Orlando: Farewell to some pioneers

End of An Era
More than 50 friends and acquaintances gathered at Hanks bar Thursday, Oct. 18 to remember owner Jan Korenâ┚¬â€the last of Orlando's first gay bar ownersâ┚¬â€who passed in July. Koren was the owner, manager, bartender or security guard for just about every gay bar in Orlando, including City Lights, the Loading Dock, End Zone, College Connections, Odds & Ends and at the time of his death, worked security for Hanks. Koren, along with Wally Wood, Mike Hodge, Bill Miller, and Sue Hannah, opened Orlando’s first gay bars in the 1970s.

Hodge and Miller took over a bankrupt motel on Orange Blossom Trail in 1974 and turned the Parliament House into an entertainment destination for local and visiting gays. Miller died in 1987, Hodge in 1992. Hannah opened Faces, the first lesbian-owned bar, and ran it until her death in 2007.

When Wood opened Odds & Ends in 1971, Koren became the bar’s first manager. They both owned Hanks, a gay cowboy bar, which originally opened in 1977 and moved to its current location in 1987. Wood died in 2011, leaving Koren the last of the original group until his death in July from burns sustained in an accident. He was 66.

Strutting their bear-ness
The weekend of Oct. 19â┚¬â€œ21 at Parliament House held quite a mass of manliness. Friday and Saturday played host to a capacity crowd of cubs, otters and bears for Bear Bust 2012â┚¬â€complete with adult film starts and even a Mr. Bear Bust 2012 competition, where a record number of contestants strutted their bear-ness for guest judges Randy Stephens, Director of The Center, Out Loud Orlando radio host DJ Justice and Watermark's own Erik Caban. After 20 years in existence, Bear Bust was purchased by the landmark resort from the apparently-dissolved Bears of Central Florida, Inc. (BOCF) last September.

Babes and Beefcakes
On Sunday, Oct. 22, lucky patrons were able to bid on some single softball bachelors. The Central Florida Softball League (CFSL), along with Blue Starr, hosted the Babes and Beefcakes auction fundraiser. Winning bidders will receive a gift certificate from a local fantastic restaurant and, of course, a hot date! Among the bachelors was Wes Hodge, well-known Orlando realtor and long-time board member of the CFSL. Hodgeâ┚¬â€fresh out of the hospital and multiple rounds of chemoâ┚¬â€triggered an out pour of love and tears from many in attendance. Members from a number of teams combined a total bid of $1,260 for the gentle giant, sparking even him to give a tearful speech. â┚¬Å”Everyone that took part in the bid on Wes was to show him how much he means to everyone in the league,â┚¬Â said Devon Tillman, CFSL Social Committee Chair. â┚¬Å”His hard work and dedication to them and the league does not go unnoticed.â┚¬Â

While a portion of the money goes to the team being represented and part goes to the league, Tillman said Hodge called a meeting of the board members requesting to make a charitable donation with a portion of the money that was bid on him.