictures back then for these men to have felt comfortable turning film over.

You'll notice in most of these pictures while there are some intimate shots, or things that could be looked at in that light, most pictures just show a group of men, or maybe two basically together, and nothing else.

Then as now places like New York City, LA, SF, etc... were havens for gay men. It is no wonder Charles Franklin Bushong came out east from Ohio and remained here in NYC even as his parents wanted him to relocate back home. St. Louis however must have worked as CFB lived with Mr. Heath there IIRC.

I wonder what they're talking about?

Paul Lammers, who I believe is seen in R77 post was not only a theatrical producer, but directed "As The World Turns" for 40 years.

R76---Maybe some DLer in the area could stop by in the spring and tidy it up for Charles? I am too far away, or I'd do it.

What a great thread.

I often used to purchase gay themed books at various secondhand bookstores in the West Village in the 1980s and would find letters, notes, occasionally a photo. I wondered about the owners, had they been taken by the plague.. I treasure these items and books.

When I have a few minutes, I am going to look up these men's names in the AIDS Quilt Directory and see if any of them have panels...unless someone is doing/has done this.

I worked in a NY gay disco in 1979..the shit JUST started to hit the fan. The editor of the magazine called Long Island Express told me, '"some disease is going around, stop kissing everyone. and get your own glass." The rest is awful history. I lost many of my beloved coworkers and friends in the years that followed.

Looking at the picture and wondering if they survived is very sad for me.

Again, we know at least several men in these photos or part of set that ran together lived well into their 60's or 70's (with some still living). Those that we know of who have passed on left this earth of natural causes other than HIV/AIDs.

Probably if we get a full run down of every single person in this group it is likely one or more died or has the Madness; but then again maybe they were all just lucky. It does seem however despite the odds against many settled into long term monogamous relationships. That alone was one of the best protections against being infected.

Many of this set were born in 1920's or early 1930's it seems; making them in their early to late forties by 1970's (assuming a ten year or so latency for HIV), that would have them joining that grim decade of deaths that was 1980's. Again thus far we have no evidence such things occurred.

Will give you that normally when a gay man dies and is buried along with his name, it was an indication (at least back in day) of someone who died from the plague and family wanted things hushed up. But for this group it seems rather the normal happened; they were only children, and or not having legal spouses (except for few as noted above and in blog post), there just wasn't any family around to mourn.

In some cases like Charles Frank Bushong he predeceased his father, but the mother had died before him. There was a sister, nieces and nephews along with other family, which explains why his grave seems better attended to than Roger Pegram, who despite a rather successful life lies buried in that forlorn grave. No one even bothered putting flowers (on actual grave or at Find A Grave memorial) until blog poster did at least the latter.

Jewish faith has a belief (IIRC) that people are only truly dead when forgotten. It does seem sadly that is what happened to Roger Pegram and others.

Living in NYC have seen it happen to all sorts who die; LGBT, straight, etc.... After you're gone if there isn't family the courts will appoint someone to settle your affairs, clean out your apartment (throwing stuff into dumpsters or garbage) , plant your remains either as wished or a paupers grave if no one steps in.

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I love this photo. Thanks for sharing, OP.

I love the formal white shirts and plain dark ties.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and friends. No homo.

What a beautiful couple.

Together in March 1951.

I can't even imagine.

Presenting hole in P-Town, 1953.

They look so sweet and fun. Although in the photo at r90, he looks kind of pissed that he’s doing all the cooking.

I love old pictures of gays getting together for the holidays all dressed up.

R90 was the tart who replaced Roger in Frank's affections.

in the 60's they were a community. I am sure it was a very good support system.

Thank you the pictures and the research. We need to know more gay history.

I love every man in OP's photo. Imagine how hard it was to be gay back then. Yet they all seem to be making the best of it.

Do you think most of the guys in the photo are still alive?

The strain of herpes you gave them is impossible to hide.

If this photo is Thanksgiving 1963 President JFK was assassinated 6 days before. and buried only 3 days before.

Not the happiest Thanksgiving to be sure.

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[quote]Picture taken in 1963. All infected by 1973. All dead by 1983.

This looked like it would be a nice thread, until the morons took over.

If they were all dead by 1983, how come we have gays born AFTER 1983?

They had such wonderful manners back then.

Sigh... Clean-shaven, square jawline, crisp dress shirt and tie, white boxer shorts, hairy chest, full bush... "Mad Men" era nostalgia.

I love this thread. ❤️

bumpit

r127 With a trumpet?

[quote]So you see thus far all the nasty and ignorant comments about these men in those pictures have been proven wrong.

The nasty and ignorant comments are by the 'HAR' troll ('HomosexualsAreReprobates') from Yahoo, who had many dozens of socks, and was always insistent that all homosexuals die from AIDS, and that it has no treatment and no cure.

Encore, Miss Mazeppa – bump it!

What if this picture is just a bunch of Mormons?

It looks like a group of a Catholic priests in civilian clothes.

This was on the hi-fi.

Let's be thankful for the gays who came before us.

Where these the real 'Boys in the Band'?

What must the fraus think?!

What a tremendous thread, with great pictures and background story.

Us gays have been around since time immemorial, but it's great to see what life was like back then.

I wonder if in 50 years time, gays will look back on us and wonder, why did they live like that?

I still think they are just religious of some kind eating together. This is mindless nostalgia shit a la the "Old School Cool" thing on Reddit.

Is any of that available in the English language R138?

Speaking of Christmas albums, R133, the Phil Spector Christmas album was released the previous Friday, 11/22/63.

A nice gathering of confirmed bachelors!

Speaking of the link at R64, did you check out the senior quotes from these elder gays' yearbook?

From Robert:

[Quote] If silence were golden, I'd be a millionaire.

And from Frank:

[Quote] There's no great genius without the tincture of madness.

Clever, witty gays. A relic of a bygone era. Today, the quotes are things like:

[Quote] Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet-ass pussy

How low our culture has fallen.

Do try and keep up, R139.

And if you really want a translation, R139: who could ever prove that these guys are homos; people who like this thread are retarded.

[quote] I still think they are just religious of some kind eating together. This is mindless nostalgia shit a la the "Old School Cool" thing on Reddit.

R138, you just burst my bubble, here, but could be Mormon Elders (who don't really have to be old).

It's not a Mormon gathering. Go see the original picture at this link.

Someone upthread also mentioned that it could be a bunch of Catholic priests. But then, that would still leave the homo angle.

Now that I look at the original set of pics, they could be a bunch of gays, but I don't see anyone fucking, so I still reserve judgement.

[quote]No diversity...they must be racist.

So basically no different from white gays today who refuse to be friends with non-white gays.

It's a beautiful scene of a bygone era

Ah yes, the good old days of blacklists and sodomy laws and being classified as mentally ill. No AIDS though.

So it wasn't all bad

Actually the women folk probably all ate in the kitchen while the men had the dining room. My mom and aunts and grandmothers probably did that.

Don't forget the postal inspectors showing up at your house to interrogate you about those physique magazines! Ah the shitty old days.

R149, maybe you just radiate negative energy.

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I don’t see any nutloaf.

This isn’t funny.