Martha N. Patrick was interviewed by Brooke Studdard on April 30, 2021 and May 2, 2021 Northampton, MA and Hadley, MA.

Narrator:

Martha N. Patrick has called the Pioneer Valley home for several decades, and as a result, has made many contributions to the local queer community. Most interested in the start-up aspect of business, Martha opened two LGBTQ gift stores in the 1990s: Pride’s Presents in Provincetown and Pride and Joy in Northampton. Pride and Joy was an important queer community space and enjoyed its busiest day of the year during the annual Northampton Pride march. As the owner of one of Northampton’s most visible queer businesses, Martha was the first president of the Northampton Area Lesbian and Gay Business Guild. Martha operated her Northampton store, Pride and Joy, while earning her BA through the Ada Comstock program at Smith College. After graduating, Martha pursued queer work in higher education, which included becoming the assistant director of Stonewall Center at UMass Amherst and the director of the Rainbow Center at the University of Connecticut. Martha is currently fifty-eight years old, and lives in Hadley, Massachusetts with her spouse and son.

Abstract:

In this oral history, Martha N. Patrick reflects on her involvement with the queer community over time. Martha recalls her childhood and early queer identity, the experience of opening two LGBTQ giftstores, queer life in Northampton, and her work in LGBTQ university resource centers. Martha concludes by reflecting on family, parenting, the pandemic, and her relation to queerness today.

Interviewer:
Brooke Studdard is from El Paso, Texas and transferred to Smith College after one year at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a double-major in Government and the Study of Women and Gender and a member of the class of 2023J. She is passionate about climate justice, reproductive justice, community organizing, and mental health.

Please note: this interview mentions homophobia, violence and threats of violence.