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Title: Jenna Stuart Tape 2
Description: Tape 2 of the QMUNITY interview with Jenna Stuart.
Date: 2009-12-05

Title: Adrienne Bradley Tape 5
Description: Tape 5 of the QMUNITY interview with Adrienne Bradley.
Date: 2010-01-31

Title: Vera Traff
Description: Tape of the QMUNITY interview with Vera Traff.
Date: 2009-10-10

Title: Basil and Frank Tape 1
Description: Tape 1 of the QMUNITY interview with Basil Hunter and Frank Allison.

Basil Hunter and Frank Allison: Interviewee bios

Basil Hunter was born in Wales in 1918, and moved to Winnipeg as a toddler, where he remained until the age of 25. Basil attended private school where he received his background in yoga and Buddhism, practices that stayed with him
Show moreTape 1 of the QMUNITY interview with Basil Hunter and Frank Allison.

Basil Hunter and Frank Allison: Interviewee bios

Basil Hunter was born in Wales in 1918, and moved to Winnipeg as a toddler, where he remained until the age of 25. Basil attended private school where he received his background in yoga and Buddhism, practices that stayed with him all of his life. These doctrines set the stage for Basil's lifelong appreciation for, and openness to the collective consciousness. Basil gained great personal knowledge through his connection to the Akashic records.

Basil had always had an affinity towards the male, and he claimed that he originally viewed this attraction as “hero worship”. He was unraveling his identity as a gay male at a time when Sigmund Freud's oedipus complex was the widespread view on homosexuality. As Basil came to properly understand and to accept his orientation, he was adamant about being “out”.

Basil began playing music in the 1930s, and through this talent he managed to earn a steady living, despite the difficult reality of the Great Depression. He relocated to Vancouver in the 1940's and became a very well known musician and composer. On Christmas eve of 1958, Basil met Frank Allison, who became his life companion of 53 years. They began playing music together and shared a series of electric experiences with one another. Basil played the piano and vibraphone at many local venues including the Vancouver Press Club, The Pillars Inn, and Town and Country.

Basil Hunter passed away on November 28th, 2012 at the age of 94.

Frank Allison was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1920. He was a natural musician and trained himself to sing, play the piano, the guitar, and the electric bass. Frank served as a wireless operator in World War II and the Korean War where he was awarded a number of medals for his service. During his tour in Korea, Frank entertained the troops with the famous harmonicist Larry Adler.

After the war, Frank moved to Vancouver where he met his life companion, Basil Hunter, in 1958. They began playing music together, and Basil was amazed by Frank's innate ability to play by ear. Together, they played at The Press Club for 7 years, 6 nights a week, followed by performances at the Pillars Inn, and 11 years at The Town and Country.

Frank had a great love for animals. He grew up with horses in Nova Scotia, and remained fascinated with them throughout his life. Frank appreciated that horses are a law unto themselves, and that regardless of man's desire to tame them, some horses just cannot be tamed.

Frank Harold Allison passed away on February 5th, 2010 at the age of 89.
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Date: 2009-11-12

Title: Libby Davies
Description: Tape of the QMUNITY interview with Libby Davies.

Libby Davies was born in Aldershot, England in 1953. Her father was in the British military, which meant frequent moves to countries all over the world, including Cyprus, Germany, and Malaysia. Libby remembers her culturally diverse childhood as being filled with amazing activities such as visiting
Show moreTape of the QMUNITY interview with Libby Davies.

Libby Davies was born in Aldershot, England in 1953. Her father was in the British military, which meant frequent moves to countries all over the world, including Cyprus, Germany, and Malaysia. Libby remembers her culturally diverse childhood as being filled with amazing activities such as visiting remote villages in the jungles of Southeastern Asia. Her changing environments, coupled with her parents' social and political engagement, contributed to Libby's very internationalist, global view.

Libby's family arrived in Canada in 1968, where they spent a brief time in a small Métis community in Northern Alberta, before venturing down to Vancouver. Libby finished her schooling, and began working in a number of capacities in the Downtown Eastside, including helping to found the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA). It was here that Libby met Bruce, who became her partner, father of her son, and unwavering support for 24 years.

In 1972, Libby began canvassing for the New Democratic Party, which marked her first involvement with a political campaign. Libby claims “that's where [she] began”. Libby learned her politics in the Downtown Eastside, and first ran for elected office when she was 23 years old. She served as city councilor from 1982 to 1993, after which she became the Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, and the Opposition House Leader for the NDP.

After Bruce passed away in 1997, Libby began her work as a MP and “a different life started”. She met Kim, who became, and remains her partner. She became the first female Canadian Member of Parliament to share openly that she was in a same sex relationship. After her coming out, Libby experienced overwhelming support from her friends and family. As a proud member of the queer community, Libby recognizes the importance of “challenging the status quo, challenging ideas about what family is, [and] what relationships are”. Libby states that, “we do need to have open, strong role models in the queer community. We need to be who we are, and we need to celebrate who we are, and feel totally wonderful about that.”
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Date: 2010-12-22

Title: Shirley Buchan Tape 1
Description: Tape 1 of the QMUNITY interview with Shirley Buchan.

Shirley Buchan was born in 1933 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she was a musical child, and used to hold impromptu concerts on the school steps with her playmates. At the age of ten, Shirley moved from the prairies to Vancouver, which became her home base for a number of journeys that were to
Show moreTape 1 of the QMUNITY interview with Shirley Buchan.

Shirley Buchan was born in 1933 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she was a musical child, and used to hold impromptu concerts on the school steps with her playmates. At the age of ten, Shirley moved from the prairies to Vancouver, which became her home base for a number of journeys that were to follow. Shirley became a teacher, and spent her first two years of teaching in Trail, BC. She then returned to Vancouver and attended UBC where she studied English and Criminology. These studies led to a brief career as a prison guard at a Women's Prison. Shirley quickly returned to teaching and taught in a number of different environments including Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Seattle.

Shirley, her husband, and their two daughters lived an adventurous life together. They lived for a time on Lasqueti Island where they did their “chopping wood, and carrying water kind of lifestyle, with no electricity and no indoor plumbing”. They then moved to P.E.I. where they lived in a 100 year old farmhouse and experienced a life of farming for a few years. Shirley remembers spending the whole summer preparing for the winter, with the power of only 200 watts of electricity, courtesy of a wind generator they placed upon the roof. While in P.E.I., Shirley worked at a transition house for battered women. After a few years on the East coast, Shirley returned to Vancouver where she worked as a homemaker, before adopting a new career as a fitness instructor.

In 1983, Shirley shifted into a new relationship that would turn into a twenty one year long partnership. Shirley and Dorothy taught together years prior, and had remained in very close contact through all of Shirley's adventures. They united and developed a very creative union, where Shirley explains that she became “freed up, artistically”. They self-published a number of children's books, in which Shirley wrote the poetry, and Dorothy illustrated.

After Shirley sang Dorothy into eternal sleep, she asked herself, “if I was fully living, what would I be doing?” In the past decade, Shirley has answered that for herself by developing her musical abilities, as she had always dreamed of doing. She took voice lessons, and established her talents as a soloist. She began leading singalongs at seniors’ centers, and has now made her own album of jazz standards. Shirley has been involved with the Quakers for over fifty years, and she has found a supportive community in the Queer Quakers. She has found great fulfillment through using her music and busking to raise funds for charities in Kenya.

Over the past decade, Shirley has become increasingly aware of her spiritual path, and of her position in life as an elder. She wants to be a more effective force for good in this world, by sharing the wisdom that she has gained. Through her music, Shirley aspires to lift the spirits of her listeners, and to inspire people to go for their dreams, no matter what their age. Dorothy is in a position to be out as an older lesbian woman in a number of different situations, and she hopes that this encourages and inspires young people to see life a little bit differently. What would Shirley like to accomplish in the next ten years? She just wants to get in as many gigs as she can!
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Date: 2010-10-18

Title: Flatland
Date: 2007

Title: Adrienne Bradley Tape 3
Description: Tape 3 of the QMUNITY interview with Adrienne Bradley.
Date: 2010-01-31

Title: Mary Brooks Tape 1
Description: Tape 1 of the QMUNITY interview with Mary Brooks.

Mary Brooks was born in Birmingham, England in 1955, and describes herself as “a good powerful woman that has grown up to be a lovely dyke”. Mary became aware of gender roles at a young age, as she observed the privilege of her brothers, while being trained to run a household. Anxious to experience
Show moreTape 1 of the QMUNITY interview with Mary Brooks.

Mary Brooks was born in Birmingham, England in 1955, and describes herself as “a good powerful woman that has grown up to be a lovely dyke”. Mary became aware of gender roles at a young age, as she observed the privilege of her brothers, while being trained to run a household. Anxious to experience life outside of the expected mold, and to surface, amidst her own internalized homophobia, Mary ventured across the Atlantic to Toronto in 1978. A year later, Mary made one of the best decisions of her life, “coming out to Vancouver, and coming out”. After years of trying to suppress her sexuality, Mary “began getting more realistic with [her] feelings and [her] emotions and just letting them go where it was natural for them to be”. Mary quickly established a sense of belonging that she had never felt before; she found her chosen family.

Mary's first political activity was spurred by her employment as a domestic with a very limiting work permit. As she was fighting for labor rights, Mary began volunteering on the Switchboard (the crisis line), and on the board of directors at “The Centre” (now known as QMUNITY). In response to the lack of professional services in place, all proceeds of these volunteer efforts went towards the fight against AIDS. Mary maintains that this incredibly dark time in queer history “pulled the community together, and sucked it dry at the same time”.

After seven years in Vancouver, the legislation for labor rights for domestic workers was passed and Mary was able to apply for landed immigrant status. She became both the Coordinator at “The Centre”, and the Director of Administrative Services for the 1990 Gay Games. According to Mary, the Gay Games “gave birth to a whole new way of being queer in Vancouver . . . and completely transformed the communities.”

After working as the Assistant Manager of the Heritage House Hotel, Mary took an entrepreneurial leap and opened “Sophie's Pet Palace”, on Commercial Drive. After working for years without a break, and surviving two heart attacks, Mary now supplements life's stress with leisure. She owns a home on the Sunshine Coast, and does things that “fill her with bliss”. Mary can be found working in her garden, feeding bees, pruning trees, and travelling to places she had previously only dreamt of, including Africa, India, and the Galapagos Islands. Mary is proud that she broke out of her little English mold, and states that, “if there are a few more roles that I could break, I will break them”.
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Date: 2009-10-26