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Finding aid of the Dennice DuRay and Gladys L. Ragan Letters
Received
Coll2008-067
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Title: Dennice DuRay and Gladys L. Ragan letters
received
Dates: 1951-1958
Collection number: Coll2008-067
Creator:
DuRay, Dennice L.
Creator:
Ragan, Gladys L.
Collection Size: 1 archive carton.
0.4 linear feet.
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: Letters received by Dennice DuRay, 1951, and
Gladys L. Regan, 1955-1958, both of Downey, CA, from male correspondents. The
correspondences appear to have been initiated by DuRay and Ragan in response to
advertisements placed in the personals sections of Los Angeles newspapers.
Information, both in the letters and circumstantial, suggests that DuRay and
Ragan may have been impostors, possibly even the same individual. The letters
contain substantial discussion of sex, including homosexual acts, although the
orientation of the men was predominantly heterosexual.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions
to the letters from "Louie", Kenneth M. Simons and Gordon L. Pearce; for access
to the letters from Fred. H. Ottesen, Harry A. Siitonen and Howard M. Parker,
please consult the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives staff.
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).
Dennice DuRay and Glaldys L. Ragan letters received, Coll2008-067, ONE
National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Date and manner of acquisition unknown.
Formerly part of box 103-352. Collection processed by Misha Karbelnig,
November 21, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
No independently verifiable information is presently available on either
Dennice DuRay or Gladys L. Ragan. What information is available was gleaned
from the letters addressed to them by a series of male correspondents, none of
whom met either DuRay or Ragan in person. This information is inconsistent, and
suggests that DuRay and Ragan were less than truthful to their correspondents.
Indeed, the contradictory nature of some information suggests that DuRay and
Ragan may have been impostors, possibly even the same individual.
The information on DuRay comes from the letters, dated 1951, from her
sole correspondent, Fred Ottesen. According to these letters, DuRay was an
ex-model, dimensions 36-24-35, with a large wardrobe. She had been married
previously, but her husband had died years ago, possibly in San Francisco in
1944; she currently lived with her aunt, and dated many men. She lived at 8336
East 2nd Street, Downey, CA, c/o "A. Spire".
The information on Ragan comes from letters addressed to her between
February 1955 and October 1958 by 4 separate correspondents. According to
letters dated from February 1955 to February 1956 from Gordon Pearce, Ragan had
been married previously and had a child. She kept her married name. She lived
with her aunt and uncle at 8336 East 2nd Street, Downey. Although in a letter
of April 15, Pearce writes that Ragan had no boyfriends, in a letter of May 8,
he writes that she had married again, to a man named Bill, whose last name she
refused to give; in a later letter Pearce writes that Bill was in the ministry.
From April 1955 onwards, Pearce's letters make frequent reference to one or
more surgical operations on Ragan's reproductive system that had left her
unable to have vaginal sex or bear children. Letters dated from August 1956 to
May 1957 from Kenneth Simons indicate that Ragan worked in the clothing trade,
keeping the hose of "old bags" straight; there are also frequent references to
a September 1956 operation on Ragan's reproductive system. Simons addressed his
letters to Ragan at 10727 1/2 Western, Downey; his last letter, postmarked May
2, 1957, was returned, readdressed to 8336 East 2nd Street, and re-mailed. A
letter of February 1958 from Harry A. Siitonen, addressed to Ragan at 10831 1/4
Brookshire, Downey, states that Ragan worked in "the Garment Jungle" and that
she came from Chicago. A letter of August 1958 from Howard M. Parker, also
addressed to Ragan at 10831 1/4 Brookshire, gives her measurements as
42-24-36.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of letters from a single male correspondent to
Dennice DuRay, c/o A. Spire, 8336 East 2nd Street, Downey, CA, in late 1951;
and from five male correspondents to Gladys L. Ragan, 8336 E. 2nd Street (1956:
10727 1/2 Western, Downey, and 1958: 10831 1/4 Brookshore, Downey), from early
1955 to late 1958, by five male correspondents. The correspondences appear to
have been initiated by DuRay and Ragan in response to advertisements placed in
the personals sections of Los Angeles newspapers, including the Mirror.
Information in the letters and the fact that both women lived at the same
address and never met their correspondents face-to-face, suggests that DuRay
and Ragan were less than truthful to their correspondents, and may have been
impostors, possibly even the same individual. The letters contain substantial
discussion of sex, including homosexual acts, although the orientation of the
men was predominantly heterosexual. The collection includes summary notes on
each letter made by the processing archivist.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
DuRay, Dennice
Impostors and impostures
Letters
Ragan, Gladys L.