I was impressed with George when I saw him in the documentary, Word is Out (1977). I was 24 years old then and I didn't have a lot of positive gay role models in Oklahoma. Then I met George in the flesh when I moved to San Francisco in 1979 and I enjoyed our discussions about politics and history. Yes, George was a great contributor to our community! His partner, Bruce Pettit (he published the Pettit Report in the 1980s), still lives in Noe Valley, and I run into him on the #24 bus now and then.
John Mehring
San Francisco
Rodger Streitmatter, author of Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, interviewed George Mendenhall on Sept. 13, 1993, five months before George died (he did not die of AIDS). Discussing AIDS, Mendenhall said, We should have done more to warn our readers [B.A.R. readers]. When I look back now on my life and think about what I'd do different, that's the first thing that comes to mind. If I could do it over again, I'd have sounded the alarm much sooner and much louder. [It's not clear in the book if Mendenhall is speaking about AIDS in general or high-risk sex in the bathhouses in particular. -- page 258]
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