I thank Kay Neufeld for their article “Blackstones is Portland’s only gay bar, again,” in the March 30 Maine Sunday Telegram, and Brianna Soukup for the photos.

So many memories. All those nights dancing at Roland’s with friends in the 1970s. Music, beer, cigarettes. The bartender would dim the lights when he sensed “danger,” and people would stop dancing with their same-sex partners.

In the ’80s, I worked for the State Bureau of Health (now the Maine CDC) in the infectious disease program, specifically with AIDS/HIV prevention/education programming. At the same time, I, along with several others, was a co-founder of The AIDS Project (TAP) in Portland.

Blackstones and the office of Our Paper, founded and run by Fred Berger, were next door to each other on Pine Street. In addition to being a fun place to hang out or party, both were steadfast and significant supporters of TAP’s purpose, providing support services to its clients.

For more information about these years and the local context in which Blackstones was born, see “The AIDS Project: A History” by William D. Barry, a prolific historian of many aspects of Maine’s past. The book can be found at the Maine Historical Society’s library.

Susan Cummings-Lawrence
South Portland