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History Matters: Delaware's Gay Beach

In the 70s and 80s, gay men from Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Baltimore would vacation on Delaware’s beaches. Rehoboth, with gay-accented bars like The Renegade and an entire section of its beach unofficially claimed by queer vacationers, quickly became a favorite. Men danced disco until the wee hours of the morning, experienced the tragedy of HIV/AIDS, and mobilized around a hate crime in the 1990s to fight for legal protections.

In this week’s piece – you’ll hear the voices of Steve Elkins, Max Dick, and Bob Hoffer from CAMP Rehoboth – which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.  The CAMP stands for Create a More Positive Rehoboth.

The three men, each with his own experience, represent different facets of the gay, male Rehoboth experience. Elkins was a staffer at the Carter White House — “sort of closeted” at meetings and on Capitol Hill— whereas Hoffer taught school in a rural town in Pennsylvania and constantly worried that his identity would be discovered and that he could lose his job.

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And let’s be honest, that’s pretty darn gay.
 

Sign up for emails from Fagabond for advice, reviews, and deals to make your vacation as gay as you are.

And let’s be honest, that’s pretty darn gay.
 

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