Showing 12 results

The Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS) was an umbrella organization for 12 sub-organizations established in 1980 and incorporated in 1982. HUGS provided a range of services and information, education and peer counselling, hosted social events, created spaces for support groups and connected people to other services that were related to LGBTQ+ issues. Gayline was Hamilton’s first telephone counselling service for gays and lesbians that was first operated by the Hamilton-McMaster Homophile Association on March 20, 1975 and was continued by HUGS. HUGS also had a community centre at 41 King William Street in downtown Hamilton.

The sub-organizations of Hamilton United Gay Societies:

1. HUGS RAP Group
2. Gay Youth of Hamilton
3. HUGS Dance Committee
4. HUGS Speakers Bureau
5. Gay Fathers of Hamilton
6. Gayline
7. Metropolitan Community Church of Hamilton
8. Gay Women’s Collective
9. Gay Phoenix Newsletter
10. Hamilton-Wentworth Gay Archives/History Project
11. Gay Monitors
12. Gay Alcoholics Anonymous

Series consists of constitutions, meeting minutes, reports, calendars, press releases, correspondence, flyers, pamphlets, handouts, reading lists, articles, Summer Employment/Experience Development (SEED) project documents, newspaper clippings, Lesbian/Gayline call sheets and reports, Gay Phoenix and The Phoenix newsletter copies and masters and other related materials.

Contains subseries:
3.1 – Administrative files
3.2 – Sub-organizations and associated groups and events
3.3 – Lesbian/Gayline
3.4 – Gay Phoenix/The Phoenix

Series consists of audio-visual materials such as audio cassettes, DVDs, VHS, and floppy disks. Audio cassette tapes are mostly from the Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS). DVDs and VHS tapes are mostly recorded segments of Toronto Pride and news coverage of LGBTQ+ issues from CHCH, CHTV and Cable 14. Some VHS tapes were of Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS) events.

This series includes artifacts from the Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS) and Hamilton Gay and Lesbian Alliance (HGALA) such as the HUGS/HGALA Honour Roll plaque, HUGS buttons, and t-shirts while other materials are Pride-related.

On February 1991, the Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS) transitioned to the Hamilton Gay and Lesbian Alliance (Hamilton GALA or HGALA). HGALA continued to provide services and information to the LGBTQ+ community and the broader community in Hamilton. The suborganizations under HGALA were the Lesbian/Gayline, Dance Committee Volunteers, Support Group, Youth Group, Hamilton Lesbian Collective (HLC), Lesbian Support Group, Speakers Bureau, Phoenix Newsletter, Hamilton-Wentworth Gay Archives and the Hamilton GALA Computer Bulletin Board.

Series consists of constitutions, membership files, meeting minutes, balance sheets, correspondence, notes, memorandum, files related to Festival ’91, pamphlets, reports, newspaper clippings, flyers, petitions, and the Joe Oliver v. The Corporation of the City of Hamiton and Mayor Robert Morrow case files.

Series consists of photographs, negatives and slides of various events, locations, and people involved with the lesbian and gay groups as well as Michael Johnstone’s personal photographs. These records include the Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS)/Hamilton Gay and Lesbian Alliance (HGALA) Honour Roll Dinners from 1988 to 1992, Pride in Toronto and Pride 2000 in Hamilton, Festival ’91, HUGS Social Events such as the HUGS Corn Roast, garage sales, and the HUGS 10th anniversary dance and Meetings and Locations such as the opening of the HUGS Community Centre. The negatives and slides are of photographs in this series.

Contains subseries:
11.1 – HUGS/HGALA Honour Roll Dinners
11.2 – Pride
11.3 – Festival ‘91
11.4 – HUGS Social Events
11.5 – Meetings and Locations
11.6 – Events and People
11.7 – Negatives and Slides

The Hamilton-McMaster Gay Liberation Movement, the first gay liberation group in Hamilton, was founded by Dr. John Stewart and Susan Rosenthal after a lecture on homosexuality by George Hislop of the Community Homophile Association (CHAT) in November 1972. It was officially established with its first executive committee on January 1973. They changed their name to McMaster Homophile Association (MHA) on January 1976 and was active until 1979 under the name Hamilton-McMaster Homophile Association. The Hamilton-McMaster Homophile Association was a member of the National Gay Rights Coalition (NGRC), an organization of gay associations across Canada who challenged federal government laws regarding homosexuality. They were also a member of the Coalition for Gay Rights in Ontario (later known as Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario, CLGRO), an organization of lesbian and gay groups and individuals focused in Ontario. They hosted dances, educational programs, established Hamilton’s first Gayline, and produced the Dialogue newsletters. The Hamilton-McMaster Homophile Association was also politically active and submitted briefs to the Ontario Human Rights Commission to include sexual orientation within the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Association of McMaster (formerly Gay and Lesbian Association at McMaster) was a social and support network for gay men, lesbians and bisexuals that began in 1986 and received support from the Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS). They had weekly support groups, social groups, peer counselling, educational presentations, a radio show on CFMU 93.3 FM, and a column on The Silhouette. GLBAM was a member of CLGRO and the Coalition of Lesbians and Gays on Campus (CLGC).

Series consists of administrative records such as constitutions and by-laws, financial statements, correspondence, newspaper clippings, the Dialogue newsletters from the Hamilton-McMaster Gay Liberation Movement, The 10% newsletters from the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Association of McMaster (GLBAM), The Phoenix and 10% newsletters, and The Silhouette newspaper clippings.

The fonds is composed of materials from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) organizations in Hamilton and its surrounding areas founded from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. Textual materials include agendas, meeting minutes, reports, financial statements, notes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, pamphlets, information sheets, flyers, magazines, newspapers, programme books, booklets, directories, bibliographies, and articles. The fonds also consists of other materials such as t-shirts, buttons, a plaque, photographs, posters, artwork, audio cassette tapes, DVDS, floppy disks and VHS tapes.
Contains series and subseries:
Series 1 – Hamilton AIDS Network for Dialogue and Support (HANDS)
Series 2 – Hamilton-McMaster LGBTQ+ Groups
Series 3 – Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS)
Subseries 3.1 – Administrative files
Subseries 3.2 – Sub-organizations and associated groups and events
Subseries 3.3 – Lesbian/Gayline
Subseries 3.4 – Gay Phoenix/The Phoenix
Series 4 – Hamilton Gay and Lesbian Alliance (HGALA)
Series 5 – Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO)
Series 6 – Hamilton Pride
Series 7 – Associated Organizations and Events
Series 8 – Resources and Subject files
Series 9 – Publications
Subseries 9.1 – Hamilton
Subseries 9.2 – South/South Western Ontario
Subseries 9.3 – Ontario
Subseries 9.4 – Outside of Ontario and across Canada
Subseries 9.5 – International
Series 10 – Artifacts
Series 11 – Photographs
Subseries 11.1 – HUGS/HGALA Honour Roll Dinners
Subseries 11.2 – Pride
Subseries 11.3 – Festival ‘91
Subseries 11.4 – HUGS Social Events
Subseries 11.5 – Meetings and Locations
Subseries 11.6 – Events and People
Subseries 11.7 – Negatives and slides
Series 12 – Posters and oversized materials
Series 13 – Audio-visual materials

This collection principally consists of early to mid-20th century postcards collected by Michael Johnstone depicting Hamilton, Hamilton citizens, and the Hamiltonian lifestyle at the time. Examples include: King street landscapes, Ellen Fairclough, Gage Park, the City Hospital, and New City Hall. Furthermore, collection contains non-postcard ephemera from the early 20th century such as photographs, Stereoscopic prints, an insurance policy, and a commemorative centennial coin.

Materials are organized into the following series:
Series 01: Motorways and waterways. – [ca. 1910-1915, 1960]
Series 02: Advertisements. – [ca. 1913]
Series 03: People. - [ca. 1901 - 1913, 1958 -1960]
Series 04: Parks and landscapes. - [ca.1907 - 1910, 1929, 1938 - 1940]
Series 05: Mountain Inclines. - [ca. 1903 -1910]
Series 06: Hospitals and Asylums. - [ca. 1906 - 1921]
Series 07: Streets and Streetcars. - [ca. 1900 - 1940]
Series 08: Hamilton Market. - [ca. 1910 - 1913]
Series 09: Churches. - [ca. 1906 – 1911, 1929]
Series 10: Railways and Train stations. - [ca. 1908-1920]
Series 11: Buildings. - [ca. 1905 - 1920, 1941,1955, 1960]
Series 12: Non-Postcard Materials. - (1906-1920, 1956)

This collection principally consists of early to mid-20th century postcards collected by Michael Johnstone on the Bank of Hamilton and its expansion from Hamilton to western Canada. Examples include: the Bank of Hamilton building in downtown Hamilton, Bank of Hamilton branches in rural towns of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and Bank of Hamilton Seasonal greetings. Furthermore, collection contains non-postcard ephemera related to the bank, including advertisements for the bank’s savings account, a notepad and 1890’s Bank of Hamilton passbook.