Ron Puhalski

Born in New Haven Connecticut Ron Puhalski is a committed community member currently living in Athens, NY with his partner Sam. In his two part oral history Puhalski tells stories ranging from growing up in a racially diverse city at the end of the Second World War when local icemen and knife sharpeners were the norm, to his time at a Seminary, to biking around with his lover and friends on the mud roads that would end up serving as the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan; to surviving a near fatal accident in New York where he was saved by a stranger he is still in touch with. Many people have a reoccurring role in Puhalski’s life including his parents, his dear friend Nick, Tricia (his one time girlfriend), and Nikos, the man who saved his life. Puhalski’s stories provide insights into what it is and was to be a white gay man in urban and rural setting in the pre and post Stonewall eras. At the end of the 3rd audio file, Ron speaks at length about how he understands activism, which he understands to be related to reaching out. Within this last section he also speaks at length about dealing with other people’s apathy and his own struggle with the resistance he often has within himself towards activists.

This interview would be of interest to those curious in the underrepresented history of the Northeast, the names and location of NYC gay nightlife in the immediate post Stonewall era, the daily life of a young gay man working and loving, leading up to the early days of the US AIDS crisis, and those interested in how people live through their activism and advocacy through community engagement.