Richard Denton papers
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of Avengers Motorcycle Club administrative records, correspondence, subject files, publicity material, manuscripts, notes, photographs, and other documents from Richard Denton. The Avengers administrative records were compiled in scrapbooks and include meeting minutes and publicity material documenting Avengers' activities and that of other gay motorcycle clubs from 1977 to 1981. Subject files on gay and lesbian organizations and leather/BDSM clubs are also included. Denton's personal papers document his career as a librarian and former minister in Presbyterian churches throughout California and Nevada; his family, including his wife Margie and three children; and his interest in campanology, the study of bells.
Dates
- Creation: 1931-1988
Creator
- Denton, Richard (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biography
William Richard Denton grew up in Seattle, Washington, and graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1947. Denton worked as a minister and librarian for Presbyterian churches in Reno, Nevada, and throughout Southern California. In the 1950s-1960s, Denton was married to a woman named Margie, and they had three children. In the 1970s he became a member and officer of Avengers, a gay motorcycle club.
Extent
4.8 Linear Feet (3 boxes, 2 cartons, 1 flat box.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Avengers Motorcycle Club administrative records, subject files on gay and lesbian organizations, and personal papers, 1931-1988, from Richard Denton. Denton worked as a minister and librarian for Presbyterian churches throughout California. In the 1970s he became a member and officer of Avengers, a gay motorcycle club.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into two series:
Series 1. Avengers Motorcycle Club and subject files
Series 2. Personal papers
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Date and method of acquisition unknown.
Separated Materials
The following have been separated to the ONE newsletter collection:
Blair Blurbs: The newsletter of the United Methodist Gay Caucus, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1975).
The Butterfly, ONE in Los Angeles, 1978.
Cheery Chalkboard: Gay Teachers of Los Angeles, October 1978.
Chronicles of Leather Mania, Vol. 14-18 (1976).
Compass, Vol. 5, No. 3 (May 1977).
Concern: Newsletter of the Southern California Council on Religiion and the Homophile, October 1966.
The Empty Closet, Iss. 70 (March 1977).
Focus: Gay Community Center of Orange County, February-April 1976.
Guyads, Vol. 1, No. 1-3 (1974-1975).
HELP (Homophile Effort for Legal Protection) Newsletter, 1975-1976.
The Informant, a Consumer Newsletter for Gays, January 1976.
Neighbors newsletter, January 1976.
Open Forum, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, 1976-1977.
Stonewall Report, August 1976.
Vacavalley Star (newsletter), 1974-1975.
The Way Out Scene, September 1975.
The West Sider, 1974-1975.
Whitman-Radclyffe Foundation Newsletter, 1974 and 1976.
The following items have been separated from the collection:
Ah Men catalogs, 1978.
"Florida Orange Juice is Hazardous to Your Existence" poster, 1977.
Official Gay Freedom Day Program (San Francisco), 1976.
Playgirl Calendar, 1976.
Processing Information
Formerly boxes #103-282, 103-307, 104-004, 104-037, and 104-038. Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama, August 2014.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Richard Denton Papers, 1931-1988
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Loni Shibuyama
- Date
- © 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Repository Details
Part of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California Repository
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90007 United States
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu