Early Court Snippets

January, in Calgary, can be a cold month. Bringing some warmth and frolicking good times in January 1977 was “Winter Wonderland,” the Imperial Court of the Chinook Arch’s first Coronation Ball.

The Calgary Gay History Project was fortunate to interview Dale Campbell this week. Active in the early years of Calgary’s court system—now called the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch (ISCCA)—he shared photos and memories of that first Coronation ball.

{Note: the ISCCA is still going strong and will be hosting Coronation 47 this April at the Hyatt. Click here to read a short history of the storied organization in Calgary.}

Dale, also known then as Countess Dixie Lee Ann, has fond memories of the parties (sometimes boozy) and the camaraderie of the 1970s gay community. Yet, soberingly, many individuals in these early Court photos would later be lost to AIDS.

Here are a few snapshots of those early years.

Thank you, Dale, for sharing your memories and these images!

{KA}