week, the police arrested four more men at the City Hall restroom, also for lewd behavior. Arrests continued, off and on, until 1980. 8 Gay and bisexual men who enjoyed the expanding popularity of parks as sexual and socialization centers worried about more than just the stepped-up police patrols. Some gay men stayed away, not out of fear of being arrested, but for fear of being assaulted by teenagers or other gay men. By the early 1970s, gay men made Will Rogers Park a popular socialization center, where people went not only to have sex but also to play frisbee, exercise, or just talk. The beautiful scenery and sedate surroundings belied the danger that could creep up at any moment. Teenage boys drove through the park at high speeds hurling rocks and epithets at whomever they could find. The bathrooms and surrounding woods provided notorious hiding places for male prostitutes and “trolls”--gay men, usually over fifty years of age, known for aggressively pursuing younger men for sex. Younger gay men complained that they could not simply come to the park and enjoy the weather or socialize for fear of being assaulted or associated with the less desirable elements.9 When park sex was either unavailable or inconvenient, gay and bisexual men could always look to popular highway rest stops or truck stops for satisfaction. The reststop located along Interstate 35 about eight miles south of Guthrie, was easily one of the most popular. Situated outside of city limits and in Logan County, the secluded rest stop was still close enough to Oklahoma City so that patrons looking for sex could make 8
“Police Nab Three on Sex Counts,” Daily Oklahoman, 4/12/1978, 17; “More Held On Morals Complaints,” Daily Oklahoman, 4/13/1978, 20; “4 Arrested In Lewdness Complaints.” Daily Oklahoman, 1/24/1980, 22. 9
“’Trolls’ Replace Straights as Primary Threat to Homosexuals,” Daily Oklahoman, 5/27/1984, 12. 270