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In 1967, the club operated under<br />
the name 1207 and was ran by<br />
a straight man. The club was a<br />
known gay venue but the owner<br />
would charge straight patrons a<br />
fee to “view the queers”. For this<br />
reason, gay patrons boycotted<br />
the club, leading to its closure.<br />
When 1207 went bankrupt<br />
in 1968, Lois Szabo and 4<br />
unnamed members took over<br />
the lease, renaming it Club<br />
Carousel. Upon reopening, the<br />
club required membership and<br />
operated under a strict “no<br />
straights” policy. Memberships<br />
were sold to patrons with number<br />
identifiers instead of names to<br />
protect them. Many people were<br />
afraid of losing their jobs or being<br />
arrested because homosexuality<br />
wasn’t decriminalized by Pierre<br />
Trudeau until 1969.<br />
1207 1ST ST SW<br />
“In those days everyone<br />
was pretty scared to put<br />
their name on anything<br />
even though it didn’t say<br />
it was a gay society. They<br />
were afraid of losing<br />
their jobs, family finding<br />
out, getting arrested and<br />
things like that.”<br />
—Lois Szabo<br />
On its first night, the club was<br />
charged. Founding members<br />
applied for a Provincial Societies<br />
Act Charter but were yet again<br />
charged. This left 3 of the<br />
founding members unsettled<br />
and they backed out leaving Lois<br />
Szabo as President.<br />
CLUB CAROUSEL<br />
11
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