COURTESY OF PJ NEWTON
STONEWALLED
Eleven miles down the road is Tupelo, a small city best known as
the birthplace of Elvis. Between
Shannon and Tupelo lies a sea of
soybeans. On Shannon’s website,
a message attributed to the mayor
pitches the town as a good place
to start a business: “We have the
potential for growth and are ready
when something comes our way.”
Newton opened O’Hara’s when
she was in her 30s. She didn’t
tell the town that the bar would
serve gays. She named the place
after Scarlett O’Hara, a fellow embattled businesswoman who famously responded to adversity by
declaring, “As God is my witness
they’re not going to lick me.”
Outside, the bar was drab and
plain, like most of the other businesses in town. Inside was different. Newton and her friends
covered one of the wood-paneled
walls with framed black-andwhite photographs of Clark Gable,
Vivien Leigh, Marlene Deitrich and
other icons of Hollywood’s golden
age. They built a small stage for
the Saturday night drag show and
put up a glittery gold curtain.
The bar was open three nights a
week, and it was the only gay bar
for 100 miles. People came from
Tennessee and Alabama and all
across Mississippi. They danced,
watched comedians perform and
ate barbecue in the back. Some
Top: Newton tending bar at the original O’Hara’s. Middle: Regular
performer Vonna Valentino after a show at O’Hara’s. Bottom: Valentino
performing a Celine Dion song during a Saturday night cast show.