2. 2002
Halfway between Portland
and San Francisco appears
welcome relief in Ashland
by Timothy Krause
ith the natural beauty of the
Rogue Valley, the sophisticated
culture of professional theater and
the academic resources of higher
education, Ashland residents say life in their
small town is just dandy.
The warm climate is comfortable. The daily
pace is relaxed. Just as many faces on Main
Street are friends as strangers.
Not only has this small, rural community
become a haven for the artsy and a retreat for
the retired, hut Ashland also offers a refuge for
sexual minorities in search of a place to fit in
among the rough-and-tumble hills of the
Rogue Valley. In fact, the city of 20,000 is one
of the few in Oregon that recognizes same-sex
domestic partnerships.
“It’s beautiful. It’s gorgeous. It’s a pocket of
PHOTOS BV MARTY DAVIS
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cultural diversity,” proclaims Deanna Leitner,
president of Southern Oregon University’s Les
bian, Gay, Bisexual,
Trans and Allies Student
Union. “It’s not so rush-
rush. You don’t have the
high pressure. And
there’s not nearly as
much rain.”
Yet, as inviting and
accommodating as Ash
land is, within such isola
tion lie challenges to
everyday life for sexual
minorities. “Being young,
single and gay in this
area is an extreme chal
lenge,” says Ed Bums, co-
chairman of the Abdill-
Ellis Community Center,
a queer resource facility.
Because
employment
and education
al opportuni
ties are limit
ed, young peo
ple tend to
leave the area,
at least for a
time. It’s not uncommon to grow up
in Ashland, move to a larger city
such as Portland, then return to the
Rogue Valley upon middle age or
retirement.
Bums suggests the same pattern holds true
for the less-than-straight set, but with a twist.
“It doesn’t matter what peoples ages are. It’s
more in terms of their coming-out process,” he
theorizes. “If they are just coming out, they are
still in that perception where they need to go
to a bigger city, where it’s more acceptable and
there are more opportunities. Then, once life
settles down, they return.”
But often not alone.
When David Drey-
foos, producing direc
tor of the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival,
moved to Ashland
some five years ago, he
observed that many
gay men and lesbians
in the area are part
nered or have sought
solitude in the seclu
sion of the country
side. While numerous
businesses are gay-
owned or gay-friendly,
without the typical
gay scene such as bars
and nightclubs, vaca
tioners and newcom
ers alike find that net
working among family,
friends and colleagues
is vital when opportu
nities to meet socially
are limited.
Beyond city limits,
however, the landscape
turns more stark.
“How you act in Medford is entirely differ
ent than how you would act in Ashland. We
gather 99 percent of the time in Ashland
because everybody feels more comfortable
here,” relates Les Krambeal, co-chairman of the
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•
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is a free-lance uniter and editor in
Portland. Contact him at timkra@millenicom.com.
TIMOTHY KRAUSE
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Bums elaborates: “Ashland is unique in the
area because it has a reputation of being rather
progressive and very enlightened. It attracts
those kinds of people, and yet it sits right in
the middle of redneck country. It’s kind of an
oasis in the middle of a vast wasteland.”
Just Out recently journeyed to Ashland to
learn how four key organizations— university,
community center, theater and political cau
cus— make this gay, lesbian, hi and trans oasis
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