Memoirs — Evelyn Rogers

Reflections on the Good Old Days

Evelyn Rogers and her partner were early members of Regina’s Atropos Friendship Society and the Odyssey Club, the social centre it operated for lesbians and gays in the Queen City. Rogers served on the group’s board of directors in 1975 and 1976 and was one of those who signed the group’s original incorporation application in March 1975.

In 1997 Sensible Shoes News published Reflections on the Good Old Days, Rogers’ memories of coming out as a lesbian in Regina in the 1970s and of her early involvement in ‘The Club’. This version contains a number of small corrections made by Rogers in 2006.

1) Reflections on The Good Old Days
2) More Reflections on The Good Old Days

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REFLECTIONS ON THE GOOD OLD DAYS
by Evelyn Rogers

There it was right in the Leader Post classified section:

“Gay or Lesbian? Want to meet socially with others? Call - - -”

It gave a phone number.

WOW! There WERE others in the world! And right in Regina, too! I hastily hid the number deep in my wallet to phone sometime when I was in the city.

The year was 1972. I was married and living on a farm, BUT, recently my whole life had changed! My 25 year secret desire of wanting a woman lover had come true.

She was content to keep this to ourselves but, now, I wanted to meet others like us!

It took me a few months to get up enough courage to phone that number. Some of that was liquid courage before I phoned from the pay phone in a bar. I had some fear that the number might be bugged! I didn’t want to be traced! Such paranoia!

A woman answered the phone!

Oh, my God! What do I say now?
“Hello, ah, ah, (pause) you have an ad in the paper?”
Surprisingly it became easy to talk to her and before I knew it I was taking down an address.

“She invited us to come to their house, now, for coffee”, I said to Lilja, “But I think we’d better wait for another time, don’t you?”

“Nonsense”, came the reply, “You’ve carried that number around for ages already, if you’re determined to meet others, now’s the time.”

And so it was that we met Heather Bishop and Bev Siller. These were really fine people! What had I expected?

They opened up a whole new world for us. Along with others, they were working very hard to try to educate the justice system, the police, doctors, health workers and the public that homosexuality is neither a crime nor a disease.

It took a few months of dropping in to Heather and Bev’s, on the 23 block Montague St. when we were in the city, before I agreed to proceed to the next step of accepting the invitation to go to “THE CLUB”.

Finally, one Saturday night all was set. We met Heather and Bev and off we went to the 22 block of Smith St.

There, in the middle of the block on the west side of the street, was a large, old, three story house almost hidden behind the overgrown bushes that surrounded the big yard.
It was very dark and ……. very eerie!
As we stumbled our way along the north side of the house to the back door, I was glad we were not coming here for the first time by ourselves.
The rule was that visitors had to come with a member. Good thing! Without Heather and Bev ahead of us, I would not have ventured into that darkness.

“Watch out for the steps!”

How often was I to hear that statement, or say it myself, over the next few years?
After carefully negotiating the rickety, wooden back steps we entered what once might have been a back kitchen. Behind a makeshift counter were a couple of people ready to sign us in and take our admission. We hung our coats up or, as there were no more hangers, piled them on the floor.

From here a door led into “the inner sanctum”. As we were nervously taking all this in, a very drunk woman came reeling through that door. She was making quite a scene!

I began to have third thoughts about going further in! I’d already used up my second thoughts! What else would we encounter?

When the skirmish subsided we followed Heather and Bev. into that next room.
I guessed in the past it might have been the kitchen, now it was the bar area. Here we put our names on the bottles we brought and handed them over to the guys behind the bar.

There wasn’t a liquor license. Everyone brought their own, like at a house party, but when you wanted a drink you had to ask for it from behind the bar, pour your drink and hand the bottle back. I took a stiff drink before venturing through the next door?

Once a dining room, the next room seemed to be where the men gathered to sit on the benches along the wall and check out who was coming in! A wide archway lead from there into a huge living room with a fireplace at one end. Odd pieces of, obviously, cast off furniture were placed around the fireplace. The women held sway over this area. The rest of the room, with its hardwood floor, was a big, open space for dancing. We were introduced around and thankful to see some familiar faces of people we had met at Heather and Bev’s in the past few months.

Eventually we had to find the bathroom. A large front hallway could be accessed from the “dining room” or a door at the far end of the dance floor. The stairs led up from the front door (which was never used) to a long hallway on the second floor. There were, at least, six doors in that hallway all of them locked except for the bathroom at the far end of the hall.
As there was only one bathroom, with only one toilet, there was often a long waiting line. However, while you were waiting, this proved to be a good place to visit. Downstairs the music was usually so loud you couldn’t make yourself heard.

The subdued lighting, the smoke filled air, the smell of booze, the music and the mingling of people certainly gave this old house a rather cozy, club like atmosphere.

When we left that first night we knew we would be back.