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26
Out of Town
Just Out ven tures to Y am hill C o u n ty
Photos by Marty Davis
Continued from Page 1
L abor
of
L ove
Don Hutchinson and Lee Swantek
have been business and life partners
for more than 42 years
by
T om S tevenson
A
fter living together, and loving each
other, for more than 42 years, there are
certain things two people will do. They
finish each other’s sentences. They give each
other looks that only they understand. They
laugh at stories of a past rich in memories.
Don Hutchinson and Lee Swantek are two
such people. Sitting in their fabulously decorated
McMinnville home, the two men openly share a
lifetime of memories, spilling out stories about
being a gay couple when there was no such thing,
about never, ever going to bed mad at one anoth
er and about the surprising acceptance they have
found in rural Oregon.
To hear their story is to step back in time— ___________
way back in time, when gay men who wanted to
meet had to visit places that were often less than
desirable. The year was 1959, and the two caught each other’s
gazes at a theater in the Portland area that no longer exists.
Swantek, who says he is 39 years old twice (yes, he’s 78), had
moved in 1958 from New York City, where he had worked as a
bus driver. Hutchinson, who is about a decade younger, also just
had moved to Portland. That first meeting was actually a fiasco.
“I looked at him at asked him if he wanted to meet me out
side,” Hutchinson says. “He said yes. I went outside and waited
Don Hutchinson (left) and Lee Swantek sav their
neighbors have been surprisingly accepting
and waited and waited. He didn’t show up. He stood me up.”
Fortunately, they ran into each other again a few days later.
This time, there was no separation.
The two left together. They moved in with each other a short
time later and have not been apart since.
The couple took bold steps in building their relationship,
especially considering they had absolutely no role models indi
cating how to make it work. Swantek chuckles as he explains that
they moved in together because both were paying rent, and “it
was going to be a lot cheaper just paying rent on one place.”
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They didn’t go to the great lengths that other gay men of the
era did to hide who they were. Neither one married nor had a
relationship with a woman. Both say they knew instinctively
early on who and what they were.
Hutchinson and Swantek were looking for someone to love
and share life with. They found it. And they certainly made the
most of it.
They lived in Portland for about five years, then moved to
Newberg.
Eventually,
they opened a ceramics
business together.
The entrepreneurial
team soon expanded,
teaching classes, offering
products at both a whole
sale and retail level, and
defining roles they would
use to make the business a
success. Swantek laughs
when he explains that
Hutchinson was the busi
nessman who handled all
the money. But Hutchin
son is just as quick to
point out that Swantek
was the construction mir
acle worker, putting
together with his own
hands whatever the
business needed.
That kind of team
work obviously paid off,
as the two retired 10
years ago after selling the business, which had grown into a
highly successful enterprise. “Not bad to start something with
$250 and make it a half-million-dollar business 30 years later,
huh?" Swantek says with another of his warm chuckles.
The two have made their lives work together in a kaleido
scope of other ways as well. Swantek used to do all of the cook
ing, hut today Hutchinson fills that role, although neither is
willing to say who is the better chef.
Hutchinson is the artistic one in the relationship. His stun
ning paintings, ceramic pieces, carousel horses and other items
brighten their McMinnville home, which they
purchased after retiring.
Hutchinson is also a dedicated antique collec
tor, filling their rooms with an impressive array of
items they have picked up through the years.
Swantek proudly explains that many of their
pieces date back to the 1800s.
Swantek is a master at making whatever they
need in his wood shop. His handiwork is most evi
dent in the couple’s gardens, which in June earned
them the honor of “Yard of the Month” and a nice
feature story in the local newspaper.
Hutchinson is actually the gardener of the
two. He has transformed a rather small space
into a colorful oasis, thanks in part to the hand
crafted items Swantek has created. Their deck
not only is filled with an incredible array of
plants but is made welcoming to all by the dis
play of crafts the two have put together.
Obviously, these retirees have not slowed
down. The garden and their respective hobbies
keep them busy, but they also are quite active in
community work.
After moving to McMinnville, Hutchinson
and Swantek found a welcoming church— a Bap
tist congregation nonetheless— where both of
them offer their talents to make it a better place. “There was a lit
tle coolness from some people in the church when they found out
we were gay, but it’s not like that anymore,” Hutchinson says.
In fact, the church serves as the meeting place for the couple’s
current passion: a Christ-centered group they helped create called
Together Works, which is open to all gay men and lesbians in
Yamhill County. Although it embraces homosexuality and spiri
tuality, nonbelievers are equally welcome.
The semimonthly meetings attract up to 40 people, an equal
mix of gay men and lesbians ranging in age from 19 to 78.
Anonymity is guaranteed for those who wish it, although this def
initely has changed through the years.
“In the beginning, we put paper over the windows so people
couldn’t see who was in there,” Hutchinson says. “Today, we
leave the doors wide open.”
Together Works has social functions such as potlucks, but
the group’s most important purpose is to help support one
another at all times. Hutchinson and Swantek welcome calls at
503-434-6266 from those who are interested in participating.
One might think an openly gay couple living in rural Oregon
for decades would have experienced a huge amount of resistance.
That is not the case.
Both say they really never have had any problems. In fact,
each Christmas they play host to a huge open house for their
friends, neighbors and fellow church members, and their home is
filled to the brim with people from all walks of life.
C ertificate o f Domestic Partnership
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