SAGINAW, MI — Sitting on the tailgate of his father’s Ford pickup, Bill Ostash shared a bottle of beer with his dad on a warm spring day 18 years ago. The discussion they were about to engage concerned a conversation Ostash avoided for decades, and sharing a cold brew seemed a good enough way to take the edge off what he was about to speak aloud.
“That was the day I told my dad I was gay,” Ostash said. “Before that, I felt like he was going to be the hardest one to come out to. He was a devout Catholic.”
Once the revelation left Ostash’s lips, his father turned to ask if his son was happy.
“I told my dad, ‘Yes, I’m happy,’” Ostash said. “His response was, ‘Good. Because, if you’re happy, I’m happy.’”
Now 56 years old, the younger Ostash talks about that exchange as one of the most liberating conversations of his life; as a deeply formative experience that empowered his identity – and pride – as an openly-gay man.
Advocating that feeling of pride for others in the LGBTQ+ community was at the heart of a proclamation announced by the Saginaw City Council during its Monday, June 21 virtual meeting. A councilman since 2018, Ostash authored the proclamation that will designate Monday, June 28 in Saginaw as Pride Day, in recognition of individuals that identify as LGBTQ+.
“June is Pride Month, and I saw writing a proclamation for a Pride Day as a way to celebrate how much the city has progressed when it comes to these communities,” said Ostash, recognized by some as the first openly gay member of the council.
“We want to send the message that everybody is welcomed in Saginaw. It’s not perfect, but we have come a long way as a culture and a society.”
While there will be no events planned specifically for Pride Day, Ostash said he hopes city residents who are members or allies of the LGBTQ+ communities find a way to celebrate the occasion next week.
Ostash said he was inspired to draft the proclamation in part by an April 2021 City Council resolution that recognized the LGBTQ+ community as a protected class while encouraging companies here to adopt nondiscrimination policies. The April resolution was drafted by Annie Boensch, Ostash’s fellow council member.
“When she had that idea, I thought it really showed where we stand when it comes to inclusion and diversity in the city,” Ostash said.
He chose June 28 as Pride Day because of the date’s place in history.
“June 28, 1969 was the day the LGBTQ+ community had enough,” Ostash said, referencing the “Stonewall riots” that lasted days.
The sometimes-violent clashes in 1969 involved demonstrations in response to a police raid of a gay establishment in New York City. One year later, the first gay pride parades were organized there, forming the earliest incarnations of a movement that eventually led to the recognition of June as Pride Month, Ostash said.
“I chose June 28 for Pride Day because I wanted the proclamation to recognize the Stonewall riots, the parades that began the following year and how far we have come since then,” he said.
As for his own metaphorical journey: Ostash said he has watched people around him come a long way since his youth. The Bay City-born man recognized he was gay as early as his days as a schoolboy in the 1970s. Back then, he kept his sexual orientation in the closet. Regardless, some classmates may have sensed his secret when they yelled gay slurs at him during gym class in middle school, he said.
“Meanwhile, I was growing up in a Roman-Catholic family while also hearing society telling me it’s wrong to be gay,” Ostash said. “So, I didn’t tell anyone. By the time I was in college, I was too busy to think about coming out. Eventually, though, I just got to a point where I had to say something.”
In spring 2003, at the age of 38, he came out to his family. Both his father and mother were supportive following the revelation. Other family members and friends followed suit in their acceptance of him.
“Once I made that leap to tell people, so much weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Ostash said. “Once I was out, I felt like I could finally live my life and be happy.”
The following year, he moved to Saginaw and met the love of his life, Kevin Rooker. They wed in 2019.
While Pride Day is meant to represent the progress and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ communities over the decades, there remains much room for growth, he said. Ostash said there was at least one incident within the last 10 years when he felt menaced by patrons at a local store. And he knows other members of the LGBTQ+ continue to experience resistance – and worse – from others.
“We have made a lot of progress, though, and we have a lot to be proud of,” he said. “That’s what I want us to remember on Pride Day.”
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