Digital Transgender Archive

GAYLA Archives Finding Aid

GAYLA is a gay men’s conference who gather annually in Saco, ME at Ferry Beach. The conference began with Bob Wheatley from the Boston Unitarian Universalist Office of Gay and Lesbian Concerns, agreeing to organize this gathering. The annual GAYLA conference hosts a variety of “traditions” to encourage the community of this group of men that include: daily Universalist Unitarian services, check-in-circles, social and intimate gatherings, picnics, grieving circles, dances, talent shows and workshops or tracks and 12-step meetings just to name a few. The members of GAYLA come from a range of backgrounds including teachers and professors, AIDS Advocates, therapists, librarians, social workers and even singers. Most items within this collection are related to each annual conference and include workshop descriptions accompanied by personal notes, welcome packets containing schedules and descriptions of the workshops offered as well as rules of GAYLA and Ferry Beach. There are timelines about the history of GAYLA as well as personal timelines of GAYLA members, personal letters and photographs. There are also some periodicals related to gay issues, objects and VHS/8mm videos.