Betty Eicher - Ethyl Elizabeth Eicher 1913 - 1992 My Lesbian 2nd Cousin

Betty Eicher in Miamisburg OH. From the archives of Bill Eicher and Betty Eicher and Mary Parker Brown Dec 24 1884 - May 5 1961.
When I met my second cousin Bill Eicher who was 20 years my senior and the youngest of my parents generation, back in 1984 I was doing my "gay adolescence" as a gay dad, son and husband to Susan. I was struggling with clear boundaries without having a solid role model in my life to respect Susan, and my first son Nate, right after the death of my dad in Jan 1982. I now have a huge level of compassion for the emerging culture of LGBTQ communities throughout the world. Learning about the history of Schwuler Leute "gay people" for 200 years in Berlin Last summer through the connection with Jeremy Minsberg, formerly of St Paul and now in Berlin was a great boon to my understanding of my German heritage and the culture in Germany before the Nazi repression. Living in Minnesota and serving on the Twin Cities Men's Center Board as an openly gay man is the level of comfort I now have of being my authentic self. So grateful for the support of my spiritual sister, Jane Newell, who still grieves the loss of her Stevie, her blood brother Stephen Scott, who took his own life in the year 2000 with an overdose of cocaine, without integrating his true nature as a gay soul as we see it, living a double life, successful suburban school teacher and closeted urban addictive lifestyle. I dedicate my story telling and work to those LGBTQ souls who are here to live authentic lives in whatever culture or setting they are born into. To Stephen Scott, Matt Shepard, Harvey Milk and others, including those who died along side of the Jews, Romany, Jehovah Witnessnesse etc,, wearing the Pink Triangle during the Holocaust of the 20th C. I know I have been coming out at different levels since my introduction to the Program in Human Sexuality at the U of Minnesota Medical School in the early 1970's. Through my work at TCMC and Mankind Project International, I now am learning at a deeper level about being gay from other perspectives including Asian cultures like China and Korea. While cleaning out my files (Thanks China Stevie!) I just discovered a letter I sent to Jonathan Ned Katz at the Advocate in 1989 commenting on his article about Evangeline Whipple's relationship with Rose Cleveland, sister of the President. Happy more of the truth of relationships can make ours more real today too! See http://www.outhistory.org/wiki/Rose_Cleveland_and_Evangeline_Marrs_Simpson_Whipple:_1889-1918

Eicher's of Miamisburg OH Betty, Billy and Minnie Stupp Eicher ca 1930's

This is a photo of Bill Eichers Aunt Betty, his dad, William Eicher and his grandmother Minnie Stupp Eicher, wife of Charles.
Bill and I sat in his home in N Lakeland FL area and looked at a box of old photos and diplomas related to his aunt, Betty, born in 1913, Ethyl Elizabeth Eicher, in Miamisburg, 14 years before William H Eicher, Billy was born in Feb 1927. Here with their Mom, Minnie, at the Charles Eicher home in Miamisburg. This is a time for me to get clear on the chronology of the relationship of the only other LGBTQ person I have discovered within my own family tree. And very healing for me to learn more of their story. Thanks Bill Sr and Jr for sharing your archives and stories with me. Tom Weaver, second cousin to William and Betty Eicher. My grandmother Edna Helena Eicher and Bills grandfather, Charles Eicher were sister and brother.

Lakeland Florida Eicher Family History -Sharing with Cousin Bill Eicher

Bill Eicher and I first met at the big cemetery, Woodland, the highest hill in Dayton Ohio after his dad passed over in Florida back in March of 2006. His father, William H Eicher, b Feb 16 1927, was a family connection I began to reconnect with after Sue and I visited Steinwenden Germany in the late 1970's to visit the land of our German Eicher ancestors. Bill had contracted a man, Roland Paul in Kaiserslautern to trace back the family roots and generously send the work to his first cousin Paul Henry Weaver, my dad after his trip to Steinwenden in 1977. After regular Christmas communications, Susan, Nathan and I visit his home in Kettering, suburban Dayton on our way to Vermont in 1984. While driving the roads of Montgomery County, West Carrollton, Ellerton and Miamisburg and as I told him my coming out story, he mentioned, "It must be genetic, my sister, Betty, has lived with a woman since she left Ohio State, and they moved to Lakeland, Florida together years ago." I felt such a great relief back then.
So here is Bill Sr's son, Bill of Florida, who lived with his mom in Ft Lauderdale area in S Florida, until he moved up to Lakeland where he met Shiela, his wife who is from the area. Grateful Bill could take out the archives so I could begin to make photos. even with only my I Phone. Thanks Bill!

Theralac TruFiber National Autism Conference in Ft Lauderdale

Thanks to Jeff Thurston of Master Suppliements for continuing to share in the education around marketing and teaching about functional digestion and the upgrade of the T- cells and the the eubiosis of the human gut. Gratitude for the human strains of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacilli. Check out Master Supplements and the linked websites at: http://www.master-supplements.com/

Happy to be able to have my XL supported growing wardrobe, purchased at a local XL store in Richfield. THanks XL for the sartorial eye and feng shui. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui

I am expanding my Chinese Consciousness and grateful for the Tao of wind and water. Thanks Lao tse!

From wiki "The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu (simplified Chinese: 堪舆; traditional Chinese: 堪輿; pinyin: kānyú; literally: Tao of heaven and earth).[4]

The term feng shui literally translates as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zangshu (Book of Burial) by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty:[5]

Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water.[5]

Traditional feng shui practice always requires an extremely accurate Chinese compass, or luo pan, in order to determine the directions in finding any auspicious sector in a desired location."

Regarding direction in my life, and finding balance by serving others.

I am grateful to be of service to support the intestinal fortitude of families with compromised digestion and immune function. THanks for the vision of Randy Porubcan and Jeff Thurston in creating this business that support the health of many in a good way.

Jupiter Lighthouse - Volunteer Servant on the East Coast Jupiter Inlet. -

Here I am for my first I phone photo, as my Canon decided to have a lens issue. Grateful for Patty Strunk who could walk me through learning about the I phone application at a watering hole just across the inlet where we were sitting with Harry Strunk from the Key Largo area, and Ed Sasso and Heather Neville who live in Jupiter. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Inlet_Light, for more history!

Thanks for Xiaosong in leading me to find this sea blue T shirt on the Goodwill Store in Minneapolis on S Nicollet. What a great $.99 bargain and in 2 XL. I am so grateful to Creator for XL. Thanks Xiaosong Liu for your shining light! Xie Xie 谢谢 :-)


THanks for Ed's support in learning more about the area and the local community in a good way. At this location I learned about the oldest brewery in the US, that I had heard about, since the Schell Brewery in New Ulm MN is the second oldest family brewery. The name looks more Chinese as Yeuegling and then it makes sense as the orginal German was Juengling as learned on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.G._Yuengling_&_Son
"The German brewer David G. Jüngling immigrated to the United States in 1823 from Aldingen in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He anglicized his surname from Jüngling to Yuengling and began the "Eagle Brewery" on Center Street in Pottsville in 1829. His eldest son, David, Jr., left the Eagle Brewery to establish the James River Steam Brewery along the James River in Richmond, Virginia"
Always like to learn about the stories of the German ancestors. My Weaver anglicised from Weber came from Baden Wurttemburg in 1751 to the Pine Grove Twp area of Skulykill County PA. So the brewing tradition of the German Volk still is passed on.



Here I am at Amazon Herb Warehouse where the corporate headquarters used to be prior to the Zamu years. Ed and I picked up some Treaure Tea and Warrior here after we got the tour of the new executive offices in Jupiter. Cheers

Hollow Horn Bear Sundance Grounds by Xiaosong

When I first ventured out to the St Francis area to support the sun dance here in 1990, I was mentored by a traditional teacher who lived on this land, by the name of Joe Eagle Elk. Since then, one of my teachers,  who has come to Minnesota off and on,  still jokes with me "there are no trees here to spoil the view!" The joy and laughter are one of the things that keeps me coming back to visit my friends here. After honoring the tree and the give away of the Chan Oyate (Tree Nation) at the sundance grounds for a monthly tree sweat, Steven Xiaosong Liu, took this photo of our traveling companions Coby and Blaine with a back drop of the mahkpiya oyate, the cloud nation. Ask about the story of the first son,Eya, of Tate the wind and how the cloud nation, Mahkpia Oyate can be teachers about our addictions-compulsions and block out our connection with the light of the sun and create a shadow. So wonderful to share this journey and this place with my Zhongguo pengyou, Xiaosong.  Revisiting this page in 2013 to edit, I am so grateful for Steve X Liu's openness to visit and his  curiosity and openness and willingness to learn back in November of 2009.  And that he could visit the home of Lekshi Albert White Hat, 1938-2013, who modeled the humility of a traditional elder and teacher. Pilamiya Lekshi Albert. Xie xie ni pengyou Xiasong. 

  Check that out with your spiritual mentor to learn in a good way. Aho. Mitakuye Oyasin.

St Francis South Dakota - Gratitude Wopila Feast after Tree Inipi Ceremony

One of the times I especially enjoy is sitting with friends and sharing food after a ceremony. Somehow, the human desire to share stories and share food is a universal way to connect and be in the present as a soul. Here are some of my friends I have gotten to connect with over the past 20 years or so of travel to this heartland of Turtle Island. Fred the fire coordinator of our Hollowhorn Bear Sundance, Albert White Hat Sr, Marliese White Hat, Steven Xiaosong Liu are sharing stores over food in a good way here in St Francis at the White Hat home. Pilamiyayelo tunkashila.. Mitakuye Oyasin.