Call Number:

3547

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

11.1 linear feet (; 27 boxes, 6 volumes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Harry E. Adamson papers (Collection 3547), Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1880-2021 (inclusive)

Creator:

Adamson, Harry E.

Abstract:

Harry Egan Adamson Jr. (1949-2021) was a Philadelphia AIDS and gay rights activist and restaurant manager. Infected in 1982, Adamson lived with HIV for nearly 40 years. He moved to Philadelphia in 1981 with his partner David Yontz. The couple stayed with Dr. John E. Fryer (1937-2003), who became one of Adamson’s lifelong friends. Yontz returned to Chicago in 1982, but Adamson remained in Philadelphia. Many of his friends and former lovers succumbed to AIDS between 1984 and 2000, but Adamson was a slow progressor and did not need to start medication for his disease until 1998. Though his HIV disease was under good control, neuropathy in his extremities became disabling in 1993. Adamson remained as active as he could, completing a master’s degree in pastoral counseling at La Salle University in 2002, acting as agent executor for Dr. John Fryer’s estate after his death in 2003, and serving on the board of Philly AIDSThrift from 2010-2013. Nonetheless, medical problems and depression were perennial issues for Adamson in the last two decades of his life. His neuropathy worsened, affecting his balance, and he suffered a fatal injury from a fall in 2021. Harry Adamson collected materials on a variety of subjects throughout his adult life. The collection reflects his longterm relationships, work, education, AIDS and AIDS activism. Additionally, the collection includes the papers of his friends, retired vaudeville performer, Elizabeth “Dolly” Funk (1906-2010); and art consultant and neighbor, Mary Kilroy-Pogach (b. 1938).

Harry Egan Adamson Jr. was born on 3 September 1949 to Harry Egan Adamson Sr. and Cecilia Mary Ellen Yarrington in Kansas City, Missouri. The family lived in Los Angeles for a few years, but subsequently returned to Kansas City. Adamson’s father died of a heart attack when he was twelve, and his mother died of a stroke less than five years later. He lived with his older sister until he graduated from high school and left for college. At Rockhurst College, a Jesuit school in Kansas City, he majored in philosophy. After graduation in 1971, he worked in a variety of jobs in including editorial assistant at the Kansas City Star and restaurant sommelier and captain. He spent a year in Chicago working as a licensed commodities solicitor on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 1979, he moved to Akron, Ohio, with his partner, David Yontz, a physician. In Akron, Adamson continued in restaurant and catering work, serving as a wine steward and special events manager for Tangiers, Inc.

The couple came to Philadelphia in 1981 so Yontz could pursue a master’s degree in public health at Temple University. The couple boarded for nearly a year in the home of Dr. John E. Fryer, a psychiatrist and gay rights activist to whom Adamson became a lifelong friend. Adamson enrolled at Temple University, taking graduate level classes and working as a wine steward and head waiter at Kathleen Mulhern's Garden Restaurant. In February 1982, he developed an unusual flu-like illness with a global rash, which was diagnosed as an echo virus. Later, he understood that this was the acute stage of his HIV infection. Yontz returned to Ohio in 1982 after receiving his degree, ending the relationship and leaving his partner behind. Adamson chose to remain in the city and build a new life for himself.

In 1983, he began volunteering with Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives (PCHA)/Philadelphia AIDS Task Force (PATF) and was hired as an HIV test counselor in 1985. His employment provided access to HIV testing, and he received a positive result the day before Thanksgiving 1985. At the time, there were no treatments for AIDS, and the disease was believed to be a death sentence with a life expectancy of six months to two years. Many of Adamson’s friends, acquaintances, and former lovers died one by one over the following decades. AZT, the first drug approved to treat AIDS in the United States, became available in 1987. Adamson’s disease was not then progressing, and he declined the medication due to the potential for life-altering side effects. Instead, he enrolled that same year in trials of the Salk AIDS vaccine, becoming a member of the initial cohort and continuing in the studies until 2000. He later learned that he was in the placebo arm of the trial.

By 1990, he had been promoted to hotline director and served in many roles at PCHA/PATF. However, the agency was plagued by mismanagement. Adamson was laid off and soon discovered that payments had not been made for his health insurance, resulting in cancellation of his coverage. He also found that his wages had been underreported to the federal government, resulting in a lower Social Security benefit. He filed suit against executive director Fran Stoffa and PCHA.

In need of employment, Adamson returned to restaurant work as manager of Kathleen Mulhern's other restaurant, Harry’s Bar and Grill. Unfortunately, health problems other than HIV began to interfere with his ability to work. Adamson also suffered from type 2 diabetes and neuropathy in his extremities, which caused pain and affected his balance. The symptoms worsened to the point that he was forced to retire on disability in 1993. Though Adamson’s HIV disease had taken an indolent course, it eventually progressed far enough to require medication, and in February 1998, he began highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), known also as the “drug cocktail.” The medication was effective, and his health improved. In 1999, Adamson applied to graduate school and ultimately pursued a master’s in pastoral counseling at La Salle University, which he completed in 2002.

In February 2003, Adamson’s longtime friend, Dr. John E. Fryer (1937-2003), died suddenly. Fryer is remembered for the pivotal speech he gave as Dr. H. Anonymous at the 1972 American Psychiatric Association meeting. He wore a mask and wig and disguised his voice to protect his identity as he argued against the inclusion of homosexuality as an illness in the DSM. Adamson had been performing secretarial and house management duties for Fryer, and after his death, he served as agent executor of Fryer’s estate. He cleaned out the house, prepared the property for sale, and arranged for donation of Fryer’s records to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Though Adamson never returned to full-time work after retiring in 1993, he remained active in the community, serving on the board of Philly AIDSThrift from 2010-2013. He was a gregarious man who collected a large network of friends throughout his life, including Kathleen Mulhern, Elizabeth "Dolly" Funk, and Mary Kilroy-Pogach. However, medical problems and depression were perennial issues for Adamson in the last two decades of his life. His neuropathy worsened, causing him further difficulty with pain, balance, and mobility. In April 2021, he was walking near his apartment when a strong gust of wind caused him to lose his balance,fall, and strike his head on the pavement. The injury was catastrophic, and he died a few days later. Adamson was cremated and buried next to his sister in Park Lawn Cemetery in Kansas City.

Harry Adamson collected materials on a variety of subjects throughout his adult life. The collection reflects his longterm relationships, work, education, and AIDS and AIDS activism.

Series 1, Personal papers (1929-2021, undated), includes Adamson’s correspondence, a biographical file, a dream journal, notebooks, notes from college, and a large number of scrapbooks. The dream journal (Box 2, folder 4) is a transcription of the original journal with added explanatory notes for many entries. The bulk of the series consists of 19 disbound scrapbooks, which contain correspondence and greeting cards, articles, clipping copies, numerous obituaries, reminiscences, and photographs. Subjects include friends, personal life, restaurants, travel, AIDS, and health.

Series 2, Medical records (1981-2018, undated), documents Adamson’s medical life after his infection with HIV. The series contains medical histories, medical files, laboratory test results, health insurance documents, bills, visit notes, and prescription files. Files on Adamson’s disability claims and status are also filed here.

Series 3, Friends and others (circa 1948-2019, undated), is comprised of materials related to Adamson’s friends and people with whom he had a connection or felt an affinity. There are several disbound scrapbooks composed of cards, correspondence, clippings, and other ephemera. The series also contains several files of papers related to his friends and others, such as copied articles and correspondence. Individuals represented include Patrick Adamson (brother), James Coleman, Daryl Cornish, Joe Fairclough, Jane P. Fowler, Dr. John E. Fryer, Lee Goldstone, Ed Grusheski, Keith Haring, Gary Henderson (Vera Charles), Douglas James, Jim Pesce, Steve Tucker, and Dr. John Turner.

Series 4, Miscellaneous (1910-2021, undated), contains graphic materials, printed matter, media, and artifacts. The graphic materials are comprised of a small number of photographs, slides, and negatives, and a drawing by Bill Brinsfield. Many other photographs are contained within the scrapbooks in Series 1 and Series 3. The printed matter includes the 35th anniversary collector’s edition of The Advocate (Box 22A folder 16) and the AIDS Memorial Quilt List of Names (Box 22A folder 15). The series also contains a few miscellaneous documents and small artifacts.

Series 5, Elizabeth “Dolly” Funk papers (1880-2014, undated), is a small series of materials belonging to Harry Adamson’s friend, Dolly Funk (1906-2010), who was a retired vaudeville performer who came from an extended family of vaudeville performers and musicians. She often performed with her cousin, Lynn Wakefield (“Gypsy Byrne”). Funk married three times and was widowed three times. Her only daughter died at the age of two. When vaudeville collapsed, she became a nightclub singer and emcee. After she retired from show business, she settled in Philadelphia and worked at the jewelry counter of Wanamaker’s for two decades. Funk lived independently until the age of 95.

The series contains materials from several of her family members, such as her maternal grandfather, Andrew Byrne; her mother, Elizabeth Byrne; her cousin, Lynn Wakefield ("Gypsy Byrne"); and Lynn Wakefield’s father, Charles Wakefield. The papers of Andrew Byrne include a contract, cemetery plot deed, a lodge card, correspondence, copyrights, and postcards of Robert B. Mantell and Genevive Hamper. Elizabeth Byrne is represented by a cemetery plot deed. This bulk of the series is comprised of Lynn Wakefield’s papers, which include correspondence, photographs, receipts, and ephemera. Charles Wakefield is represented by a folder of memorabilia. Dolly Funk’s own papers include three vaudeville scrapbooks and a small amount of correspondence and financial records. The series includes some sheet music, a song binder, some ephemera, and a large number of photographs, but it is unclear to whom many of these items belonged. Lynn Wakefield is a frequent subject in the photographs. Additionally, there are a few files created by Harry Adamsom, which document Dolly’s and Lynn’s lives, their family, and vaudeville history.

Series 6, Mary Kilroy-Pogach papers (1965-2000, undated), is a small series of materials belonging to Harry Adamson’s friend and neighbor. Mary Kilroy-Pogach is an art consultant who worked for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (RDA) from 1970-1993, serving as the director of the fine arts program and as a member of the Advisory Board of Design. After retiring from the RDA, she worked as a public and private art consultant. One of her large projects was the Irish Famine Memorial in Philadelphia, which was dedicated in 2003. Her papers are mostly related to fundraising, artist selection, and construction of the memorial. Additionally, there is one folder of ephemera, a folder on the Federal Reserve Bank art, and a remembrance of her friend, Gabrielle Wenck Lee.

Series 1. Personal papers (1929-2021, undated)

Series 2. Medical records (1981-2018, undated)

Series 3. Friends and others (circa 1948-2019, undated)

Series 4. Miscellaneous (1910-2021, undated)

Series 5. Elizabeth “Dolly” Funk papers (1880-2014, undated)

Series 6. Mary Kilroy-Pogach papers (1965-2000, undated)