Cherry Grove, Fire Island by Esther Newton

Recounts the history of Cherry Grove, from the 1930s to the present, including interviews with residents who describe the struggles, the partying, and the perseverance. By the author of Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America.

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For thousands of gay men and lesbians in America, Cherry Grove -- the oldest continuously inhabited resort on Fire Island -- has meant freedom. Not simply the leisure-time freedoms from work and noise and pollution, but the far rarer freedom to socialize in public without risking a beating, to stroll arm in arm without hesitation, to leave the curtains open without fear -- in short, to live the American dream that was denied to gay men and lesbians on the U.S. mainland. In her rich and detailed cultural history of Cherry Grove, Esther Newton tells for the first time the full story of this unique community, the oldest gay and lesbian town in America.