Archives
The Pines and the Fight Against AIDS
The Pines was Ground Zero for both the start of the AIDS epidemic and the world’s response to it. As we mark World AIDS Day on December 1st, we look back on the journey that brought us to the point that AIDS is no longer a fatal disease, and on the profound role members of the Pines community played in making that possible. These warriors banded with others from across the country to overcome immense resistance and reshape how medical research is conducted and expand the social-service systems we rely on today. In this way, they improved the lives for millions of people. Today, with the LGBTQ+ community once again under siege, it is essential that we honor and carry forward the stories of some of America’s greatest heroes..
Pines Profile - Eric L. Sawyer (b. 1954)
“Eric is a true hero. What he did – and still does -- the sacrifices he makes and what he has accomplished for our community, is simply remarkable.”
- Jim Pepper, Former Board Member GMHC, and Founder of Stonewall Community Foundation.
Memoirs of a Dockmaster
The harbor is one of the Pines’ most distinctive features. In the late 1980s it was its own kind of theater-- a floating stage where yachts, ferries, and seaplanes carried an ever-changing cast of characters, ranging from celebrities like Madonna, Peter Allen, and Liza Minnelli to foreign dignitaries guarded by men with Uzis to hundreds of drag queens arriving in full regalia for the July 4th Invasion. Henderson Rose was a dockmaster from 1986 to 1990 and had a front row seat to it all. From chatting with Tony Randall on the docks to sipping cocktails with Joan Rivers and helping to keep order as throngs of revelers flowed between Tea, house parties, and the Pavilion, his memories of those summers are as fresh as if they happened yesterday.