This story begins and ends with a disco.
Bill Hoover and Edward Lee Evans met in 1975 at a disco in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood.
“I actually chased him,” Evans, who goes by Lee, bragged in a recent interview.
“He chased me,” Hoover confirmed, chuckling.
Hoover, 77, and Evans, 70, embarked on a relationship that has spanned five decades and took them on a journey to fight for gay rights from Akron to Los Angeles and back. The couple, who got married in California in 2008, will mark the 50-year anniversary of when they started dating July 13 with a disco-themed celebration.
Hoover, who is originally from Canton, got his start as an activist at Kent State University, where he was a graduate student in sociology in 1971 when he and two others started the Kent Gay Liberation Front.
Hoover and Evans went to Los Angeles in 1977 to fight against a proposal that would have banned gay people and their supporters from teaching. They returned to Northeast Ohio to care for ailing parents in 2014, living first in Canton and then Akron.
Ken Ditlevson, who served for 11 years as director of the LGBTQ+ center at Kent State University that will soon be closed because of a new state law, appreciates Hoover and Evans for both their contributions to the cause and upcoming 50-year milestone.
“I think it’s impressive for any relationship,” said Ditlevson, who plans to attend the couple’s anniversary party. “In the LGBTQ community, you don’t hear about long-lasting relationships. It’s very impressive and it’s something to celebrate.”
The Beacon Journal talked to Hoover and Evans during a recent interview in their West Akron home about their relationship that has spanned from when gay people were first fighting for their rights to a time when they have made many gains but are still fighting.
When did you first come out as being gay?
Hoover: I came out in 1968. How old would I have been – 20?
Evans: I think he was 20. He graduated from high school in 1966. How come I know this and you don’t? I think you’re getting a bit forgetful.
Were your parents supportive?
Hoover: My parents ignored everything.
Evans: Compared to mine, they were.
I came out at 20 … My parents gave an ultimatum. They told me I could either join the military or start dating women or leave. There was pretty much only one choice.
When did you two meet?
Evans: We met at American Hotel and Restaurant, a disco in Kenmore. They had great music … We started dating in July. I think it was July 13, when we are having our anniversary party. We got married in California in 2008 – the day Obama was elected.
What are your plans for your anniversary party?
Hoover: It has a disco theme. It’s at Cocktails, a gay bar.
Evans: Everyone is welcome.
Hoover: At 3 p.m., the bar opens. At 5, there will be food. There will be entertainment and drag queens.
Evans: If you want to wear disco clothes, you can. We aren’t.
Hoover: We don’t have any.
What is the secret to your staying together for 50 years?
Evans: I have no idea. People keep asking that.
Hoover: They also ask us, ‘What’s the secret to us looking our ages?’
Do not party too little.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3705.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Secrets for success: 5 questions with local long-time activists in the gay community
Reporting by Stephanie Warsmith, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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