Jim Andris, Facebook

Cea Hearth/Glenda Dilley/Adrienne Rae: A Tribute

In a way, you could say that the LGBT History Project and Cea Hearth are the reason that I, Jim Andris, have researched and written so much about the 1980 Pride Event. The Project sponsored the St. Louis Queer History Tour #2, May 23, 2010 led by Ian Darnell, and a friend of mine, Rip Van Winkle, and I decided to go to this event because of our interest and, as I said, "because we are history." I had been largely out of the loop of service to the LGBT community for years and years, but this tour piqued my interest mightily. I had lived the history Ian was talking about.

In August of 2010, Cea Hearth—who as founder of the Magnolia Committee was Glenda Dilley with the public persona of Adrienne Rae—came unannounced from her home in San Francisco to visit me. We are old friends and fellow activists of the 1980 era. Without any formal training under my belt, and since she was with me, I asked her if she would mind if I did an informal interview of her.

Later that year I found an old recording in excellent condition of a concert she had given in December, 1980. I had always admired Cea's ability to write and perform her songs. I was able to digitize these tracks, and I produced a CD of the concert. I then began to research her contributions to the LGBT community while she was in Columbia, Missouri, and wrote an article on that. I heard that the LGBT History Project was having a day at the LGBT Community Center where members of the community could contribute items of interest to the project I bundled these two things and some other memorabilia of the times together and wrote a cover article for the whole package. Some time in 2011 I took a binder with these things down to the LGBT Center and donated them to the History Project, which was having a collection day.

In August of 2011 I got training from Ian Darnell on conducting interviews, and subsequently have interviewed at least ten individuals, and written a lot on Pride 80 and its roots. That research and writing has burgeoned into this website you are now visiting. I am of the opinion that a website such as this one, or websites, is the only way to make this important historical event truly available and usable by the public—not that many people would use it, but some would.

Now in 2013, I am setting up here a digital representation of that folder of Cea/Glenda's music and activist work, so that others can appreciate her contributionss, hear her charming, but profound, music and her lovely voice and natural instrumental ability.