Deb Tiemens[/caption] Deb Tiemens enjoyed her time in college. It gave her the opportunity to be a leader, refine her craft as a musician and flourish. She was the success story of the students Northwestern College wanted to graduate. Not long after graduation, it was no surprise that she was selected to she was hired by the college as an admissions recruiter. After starting a relationship with another woman, she sought guidance on what to do as a lesbian. In her story, she shares the opposition and challenges she faced, how she found support and the amazing opportunity to reconnect to her faith and heal. Deb Tiemens and I got to know each other in college. I am grateful for her gracious ability to share her personal coming out experience. Many are wounded in an environment of religious rejection. Amazingly, Deb was able to find a place of acceptance of those who rejected and tried to “fix” her and and a comfortable place in her spiritual life. Deb shares the importance of authenticity and the healing power of community. Deb Tiemens is a gifted singer/song writer. Before and after the interview, she sings Friends of the Heart and A New Song to Sing. These songs were performed during her presentation to the Room for All National Conference. Her album, Muse, can be found at cdbaby.com/cd/tiemens on itunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/muse/id48760515.
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Arden Eversmeyer[/caption] Here in episode #8, we have a conversation with Arden Eversmeyer, The founder of the old lesbian Herstory Project. She started interviewing lesbians over the age of 70, nineteen years ago. Thankfully, this project has saved life stories of lesbians born in early 1900s. Today, the Herstory Project has completed over 500 lesbian life stories and anticipates adding another 100 this year. These finished life stories are a gift from all of the women involved. Starting with a recorded interview and transcription, the finished story is a beautiful document including pictures, awards and achievements. [caption id="attachment_578" align="alignright" width="150"]
Arden and her wife Charlotte[/caption] The oral histories are given to each woman who shares her story and are archived at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. From the collection of stories, there are 2 books: A Gift of Age, and Without Apology. They give a glimpse of what life was like for the strong women who have gone before us. These women were true to themselves and fully engaged in life. For more information on the Old Lesbian Story Project go to: OLOHP.org Please support the Lesbian Story Project by subscribing to the podcast on I-tunes and leave a rating and review. This will get the word out to more lesbians.
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Standing Rock Photo by Sky Yarbrough[/caption] [caption id="attachment_484" align="alignleft" width="160"]
Sky Yarbrough[/caption] Sky Yarbrough recently visited the tribe at Standing Rock. She went to help them as they were overrun by the Dakota Access pipeline,Support is showing up in food, supplies and money. At this recording, there are 10 different feeding stations to feed thousands of people. The winters ahead, in North Dakota, are grim with temperatures at -45 degrees. On Oct. 11th, the US government will meet with the Standing Rock Tribe on how tribal input can better impact government policy. To find out more information on Standing Rock, Facebook is full of resources. You call search Standing Rock on Facebook and find lots of resources. I also found stories reported by Laura Flanders to be helpful. https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=laura%20flanders%20standing%20rock The Standing Rock official tribe page provides updates and receives donations going directly to the tribe. They provide news releases to update people on the protest. http://standingrock.org [caption id="attachment_485" align="alignright" width="156"]
Sky and Mary[/caption] It's amazing that Sky and I can have a conversation and keep it under 40 mins. The first time we tried to podcast, she gave me 2 hours of conversation to edit. I have seen many strengths in Sky. The passion in her voice, community and the next generation. In editing the podcast, I found some of my words to be naive. From this discussion, I believe the movement is bigger than Standing Rock. Treaties and violations of the planet will no longer continue as they have in the past. Through the internet, justice is playing out in front of a world audience.
Pulp Fiction arrived on the scene after World War 2. With rising literacy rates, the publishing industry seized the opportunity to create books that had a high 
quality book cover and low quality paper for the story. Thus came the term pulp fiction. Lesbian pulp fiction sold to the general population of both men and women. It also provided a connection for lesbians unable to live openly albeit askew from reality. In this interview, Robin discusses the history of Lesbian Pulp Fiction. With the stigma against lesbians during this era, Robin's curiosity unravels a secret world of authors and their stories. The following list of books in the interview and are a good introduction to the genre. Robin's favorites: Lesbian Pulp Fiction by Katherine V. Forrest The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith This book will be released as a movie under the title "Carol". Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule We too are Drifting by Gayle Wilhelm Books by Valerie Taylor and Paula Christian Other Titles and Authors Mentioned in the Interview: The Ann Bannon Series- Available in book , digital download and audio at AnnBannon.com Spring Fire by Vin Packer Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
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Sculptures by Tess Ridgel[/caption] 
Tess Ridgel shares a wonderful coming of age story. Unlike many of us, her mom was a lesbian. When Tess was sadden by losing her girl friend, her mom had the insight to share what those feelings could mean. She didn't encourage Tess to be a lesbian, but felt it was important for Tess to make her own choice. She now cuts down trees for forest fire mitigation. In addition, she spends her time creating artwork and pieces of art and altars from choice pieces of cut wood. She also creates wonderful paintings of pets and images that catch her eye. She is a professional landscaper in Denver, CO. You can find out more about her work at her business worksite: http://www.oaksundesigns.com/ [caption id="attachment_331" align="aligncenter" width="232"]
Artwork by Tess Ridgel[/caption]