Thom Nickels
Encyclopedia
Born in Darby, Pennsylvania
, Thom Nickels grew up in Chester County
where he went to a local high school in Malvern
. He enrolled in Philadelphia's Charles Morris Price School of Journalism where he co-edited the school's magazine, The New Price Review. Upon graduation he received the Carrie May Price Award for Best Student Journalism. Nickels then enrolled in Baltimore
's Eastern College
on Mt. Vernon Square where he majored in Liberal Arts. The Vietnam War
disrupted his education when he was called to do two years of alternate service as a conscientious objector. Nickels writes about this period of his life in The Boy on the Bicycle, in an essay entitled 'The Fever of a Time and Place.'
Nickels was given Conscientious Objector
(CO) status. In the 1960s a CO was responsible for acquiring a low end position in a hospital (usually as an orderly) to meet draft board requirements. These requirements also mandated that a CO find a job at least 100 miles from home. Nickels traveled to Boston
, specifically Harvard Square
in Cambridge, to find a place to live. He was eventually employed by Tufts-New England Medical Center as an operating room orderly.
Nickels began writing for the underground alternative press and joined the Boston Gay Liberation Front. While working at Tufts, he met Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius
. Nickels wrote in his introduction to Philadelphia Architecture that as an operating room orderly he went to Gropius' room to transport him to the OR.
He left Boston in 1971 for Boulder, Colorado
to revise a book he had been working on for some time. He returned to Boston, where he lived in the house once owned by Civil War
abolitionist Charles Sumner
on Hancock Street in Beacon Hill. Nickels returned to Philadelphia where he became a columnist for the Philadelphia underground newspaper, The Distant Drummer. In the ensuing years, he joined the Gay Alternative Magazine as poetry editor.
In the early 1980s his biweekly gay column, Different Strokes, became the first openly gay column in a largely mainstream newspaper. He started publishing books in the 1980s.
He is a listed Contributing Writer for the Gay and Lesbian Review and he is the Religion Editor for the Lambda Book Report.
His travel essay have been published in Passport Magazine (New York), The Philadelphia Bulletin, and Travel Weekly (Secaucus, NJ), a trade journal for the travel industry.
In 1998, he co-founded The Arts Defense League and helped to spearhead a City-wide movement to keep the Maxfield Parrish mural, “Dream Garden,” in Philadelphia. He was interviewed by ‘People’ magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Daily News, and NPR.
Darby, Pennsylvania
Darby is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, along Darby Creek southwest of downtown Philadelphia. It has a public library founded in 1743 and a cemetery more than 300 years old. The Quakers lived there early in the colonial era. Darby was settled about 1660 and was...
, Thom Nickels grew up in Chester County
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
where he went to a local high school in Malvern
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. The main road through the borough is King Street, although the borough is also bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, and is near US 30 on the north. The primary cross street is Warren...
. He enrolled in Philadelphia's Charles Morris Price School of Journalism where he co-edited the school's magazine, The New Price Review. Upon graduation he received the Carrie May Price Award for Best Student Journalism. Nickels then enrolled in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
's Eastern College
University of Baltimore
The University of Baltimore , located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood at 1420 N. Charles Street, is part of the University System of Maryland. Through the Freshman Initiative or Lower Division Initiative, UB has transformed from an upper division university to a...
on Mt. Vernon Square where he majored in Liberal Arts. The Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
disrupted his education when he was called to do two years of alternate service as a conscientious objector. Nickels writes about this period of his life in The Boy on the Bicycle, in an essay entitled 'The Fever of a Time and Place.'
Nickels was given Conscientious Objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
(CO) status. In the 1960s a CO was responsible for acquiring a low end position in a hospital (usually as an orderly) to meet draft board requirements. These requirements also mandated that a CO find a job at least 100 miles from home. Nickels traveled to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, specifically Harvard Square
Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...
in Cambridge, to find a place to live. He was eventually employed by Tufts-New England Medical Center as an operating room orderly.
Nickels began writing for the underground alternative press and joined the Boston Gay Liberation Front. While working at Tufts, he met Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
. Nickels wrote in his introduction to Philadelphia Architecture that as an operating room orderly he went to Gropius' room to transport him to the OR.
He left Boston in 1971 for Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
to revise a book he had been working on for some time. He returned to Boston, where he lived in the house once owned by Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
abolitionist Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
on Hancock Street in Beacon Hill. Nickels returned to Philadelphia where he became a columnist for the Philadelphia underground newspaper, The Distant Drummer. In the ensuing years, he joined the Gay Alternative Magazine as poetry editor.
In the early 1980s his biweekly gay column, Different Strokes, became the first openly gay column in a largely mainstream newspaper. He started publishing books in the 1980s.
He is a listed Contributing Writer for the Gay and Lesbian Review and he is the Religion Editor for the Lambda Book Report.
His travel essay have been published in Passport Magazine (New York), The Philadelphia Bulletin, and Travel Weekly (Secaucus, NJ), a trade journal for the travel industry.
In 1998, he co-founded The Arts Defense League and helped to spearhead a City-wide movement to keep the Maxfield Parrish mural, “Dream Garden,” in Philadelphia. He was interviewed by ‘People’ magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Daily News, and NPR.