by Evelyn Bailey
Horace Lethbridge’s life was filled with many threads. After learning that the first owner of Reed House, his home in Livonia, had been a weaver, Horace bought a loom and learned to weave. He became quite proficient. His creative weaving brought many people, experiences, responsibilities, and relationships in and out of his life.
Early in Horace's life, when you Googled his name ( I can hear Horace saying “Oh my, such technology – isn’t it wonderful!”), you find some very interesting facts that seem to have gone unnoticed. Horace was a licensed pilot. In 1968 he registered a Cessna 150 fixed wing single engine plane. Horace was President of the San Diego Creative Weaver’s Guild.
Ann Enger, long time friend of Horace, wrote that Horace very much understated his talents. He only occasionally talked about his skill at weaving, but his productivity was enormous and his work was featured in magazines and sold at fine stores in CA. Lo and behold, according to Google, we see Horace being a typical queen creating “Sateen Purses for Evening Wear” advertised in the November/December 2002 issue of Handwoven Magazine in CA. I am sure Horace would have carried one to the Gay Ball!
In the August issue of the Advocate, it was reported that gay activists Horace Lethbridge and Jackie Nudd were the recipients of the Vinny/Vickie Cup Awards presented at the 12th Annual Vinny/Vicki Cup Awards dinner given by Arnie Pegish at the Bachelor Forum bar on the night of May 4.
The Vinny Cup Award, given to a male member of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley who has made the greatest contributions to Rochester's gay community during the last year, went to Horace, whom Arnie described “as active for many years in the gay community”.
The threads of Horace’s volunteer work are reflected in the following excerpt from an article written by Tom Krolak in the June 2008 issue of the Empty Closet. “Horace held several offices at D. I. (Dignity – Integrity) including membership chairperson and Integrity caucus convener. He also conducted personal growth and sharing sessions for the members of D. I. He was co-founder with Tim Sally of the Parents-Flag Group in Rochester. At the GAGV he founded the OMEGA Group (for older mature gay activists) and the ALPHA Group for youth”.
During the ‘80’s, Horace began his private practice at the Wellesley Counseling Center, where he and Barb Debes provided individual and group counseling to many gay clients for many years. In 1986, Horace became President of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley. His Presidency brought a breath of fresh air, and began the Building Fund Campaign at the Genesee Coop which culminated in the purchase of the GAGV Community Center on Atlantic Avenue in 1990.
During Horace’s term as President, he wrote a column for the Empty Closet every month, a tradition that continues to this day through the Executive Director. Horace had regular office hours at the GAGV on Monroe Avenue on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9 – 12. Over the years, the GAGV has grown from a volunteer staff to paid staff that has office hours regularly from 9 to 5 five days a week.
When Horace became President of the GAGV, the Supreme Court decided a major issue in the Hardwick case by concluding that the government has the power to criminalize private consensual homosexual acts. As President of the Gay Alliance, Horace's response was full steam ahead. He commented that “the Supreme Court decision aroused amazement and incredulity. While it gives testimony once again about how legislation can lag behind progressive thinking, we were once infuriated with the orange queen, Anita, and certain religious leaders continue to earn our ire. But consider how they also serve us by rallying thoughtful supporters who can see through such bigotry."
What are we doing? This issue of the EC reflects national, state, and our very own cautious reactions, designed to stabilize and mobilize energies to mount reasoned attacks and to provide outlets for our frustrations. Again we see the threads being woven into a strong fabric.
Horace was also instrumental in training volunteers to be peer facilitators. The peer facilitators would staff the hot line and also assist with the youth group. Horace put together a committee to work on upgrading the weekly coffee house which he had begun.The peer facilitators and the coffeehouse, at this time, represented the GAGV's most frequent direct service to the community.
It was during the late 1980’s that I met Horace at an Omega gathering. He was climbing a tree – an ordinary occurrence for Horace who loved life, physical activity, and being young! Around 1994, when Horace was 70, he found a partner, Rob Roderick. Rob and Horace were partners for 10 years. During that time they would spend six months in San Diego and six months in Livonia continuing the restoration of Reed House, another thread in the fabric of Horace’s life.
The threads of Horace's life are interwoven with the fabric that is the life of this community. Horace’s contributions to improve the quality of life for his brothers and sisters in this community and his challenge to each of us to continue the work is best reflected in his own words:
“I have a strong sense of honor becoming President elect of the Gay Alliance. Like many others in our community, for years I have watched and benefited as others have poured energies into this organization. In its 15 years of service to the community, the gains have been many. Too few people are aware of the work that has been done and can be done to help our special people.
"We will be letting you know who we are and how much we have done and how much there is to do. I am proud to work with our executive committee in polishing this, our local apple; we intend to let everyone know that we can indeed be proud of this integrating alliance”.
The fabric which is the gay community of Rochester is much stronger today because of Horace.