Lorraine grew up in North Babylon and taught in Lindenhurst.
Like many before her, being a public school teacher meant that
Lorraine kept her life as a lesbian very private. The fear of being
“outed” could have meant that she risked losing her career and
being targeted by misunderstanding and homophobia.
This fear of exposure kept Lorraine away from the gay Mecca just
a few miles away from her birthplace, that so many in the LGBTQ
had made their home-away-from-home since the 1940s.
But in 1993 Lorraine took the trip that changed her life forever.
Fighting her fears of the rumored ruffians that hung out at the
Sayville Ferry to harass queer visitors, Lorraine took her first
trip to Cherry Grove and immediately fell in love.
Meeting her (eventual) spouse Joan Van Ness, who is very much
involved in all the aspects of the community, Lorraine would soon
also find herself ingrained in the Grove’s activities and lifestyle.
All through college and after she became a Physical Education teacher on Long Island, Lorraine took her
hobby and put it to good use documenting the games and other sporting events that she was involved
with, developing her special unique skill for photographing live events.
This talent would be put to use when Lorraine became the “unofficial” photographer for all the shows,
pageants, parades, fire drills, sunsets and endless summer shenanigans that make Cherry Grove so magical.
Over thirty years later, she has amassed a collection of beautiful moments in nature, as well as countless
photos of iconic plays in the Community House, the joyful faces during our local Pride Parades, and all the
colorful creations that overcome the Grove each year for the Invasion of the Pines.
Today Lorraine Michels is best known for her event photography, covering the Invasion and documenting
the Cherry Grove Fire Department, but when she first came to the Grove, it was the nature and wildlife that
were her focus for the first years shooting on Fire Island.
Through this Art Walk we will be looking back at Lorraine’s history taking photos of the Cherry Grove
community...celebrating her work and the amazing LGBTQIA+ legacy of our safe haven.
While the subject matter has become a bit more "colorful” than the days of shooting sporting
events, her eye for joyful moments and communal interactions have helped to ensure that
so many of the Grove’s historical moments are preserved.
And those pieces of history can be as simple as the traditional Red Flyer wagons that lined
the outer wall of Cherrys…a unique part of the Grove’s lifestyle, that has since faded.
Dr. Anna doling out the Thermacell treatments to the Walk Captains each year isn’t just a
bureaucratical exchange…through Lorraine’s lens, it becomes an interaction that solidifies
community connections and represents the volunteer spirit that keeps Cherry Grove thriving.
The beauty of our queer hamlet all depends on the dunes,
which keep our homes and businesses safe from the ever
impending ocean waves…they also serve as the first line
of defense for Long Island.
Since Cherry Grove became a vacation destination in the
1940s, the knowledge of the dunes has grown and what
we once saw as an impediment to the beach, we now
know is the most important part of the the island.
The Cherry Grove Dune Fund takes on the vital work of
fortifying and maintaining our fragile beach town, with
the help from local volunteers, we install fencing in a
critical “serpentine” fashion, which keeps the constantly
blowing sand in place and allows for beach grass to grow.
Joan’s passion for keeping our dunes healthy rubbed off
on Lorraine and she found herself taking on the duty of
documenting the impact of the Dune Fund’s work, to better
educate residents and visitors about the nature and the
wildlife, right under our feet.
But it was when her spouse Joan Van Ness began taking Lorraine
along to rehearsals for productions in the historic LGBTQIA+
Community House & Theater that Lorraine became thralled with
documenting the outrageous and entertaining antics in the Grove.
Being one of the few official photographers allowed to accompany
the Invaders on the boat and who holds a coveted seat on the Pines dock to take photos
of the queens as they each disembark from the ferry into the cheering crowd.
But it all started with her spouse Joan became the first cis woman to win the crown
of Homecoming Queen…after being “dragged out” by local drag legends
The Shapiro Sisters.
First Lorraine would tackle collecting the details
of our historic Community House & Theater, which
has been recognized as the longest running LGBTQ theater in the United States.
Reaching back in time to resurrect forgotten
playbills from when the theater first began
in 1948 and tracing the lineage of shows and
performers, was no small task.
For Lorraine’s second book she would rely
mostly on her own archive of photos from
the Invasion of the Pines, to mark the 40th
anniversary of the event.
Since the Invasion began in 1976, there have been
thousands of queens and kings dressing in every form of drag imaginable to continue a tradition that
began as a protest of homophobia within our own
neighboring queer community.
Her photos allow those not able to experience the Invasion
firsthand, a chance to witness the pride and pageantry of
our queer community.
