Maryhelen A. Hibben interviewed by Lily Gillis Jacobs on March 25, 2022 on the Zoom platform.

Narrator:
Maryhelen A. Hibben was born to German immigrant parents in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1956, where she lived until she went off to college at eighteen. She came out as a lesbian during her first year in college and quickly entered the lesbian social scene, which became a huge part of her life.

Hibben has been involved in many LGBTQ+ organizations throughout her life, including multiple bands. She plays the French horn, trumpet, and alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Hibben was one of the original members of the LGBT Freedom Trail Band, which marched in the Northampton Pride Parade sometime around 1985. She is a longtime friend of one of the organizers, Jil Krolik. Hibben has performed at many other events, including other pride parades and the Gay Games. Later, she went on to help found the Queen City Rainbow Band, an LGBT band based in Cincinnati. Outside of bands, she has played on various softball teams, been a member of the Gaylaxians queer sci-fi club, and the Gays for Patsy country western dancing club. She was a founding member of the Leaping Lesbians newsletter, and part of a collective which ran The Women’s Bookstore in Ann Arbor. Hibben has degrees in industrial design and computer science and has also studied archeology, anthropology, and electrical engineering, working a variety of jobs in positions including data analyst and computer graphics specialist.

Hibben has lived in the Midwest and New England throughout her life. At the time of this interview, Hibben was living in Hopedale, Massachusetts, where she has resided since 2011.

Interviewer:
Lily Gillis Jacobs is a student at Smith College, class of 2022 majoring in the study of women and gender and minoring in psychology.

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