Michael Shepley, a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in the Central West End of St. Louis, is featured in the Missouri History Museum’s new exhibition, Gateway to Pride, the first-ever full-scale exhibit on St. Louis’ fascinating and powerfully relevant LGBTQIA+ history.
Michael is featured in a “coming out” section in which his letter home from boarding school in May 1967 reveals his homosexuality to his family. It also features a remarkable letter from his father in response. The new exhibit will be open until July 6, 2025.
You can learn more about Michael in his published memoir titled Sweeping the Clouds Away – Show Business and Other Salvations for A Gay Kid in the 1950s and 60s, an honest and humorous chronicle of the challenges for a gay adolescent and teenager in those more buttoned-up times. The book is being evaluated for sale in the Museum’s shop and at Left Bank Books – stay tuned for more information.
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