Gay bars west virginia

Text-to-speech Audio. The Shamrock opened in and operated until Opened and operated by Helen Compton, it was a regular diner during the day and a gay bar at night. Starting in the s, the Shamrock also hosted drag shows and pageants. The Shamrock, During the day, it operated as a diner that catered to the local community of workers and businessmen, largely the straight community.

Around at night, she would begin encouraging the dinner patrons to finish up and the establishment would then switch over to a gay club.

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The fact that the nighttime virginia catered to gay gay community was largely a secret from the regular patrons. Unlike places like New York and California where the gay community was visible earlier, homosexuality was largely not accepted in West Virginia communities particularly rural ones.

In an interview, Compton remembered that as a child she saw two men kissing and told her father; west after that crosses were burned in the yards of those two men. Compton married her husband at age fifteen and they had a son; they divorced when she was 34, but even after their split she was not open about her sexuality.

Nation-wide, gay bars were an important part of LGBT culture. These spaces were often the only place that gay man and women were able to be open about their identity and be protected by their common community. The Shamrock served the bar purpose in Bluefield and patrons would travel sometimes for hours to come to the club.

In the s, the Shamrock also began hosting drag shows and pageants. Every year the bar would hold their Mr. Burch-Brown, Carol. Milan, Bradley. Google Maps, Accessed June 14, Close Drawer. Individual Entries. Explore By Topic. Guides, Videos, and Rubrics. How to Create an Entry. Create a New Entry.

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