Description
Journals and scrapbooks containing photographs,
gift cards, newspaper clippings, textiles, ephemera, handwritten notes, and
miscellaneous typescripts documenting the life of Kenneth L. Wiederhold, a gay
man from Michigan who became an active participant in the Los Angeles gay
community from the 1970s through the 1990s. Most of the scrapbooks were
compiled by Wiederhold himself, ranging from his early childhood in 1950's
Michigan to his death from AIDS in 1995. Some scrapbooks, however, were
compiled by a family member or friend after his death. The materials document
such events as Wiederhold's time in the Researve Officers' Training Corps
(ROTC) at Michigan State University, vacations and gatherings, participation in
gay organizations such as SAGA and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community
Services Center, and his wedding to Drew Staffen in 1994.
Background
Kenneth L. Wiederhold was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on January 26,
1946, the fourth child of Henry and Freda Wiederhold. He graduated from Creston
High School, where he participated in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps
(ROTC), in 1964. After graduating from Michigan State University in 1969 with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, Wiederhold moved to Los
Angeles, where he worked for Blue Cross, and, from the late 1970s, for
Citi-Corp Bank, where he rose to the rank of Vice President. In 1977, he
enrolled at Pepperdine University, from which he received an MA in Psychology
in 1981. Wiederhold and his then partner became involved with EST (Erhard
Seminars Training) and the Advocate Experience in the late 1970s, and later
were very active with the Recreation Committee of SAGA (Gay Ski, Snowboard and
Social Club), of which Wiederhold served as Vice President in 1984-1985 and
President in 1985-1986. He was also later involved with the funding and
remodeling of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center. After
several long-term relationships, in 1994, Wiederhold met Drew Staffen, whom he
married at their Los Angeles home in September of that year in front of friends
and family. Wiederhold died of AIDS on July 22, 1995.
Extent
6 archive cartons + 1 banker's
box + 19 scrapbook album boxes (10 linear feet).
Restrictions
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Availability
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.