July 17, 1905 – December 11, 1980
Born in Italy, Joseph Accardi immigrated to the U.S., married in 1937, and worked as a storekeeper and an autoworker in Detroit before moving to Grand Rapids. He owned and operated Papa Joe’s Show Bar from the late 1950s until his death.
Grand Rapids Press, December 13, 1980
May 8, 1905 – July 10, 1989
A native of Connecticut, Karl Henry Reichenbach earned his graduate degree in history at Yale in 1929 and was assistant professor at the University of Michigan, teaching there for 44 years. During the 1950s, he was part of an Ann Arbor gay crowd that attended parties hosted by Henry Van Dyke. As his “drag” name at such events, Reichenbach was known as “Frieda.”
Ann Arbor News, July 12, 1989
Michigan LGBTQ Remember 