Destination Desdemona: Most now accept gay campground

By Sidney Levesque / levesques@reporternews.com
August 1, 2006

DESDEMONA - Crossroads Campgrounds is the kind of place where you can fish for bass, take a swim or gaze at the rolling green hills of Eastland County.
It's also the kind of place where you can catch a drag show, fill up at the margarita machine or play the Gaylywed Game with your partner. Next year, the ''clothing optional'' area is coming.
Everyone is welcome at Crossroads, but the owners say no ''gay bashing'' is allowed. In the year since Sam Mullin and longtime partner Mark Gropp opened their gay and lesbian camp, people in Desdemona say they have become more accepting of the place and its visitors.
After the camp's rainbow sign was erected, some residents objected and some unpleasant incidents took place. The mail box was painted red and a bloody dead rabbit stuffed inside. Another time, urine was left in a sealed plastic bag.
Gropp, 47, said they didn't report the vandalism.
''If they just concentrate on the mail box, I'm happy,'' he joked.
The idea of Desdemona becoming a gay camping hotspot angered many of the 200 or so people in the rural 1920s oil boomtown along State Highway 16. Desdemona is about 75 miles east of Abilene.
''Would you want them to move in next to you?'' one woman asked.
A year later, people in Desdemona are more likely to get riled up about an ongoing feud over the community center than about the Crossroads gay camp.
''People are accepting them more as they've gotten to meet them,'' said Kathy Lipsom, the cook at the Country Corner cafe and store.
Gropp said people in town have started calling them the ''rainbow boys'' instead of the ''queers.'' Mullin, 53, drinks coffee most mornings at the Country Corner and catches up on the gossip.
The pair also was invited to a community fund-raiser a few months ago.
''They're really nice to us,'' Gropp said. ''We can't say anything bad about the people in town.''
Even the neighbors are waving now.
Larry Moore, 56, said he wished Crossroads was somewhere else, but the campers don't bother anyone. ''They have a different lifestyle. That's OK,'' he said.
Without fear
Neighbors were less than thrilled when Mullin and Gropp bought land for the camp, a former 72-acre deer lease they found advertised in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The partners didn't discuss details about the camp with the seller.
''He knew we were going to do a campground,'' Gropp said. ''He didn't ask what kind.''
Gropp and Mullin said they started a gay camp to provide a relaxing place where people can be themselves without fear of judgment. There are seven or so such camps around the state.
The partners were permanent campers at a gay camp in Mexia, but they tired of the cliques. They wanted to start a camp where new friendships were encouraged.
They looked for land west of Itasca, where Gropp is a municipal judge. While Gropp makes the 93-mile drive to his job, Mullin looks after the camp and works out of their home collecting court warrants.
The partners, who wear gold wedding bands, will celebrate their 29th anniversary together Oct. 7.
''A lot of straight people can't say that,'' said Gropp, who wears his ring on his right hand. He lost his left hand after it was crushed by a cement machine when he was 13.
He and Mullin have lived in Texas for 26 years, but they are from Nebraska. ''And we were queer there, too,'' Gropp cracked.
Get campy
The pair is proud of how they turned 20 acres of raw land with no utilities into a thriving camp with a man-made pond, activity center, cabins, swimming pool and recreational vehicle hook-ups. Deer feeders have replaced deer hunters.
Special events take place year-round, including a Valentine's Day dance, Halloween costume contest and movie nights. The gay cowboy flick ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a favorite.
A recent drag show with entertainers from Fort Worth benefited a Tarrant County AIDS outreach food pantry. Gropp pointed out anyone can get the deadly immune disorder, not just gay people.
Their camp draws guests from around the state - and from around the Abilene area.
On a recent day, a city manager from a nearby town was taking a dip in the pool while a Sweetwater businessman who asked not to be identified explained why he likes the camp.
''You don't have to worry about everyone else's opinion,'' he said.
''Gay people have been chased down by a bunch of religious zealots,'' chimed in a shirtless camper with pierced nipples and ears.
Mike Hensley, 51, of Fort Worth, rode into camp with other members of the Battalion Motorcycle Corps, a group of gay bikers. He said his club appreciates camps like Crossroads that are a safe haven for homosexuals.
''At a gay campsite, you can be yourself,'' he said. ''You can get campy. You're with like minds.''

On the Net: Crossroads Campgrounds at www.crossroadscamping.com

source: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_4884837,00.html