JUNE 8, 2017 // 11
E RETURNS
“It also allows people who aren’t
sure of themselves to see that there
is a support system here. It offers a
sense of inclusiveness, education,”
she said, adding: “You don’t need to
be gay to be involved in Pride.”
She said that events like Pride
are “important for people who are
marginalized. Whatever segment of
our community that’s been margin-
alized — whether it’s women, gay or
immigrant — it’s important that we
band together to do this.”
When Adolphson was a kid, he
never imagined today’s Astoria. He
gets emotional thinking of last year’s
inaugural Pride.
“I was so happy when the first
Pride parade happened here in
Astoria. It was amazing,” he said. “A
small minority watched and made
snide comments, but I just thought,
‘Why are you here?’”
That day was followed by the
news on June 12 that an ISIS-inspired
had gunman murdered 49 people at
a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
“We went from this wonderful high
to crashing down,” Adolphson said.
The Q Center and community
members hung black ribbons over
their downtown Pride decorations and
organized a vigil.
“We had to do something,” David
Drafall, treasurer of the Q Center,
said. “It was just devastating to
everybody.”
GROWING UP GAY
IN UNIONTOWN
Adolphson, a member of the Finn-
ish Brotherhood, was raised as an
only child in Uniontown. Growing up
on Alameda Street, his favorite thing
to do was grab his bike and visit all
the old ladies in his neighborhood.
While Adolphson was accepted
and loved in his own neighborhood,
he faced bullying at school.
But, because of a supportive envi-
ronment within his tight-knit family
and Finnish community, Adolphson
came out at 15 at his mother’s en-
couragement.
“My mother told me I was gay at
N age 15,” he said. “I was initially mad
with at the suggestion. She didn’t put me
down. In fact, years later, when I was
ASTORIA PRIDE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, JUNE 9
• “Cocktails with the Queens”
Doors 6 p.m. Cocktail hour 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., The Liberty The-
atre, 1203 Commercial St., tickets $20 (includes small plates and
complimentary beverage), live Bossa Nova
• Pride Gala
Doors 7:30 p.m. Show 8 p.m., The Liberty Theatre, 1203 Commer-
cial St., tickets $30, $25, $15 (purchase at box office or libertyastoria.
org)
SATURDAY, JUNE 10
• Pride Block Party
1 to 7 p.m., foot of 21st Street (park in lot at 23rd Street and
Marine Drive), free, all-ages, live music, drag performances, sus-
tenance, alcoholic beverages, nonprofit booths, pop-up shop, kids’
activity are
SUNDAY, JUNE 11
DANNY MILLER/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
• Pride Riverwalk Parade
10 a.m. day-of registration (preregister at facebook.com/as-
toriapride and lcqcastoria.org), 12:30 p.m., begins at Columbia
Maritime Memorial Park, free, open to the public
Passengers aboard the Astoria Riverfront Trolley gaze out at the Astoria
Pride Parade attendees marching on the Riverwalk in June 2016.
in beauty school, I brought my first
boyfriend home, and she was giddy
with excitement.”
Shortly after graduating from As-
toria High School in 1966, Adolph-
son moved to Portland, swearing
that he would never again live in his
hometown.
But he soon returned to take care
of his mother, who was dying of can-
cer. He later moved back to Portland,
but, again, found his way home to
look after his grandmother.
He missed the Portland culture
and the supportive gay community.
Starting a career in Astoria, a logging
and fishing town with many conser-
vatives, was challenging.
“Sometimes I was spit at, and
had cigarette butts thrown at me,” he
recalled.
‘TOO OLD TO HATE’
In 1976, Adolphson opened up
his hair salon, “165 West Bond,” and,
in 1980, bought a home in Astoria.
The decision to open a hair salon and
become a small business owner was
also not easy.
“My mother was a hairdresser, so
I was practically born in the salon,”
he said. “But my dream was actually
to be a landscape architect, but it
was too much schooling. I thought I
might as well do what I know and be
making money in 13 months.”
Adolphson has a reputation for
being quiet and personable with his
clients, and is an excellent listener.
Many Astorians have sought out his
hairdressing chair over the decades.
A small minority of clients have
anti-gay views, but Adolphson takes
them in stride.
“I welcome everyone. I’m too old
to hate; it hurts me way more than
it hurts them in the end,” he said.
“Trump supporters keep comments to
themselves, but I see what they post
on Facebook, and it’s hurtful. It’s hard
— I try not to bring politics into it,
but I’m human, and at certain times I
can’t help but say something.”
DANNY MILLER/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Ashleigh Naslund shares a laugh with others while marching in the Astoria
Pride Parade in June 2016.
ASTORIA’S EVOLUTION
Adolphson has witnessed the
striking change in his hometown.
“We started to get great art galleries,
nice restaurants, and now there’s
something fun happening all the time.
Over the years, it’s gotten to be a
really nice place to live,” he said.
Adolphson noted that 1992’s an-
ti-gay Oregon Ballot Measure 9, was,
ironically, a big factor in changing
Astoria.
The measure, a proposed amend-
ment to the state constitution, would
have prohibited the government
from using funds or properties for
activities that treat homosexuality as
normal. The initiative was ultimately
defeated, but it reminded people of
the bigotry and misconceptions that
remained widespread.
“Sometimes bad things bring out
the best conversations,” he said. “It
really got people talking; it created an
important conversation in our commu-
nity, and that changed Astoria, I think.”
In today’s Astoria, the support
has been overwhelming since Pride
kicked off in 2016, one year after
the U.S. Supreme Court legalized
same-sex marriage nationwide and
two years after Oregon courts did the
same for the state.
Adolphson said he never expected
the response to Pride to be so big.
“Our community just continues to
give and give and give,” he said,
somewhat shocked at the amount of
money and support pouring in. “It
made me so proud to be an Astorian.”
For more information about Asto-
ria Pride, visit the event’s Facebook
page, or the Lower Columbia Q
Center website: lcqcastoria.org.
Daily Astorian reporter Jack Hef-
fernan contributed to this story.