Seattle Culture
Back Page: ‘He is a Homosexual’
Revealing new light on a complex problem
By Rob Smith August 22, 2024
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Seattle magazine.
Even today, almost 57 years later, the cover line is provocative, bold, and arresting.
“This is Peter Wichern.
He is a local businessman.
He is a homosexual.”
Seattle magazine staffers found Wichern at a meeting of the Dorian Society, the Seattle affiliate “of a national network of ‘homophile’ organizations.” Wichern, apparently, was one of the few attendees willing to openly discuss his experiences.
The Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project even conducted an interview in 2002 with Wichern’s partner for the last 13 years of his life, Louis Giguere. Wichern loved the article but disliked the photo.
“He thought he looked like a nerd in the picture,” Giguere said. “The picture, I think, was taken to try to say: ‘This is a normal person; this is a local businessman, and guess what: he’s gay.’” Giguere goes on to describe Wichern as a “rabble-rouser, without a doubt. This picture, while it looks nice for the cover — it wasn’t Peter.”
Wichern died in 1996.
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