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Denton (Richard) papers
Coll2014-033
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Richard Denton papers
creator:
Denton, Richard
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2014-033
Physical Description:
4.8 Linear Feet
3 boxes, 2 cartons, 1 flat box.
Date (inclusive): 1931-1988
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.
Container: Acc0000.028*
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.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Date and method of acquisition unknown.
[Box/folder #, or item name] Richard Denton Papers, Coll2014-033, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Formerly boxes #103-282, 103-307, 104-004, 104-037, and 104-038. Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama, August 2014.
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.
This collection is divided into two series:
Series 1. Avengers Motorcycle Club and subject files
Series 2. Personal papers
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.
#AC2562, Dick Denton at his office in Claremont [sound recording], Brian James Miller Papers, Coll2014-010, ONE National Gay
& Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bells
Christian gays
Gay motorcycle clubs -- California -- Los Angeles
Gays -- Religious life
Leather lifestyle
Denton, Richard