DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Collection Number
2009.H.35
Creator
This collection was assembled by Dan Dickmeyer. It was donated to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History in 2009 by Dan Dickmeyer.
Extent
Number of Containers: 7 Boxes
Linear Feet: 3 Linear Feet
Repository
Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Archives
705 Front Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Abstract
This collection consists primarily of materials related to and collected by Dan Dickmeyer. He was born in Fremont, Nebraska, settling in Santa Cruz in 1972. This collection contains materials documenting his political and community activism primarily concerning the environment and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Community. He collected locally published newsletter and pamphlets. He was also a co-founder of the Lesbian and gay Men’s Union at Cabrillo College. He collected newspaper clippings, magazines and ephemera related to his activism. The collection primarily reflects Dan Dickmeyer’s interests, livelihoods, and education.
Location
The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA
Preferred Citation
Dan Dickmeyer Collection, The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the head of Archives at MAH. Researchers may be responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material not produced by museum personnel.
Process By
G. Gardner
Date Completed
2014
This collection contains material related to Dan Dickmeyer. The material in this collection reflects his interests, and political, community and personal activism. He collected flyers, newsletters, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, and business directories related to his personal interests and activism. Dan Dickmeyer organized a Sierra Club Conference on logging in the Santa Cruz Mountains held in 1993 in Santa Cruz. He also promoted basic human rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Community.
Dan Dickmeyer (September 11, 1945- ) was born and raised in Fremont, Nebraska. After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1968 (B.A. Journalism) he worked as a community organizer with Volunteers in Service to America (V.I.S.T.A) in Wheeling, West Virginia. He settled in Tucson, AZ in 1970 where he married. He moved to California in 1971, living in San Francisco and settling in Santa Cruz in 1972, where he lived until 2009.
He had various occupations in Santa Cruz, including driving buses for the Santa Cruz Metro system and actively organizing the bus driver’s union which spear-headed the first public service strike in Santa Cruz history. He was the first paid office manager of the Resource Center for Non-Violence. He worked in the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) children’s center as a cook and then in 1988 started a library career there. Obtaining a Library Science degree from San Jose State in 1992 he worked in various libraries including UCSC, Cabrillo College and the Santa Cruz Public Library system.
Shortly after coming out as a gay man in 1973 he met David Paine who has been his partner (now husband) ever since. The couple raised Dan’s son from his marriage in conjunction with his former wife. He was a cofounder of the Lesbian and Gay Men’s Union based at Cabrillo College and spent many years actively campaigning for gay rights in Santa Cruz. He also volunteered with the Sierra Club, contributed articles to local newspapers and organized community projects.
Series I. Books
Series II. Pamphlets (1971 – 2005)
Subseries II.A. Zeitgeist Monthly Publication (1980 – 1984)
Subseries II.B. Loaded Newsletter (1971 – 1972)
Subseries II.C. Definitely Biased Newsletter
Subseries II.D. The Red Seed Pamphlet (1976 – 1982)
Subseries II.E. Festival or Exhibit Pamphlets (1985 – 2005)
Subseries II.F. Santa Cruz Road and Biking Maps
Subseries II.G. University of California, Santa Cruz Pamphlets (1992 – 1995)
Subseries II.H. Lavender Reader (1987 – 1998)
Series III. Public Art Activism (1984 – 1985)
Series IV. 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake (1989 – 1990)
Series V. Environmental Activism (1972 – 1998)
Subseries V.A. Santa Cruz Action Network and other Publications (1985 – 1992)
Subseries V.B. Seabright Area Plan (1981)
Subseries V.C. Logging in Santa Cruz County: Can our Forests Survive? (1993)
Subseries V.D. Beach/South of Laurel Plan (1998)
Subseries V.E. Affordable Housing Projects in the Vicinity of Neary Lagoon (1972 – 1989)
Series VI. Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered (LGBT) Activism (1975 – 2009)
Subseries VI.A. Gay Pride (1975 – 2008)
Subseries VI.B. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Information Especially Concerning AIDS/HIV (1975 – 1997)
Subseries VI.C. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Organizing and Protests (1975 – 1991)
Subseries VI.D. Flyers, Pamphlets and Newsletters (1975 – 2009)
Series VII. Photographs
Series VIII. Ephemera
SERIES I. BOOKS
Eight (8) Books
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains eight (8) books collected by Dan Dickmeyer. These books express the interests of Dan Dickmeyer. These books have been added to the museum reference library.
SERIES II. PAMPHLETS AND NEWSLETTERS (1971 – 2005)
Three (3) Boxes; Twenty (20) Folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains various pamphlets collected by Dan Dickmeyer. These pamphlets express the interests of, and political, community and personal activism of Dan Dickmeyer.
Subseries II.A. Zeitgeist (1980 – 1984)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
Zeitgeist was a monthly publication edited by Harry Stoll from 1980 to 1984. Additional copies are available at the University of California Special Collections.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 1
Subseries II.B. Loaded (1971 – 1972)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
Loaded was a monthly newsletter published in Santa Cruz by the Loaded Collective (Barbara Zheutlin, Stephanie Graham, Jeff Snyder, Mike Fox, Mike Rotkin, Bruce Dancis, Lorna Hall, and Vicki Bolam). University of California Santa Cruz Socialist Student Publication. It was published from 1971 to 1972. Additional copies of this publication can be found on the UCSC Campus History – Publications – Student Publications webpage.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 2
Subseries II.C. Definitely Biased
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The Definitely Biased Collective was created when the Santa Cruz Women’s Center closed. They were attempting to establish a traditional Women’s center with some functions while others functions were handled by other groups. This was a monthly University of California Santa Cruz Student Publication. It was published in 1974. Additional copies of this publication can be found on the UCSC Campus History – Publications – Student Publications webpage.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 3
Subseries II.D. The Red Seed (1976 – 1982)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The Red Seed was a Socialist – Feminist pamphlet irregularly published in Santa Cruz in 1976 to 1982. The Red Seed Collective was made up of Angie Bean, Tom Edminster, Andy Fierberg, Frances Fuchs, Tim Jenkins, Eric Nee, Mike Rotkin, Jill Sabina, Paul Schieffer, Richard Shapiro, and Walter Smith. Additional copies are available at the University of California Santa Cruz Special Collections.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 4
Subseries II.E. Festival or Exhibit Pamphlets (1985 – 2005)
Two (2) Folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains pamphlets or brochures for various events in or around Santa Cruz. Included are:
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 5-6
Subseries II.F. Santa Cruz Road and Biking
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains road, biking and tourist maps.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 7
Subseries II.G. Pamphlets on University of California, Santa Cruz (1992 – 1995)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains pamphlets on the University of California, Santa Cruz and its economic impact.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
1: 8
Subseries II.H. The Lavender Reader (1987 – 1998)
Two (2) Boxes; Twelve (12) Folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains the Lavender Reader. The Lavender Reader was a quarterly publication on the News and Review for Santa Cruz County’s Gay and Lesbian Community. The Lavender Reader was published by the Freedom Democratic Caucus.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
2-3: 9-20
SERIES III. PUBLIC ART ACTIVISM (1984 – 1985)
Two (2) Folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains correspondence and newspaper clippings related to the Seating at Ocean View Park and to the DiPasquale’s Fiberglass Indian. The correspondence includes letters, handwritten notes, and petitions. The newspaper clippings include articles and letters to the editor from multiple points of view.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 21-22
SERIES IV. 1989 LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE (1989 – 1990)
Two (2) Folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains newspaper and magazine articles from the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta Eathquake. The papers include the University of California, Santa Cruz City on a Hill Press, The Monthly Planet, The Sun, and The EpiCenter. Some of the articles in the EpiCenter include “The Teacup is Bloody but Unbowed,” “The Great Wall of Santa Cruz,” “Rising from the Rubble”, “And the Bookshop came Tumbling Down.” One of the articles in the EpiCenter “Doomed to Repeat the Same Mistakes” talks about the danger and damage to the archives and the efforts to preserve them.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 23-24
SERIES V. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM (1972 – 1998)
Six (6) Folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains material about environmental activism in Santa Cruz County including 1) Logging in Santa Cruz County, 2) Santa Cruz Beach Development, and 3) Neary Lagoon.
Subseries V.A. Santa Cruz Action Network and Other Publications (1985 – 1992)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains some publications from the Santa Cruz Action Network (SCAN). There is also a newsletter from Citizens for Planning Reform, two newsletters from FORUM published by People of Santa Cruz County, and a pullout section from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 25
Subseries V.B. Seabright Area Plan (1981)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains a draft of the Seabright Area Plan dated July 1981. This area plan was developed to 1) preserve the small-scale residential character of the area through time, 2) diminish the deleterious impacts of tourism in the immediate neighborhood, and 3) provide policies and programs to guide future physical development within the Seabright area.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 26
Subseries V.C. Logging in Santa Cruz County: Can Our Forests Survive? (1993)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains materials related to the organization of a Sierra Club Conference on 6 November 1993 at the Santa Cruz Congregational Church. Dan Dickmeyer was the conference coordinator. The materials include correspondence to and from Gary Patton, County Supervisor, the organization of the conference, and budget.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 27
Subseries V.D. Beach/South of Laurel Plan (1998)
One (1) Folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains material related to the 1998 Beach Area Plan. This material contains a pamphlet explaining why a Beach Area Plan. There are also newspaper articles from Metro Santa Cruz and the Epicenter critical of the plan. There are other materials both for and against.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 28
Subseries V.E. Affordable Housing Projects in the Vicinity of Neary Lagoon (1972 – 1989)
Two (2) Folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains material related to Housing Projects near Neary Lagoon. There is a map showing the proposed development. There is a small scrapbook containing letters from local residents against this project, the scrapbook also contains information on the impacted wildlife. There are environmental impact reports and newspaper clippings related to this proposal.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
4: 29-30
SERIES VI. LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDERED (LGBT) ACTIVISM (1975 – 2009)
Two (2) Boxes, Twenty-three (23) Folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains material related to Dan Dickmeyer’s LGBT Activism. This material includes flyers, newsletters, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, and business directories. This material reflects Dan’s interest in promoting basic rights for the LGBT Community.
Subseries VI.A. Gay Pride (1975 – 2008)
Five (5) Folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains material related to Gay Pride Events held in Santa Cruz. There are newspaper clippings, schedules, pamphlets, flyers, copies of permit applications submitted to the city, and a poster of typical anti-LGBT newspaper stories from across the country. There are also newspaper clippings from 1975 providing background to efforts to organize the first gay pride event.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
5: 31-35
Subseries VI.B. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Information Especially Concerning AIDS/HIV (1975 – 1997)
Five (5) Folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains material to inform the LGBT Community. Primarily this information concerns AIDS/HIV. There are newspaper clippings, flyers, meeting agendas, and letters to the editor to raise awareness and to dispel myths.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
5: 36-40
Subseries VI.C. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Organizing and Protests (1975 – 1991)
Four (4) Folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains material related to protest organizing by the LGBT Community. There is a flyer and meeting schedule for a protest against Capitola Police arrests at Capitola Beach. There is a statement about the Santa Cruz Orange Juice Boycott, and the Statement of Purpose for the Santa Cruz Gay Rights Coalition. There is also information about the protest against the draft plus other materials and newspaper clippings.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
5: 41-44
Subseries VI.D. Flyers, Pamphlets and Newsletters (1975 – 2009)
Nine (9) Folders
Subseries Scope, Content and Summary
This subseries contains flyers, pamphlets and newsletters for the LGBT Community. These include People Like Us (monthly publication in Santa Cruz in 1981): Gay & Lesbian Community News, the Last Thursday’s Men’s Group, the Lesbian and Gay Men’s Union, the Santa Cruz Gay Calendar, the Freedom Democratic Caucus, and A Gay Evening in May.
Box ID#: Folder ID #
6: 45-53
SERIES VII. Photographs
One (1) Folder
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains photographs taken and collected by Dan Dickmeyer. There are fifteen (15) loose photographs of a Hot Air Balloon Festival in Santa Cruz County. There is also a small plastic covered photo album. The cover is blue. This album contains twenty-four (24) photographs of different building wall murals in and around Santa Cruz.
Box ID#: Folder ID#
6: 54
SERIES VIII. EPHEMERA
One (1) Box
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains ephemera collected by Dan Dickmeyer. Included is a 25 Years of Pride, Santa Cruz, CA t-shirt. There is a flyer for “The Gay Closet: Do You Dare Open It.” There is a benefit for the Lesbian and Gay Men’s Union ticket. There are seven (7) cassette tapes labelled “Logging Conf.” There is also the following political buttons:
