Oral History Interview with Alicia Hays and Adelka Shawn

Title: Oral History Interview with Alicia Hays and Adelka Shawn
LC Subject: Lesbianism Lesbian community
Local Collection ID: Coll 520
Repository: University of Oregon. Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Interviewee: Hays, Alicia Shawn, Adelka
Interviewer: Long, Linda, 1956- Raiskin, Judith L.
Description: The Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project collection consists of interviews of 83 people for the Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project, conducted by Professor Judith Raiskin and Curator Linda Long at the University of Oregon starting in the summer of 2018.
Abstract: Alicia was born in Nebraska into a conservative Catholic family and grew up in Idaho. She was the second of six children. She discusses family life. Her family was supportive of her emerging sexuality. When she was in high school, she broke her back in an inner-tubing accident. Alicia went to Idaho State University and participated in wheelchair outdoor sports and activities. She had a partner who played women’s softball. She met many women athletes from Eugene. Alicia moved to Eugene in 1983. Alicia discusses the lesbian community in Eugene. She talks about her and her partner Adelka Shawn’s public involvement with the campaigns against the anti-gay political measures. They discuss the stress they felt during the campaigns, and their self-realization of the need to be out. Alicia discusses her administrative work with Health and Human Services. She talks about the character of the lesbian community in Eugene and her work on the Eugene School district board. She also discusses GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Education Support Network, which works to ensure that LGBTQ students can attend school free from bullying and harassment. She talks about support for transgender students. Alicia and Adelka talk about parenting. Alicia and Adelka conclude their interview by talking about retirement and aging issues. Adelka was born in 1957 in Aurora, Colorado. She had four brothers. Her father served in the Air Force, and her family moved around a lot. While growing up, she had no sense of lesbianism. She ran away from home when she was fourteen and hitchhiked with a friend to North Carolina. She moved to Oregon when she was nineteen, in 1978. In Eugene, Adelka got her GED. She then went to Lane Community College and became a feminist. Adelka became involved in the movement to stop and prevent violence towards women. Adelka lived in the Whiteaker neighborhood with her then partner, Maureen McCauley. She describes the Safe House Program she and others started, to provide places for women to go to escape domestic abuse. She describes getting an associate’s degree in sign language interpretation. Adelka discusses how she met her partner, Alicia Hays. She talks about her and Alicia Hays’ involvement with the campaigns against the anti-gay political measures. She and Alicia were tapped to be the public face of the campaigns. They discuss the stress they felt during the campaigns, and the realization of the need to be out. Adelka talks about her work with the school district as a sign language interpreter, and later as a teacher of the deaf. Adelka talks about the increasing acceptance of LGBTQ teachers and staff in the school district over the years. She discusses LGBTQ students in the schools. She and Alicia talk about parenting. She explains the policy of the Eugene Register-Guard to only list heterosexual parents in birth announcements. Adelka and Alicia conclude their interview by talking about retirement and aging issues.
Subject: Alternative insemination; Artificial insemination, Human; Boy Scouts of America; Discrimination Against Gay Volunteers; Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDA); Eugene (Or.) -- Politics and government; Eugene Human Rights Commission; Eugene Pride celebration; Eugene School District 4J; Hagedorn, Karm; Happy Lesbian Couples; Landforce, Debora; Lane County Health and Human Services; Lesbian mothers -- United States; Marriage equality; McCauley, Maureen; People with disabilities – civil rights – United States; Sager, Jill; Self-insemination; Shawn, Adelka; Sperm donors; Transgender students; Adoption; Alcoholism; Alternative insemination; Artificial insemination, Human; Barry, Kate; Boy Scouts of America; Closet Space (newsletter); Discrimination Against Gay Volunteers; Domestic abuse; Eugene Pride celebration; Eugene School District 4J; Feminist bookstores; Hagedorn, Karm; Happy Lesbian Couples; Harbaugh, Anne “Izzie”; Landforce, Debora; Lesbian parenting – United States; Marriage equality; Mobility International USA (Organization); Mother Kali’s Books; Newman, Connie; People with disabilities – civil rights – United States; Pornography; Portland Community College; Rape -- Oregon -- Eugene – Prevention; Rape Crisis Network; Riviera Room; Ryan, Barb; Safe House Program; Self-insemination; Sheklow, Sally; Sperm donors; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).
Location: University of Oregon >> Lane County >> Oregon >> United States
Date: 2018-09-11
Identifier: Coll520_do025
Rights: In Copyright
Dc Rights Holder: University of Oregon Libraries
Local Collection Name: Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project
Type: Collection
Format: application/xml
Set: Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project
Primary Set: Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project
Institution: University of Oregon