WWII vet 'lit torch' for Hawai'i's gay residents
By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer
If Fred Methered were still alive, he probably would have lots to say about the recent gay-rights debates in the state.
Advertiser library photo • June 30, 2001
From the 1960s until his death at age 91 in 1999, Methered was a voice of civil rights for Hawai'i's gay community.
Carolyn Golojuch revived PFLAG after her son came out in 1995.
As the national organization of PFLAG — Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — celebrates its 20th anniversary nationwide, O'ahu's PFLAG chapter is looking back, praising Methered for being a pioneer.
Methered, a married father of three children and active in the Hawaii Council of Churches, came out as a homosexual in 1972. He was a World War II veteran, a federal military historian and a grandfather of seven who helped found the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. He also worked as a gay activist within the United Methodist Church and received a lifetime award for his service from PFLAG.
"He lit the torch for us," said Carolyn Golojuch, who revived the organization here after her son came out to her in 1995, "and it's our obligation to keep it going."
PFLAG, a national nonprofit organization with a membership of more than 80,000 households and more than 450 affiliates worldwide, has about 50 members on O'ahu alone. It also has had its share of critics since promoting gay rights in Hawai'i with ads on city buses, building a holiday lights display and pushing legislators to pass a hate-crimes bill. Gay-rights debates played out before the legislature and the school board in 2001.
PFLAG O'ahu meetings
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7 to 9 p.m., second Wednesday of each month
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First Unitarian Church, 2500 Pali Highway
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For more information, call 672-9050
Golojuch, a social worker who lost a bid for the school board in the last election, has taken hits from PFLAG critics. But she's glad her organization has evolved from a support group to one that also promotes advocacy and education.
She still sees PFLAG's role as a opportunity for people to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity, but she wants the group to keep evolving.
"I don't take my freedoms lightly, and I don't take them for granted anymore," she said. "I do believe in family values, and I do believe in families. I don't see it as an agenda. I see it as a mission that all of our families are included in."
Reach Tanya Bricking at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.
