RIPE
May/Aug 2001
Interview by Angeline Acain

[Editorial note: This magazine only lasted a few years. The interviewer called Woody and recorded the interview you see here. Woody had no idea they were making him the feature article, and was quite surprised hwen hew saw his photo on the cover.]

In 1987, retired professor Woody Baldwin started Prime Timers, an organization for older gay or bisexual men and younger adult men who admire mature men.  Baldwin began the Boston Chapter by placing ads in local newspapers and soliciting his many friends.  He expected only a small handful of men to attend the first meeting and was surprised when over 40 showed up.  Now this organization has grown to over fifty chapters worldwide, located throughout North America, Europe and Australia.  Prime Timers of the Desert in Palm Springs, California boasts to be the largest of their chapters with a membership that exceeds 1,400 .  Prime Timers Worldwide President, Cal Hackler, has been a member for eight years.  Hackler, age 57, says he read an ad in a newspaper, called, and "got hooked."  In the following article, Baldwin answers a few questions about this worldwide organization he started.

What is your age?
My age is 81.  I was 67 at the time I started Prime Timers (PT).

Prime Timers is a catchy name — was this your idea?
At the first meeting, I gave the attendees a homework assignment of coming up with a name for our organization.  At the next meeting, there were fifteen suggested.  I told them that I was taking the liberty of rejecting "Gray Ladies", "Old Farts" and "Wrinkle Rockers."  After much discussion, they settled on Prime Timers, which incidentally was the name suggested by my partner, Sean O'Neill.

What is the age span of the members?
Each chapter decides what its minimum age (no maximum age) will be which ranges, as far as I know, from 21 to 40.  This brings to mind one of our major tenets.  Prime Timers Worldwide board exists only to help the chapters do best whatever they want to do.  Each chapter, therefore, has it own bylaws, age restrictions, name of newsletter, etc.  Every chapter is different and we think that is a strength.  Certainly the community of New York City is far different from Mineral Wells, Texas.  So, shouldn't their chapters reflect the community?  We think so.

How many younger admirers attend your events?
I would guess the percentage of "admirers" is ten to fifteen percent.  It is hard to give you statistics because they change daily.

Are your members mostly singles or couples?
I'd guess that fifty percent of our members are couples and fifty percent singles.  It's a good balance.

How many members are in your organization in the USA and how many worldwide?
As I said, it is hard to tell you how many members are in the USA and how many foreign.  We have about 400 independent members who do not belong to a chapter, but how many are in the chapters total, I would be afraid to guess.  They range from 25 to 1,400 members per chapter.

What is the cost to join and what do members receive?
The dues for chapter members are set by the individual chapters.  The independent dues are $25 a year or $35 for a household of two.  Outside the USA, $35 for an individual and $45 for a household of two.  I have no idea what the range of dues is for chapters, but I'd guess probably from $20 to $50 a year.  We try to keep dues as low as possible (only to cover costs of printing, mailing, etc.) as we do not want any man to have to forego participation because of financial restraint.  The costs for refreshments or meeting halls are met by collecting a small fee at the door.  Events in people's homes charge $1 or $2 to cover expenses by the hosts.  In other words, every event is financially self-supporting to keep down the cost of dues.

What is the content of your newsletter?
Prime Timers Worldwide has a quarterly newsletter aimed primarily at the independent members, but ten copies are sent to each chapter.  The contents vary but advertise upcoming events of Prime Timers Worldwide and chapter events we consider significant enough that members from other chapters might want to travel to attend.  It also contains news of non-PT events we think members might be interested in.  Each issue has a letter from the president (at present, Cal Hackler) and a column called "Founder Filosofy" by myself.  There are ads for publications aimed at older gays.  The rest varies as to what the publisher thinks relevant.  The newsletters are generally about eight to ten pages in length.  Each chapter has its own monthly newsletter.

Your Prime Timers Worldwide Convention 2001 will be held in Palm Springs and hosted by your largest chapter.
The is correct.  The worldwide convention is held every other year.  The number attending varies according to the location and whether it is free of conflicting events by other organizations.  I expect Palm Springs to attract 1,000 guys.  Members come from around the world to attend our convention.

In addition to your wonderful side trips, what kind of educational workshops do you offer at the convention?
We usually have two or three workshops.  This year I think they are on health and finance.  We usually have a meeting of chapter presidents (or their representatives) so they can have an opportunity to meet and compare practices.  Other events are strictly social.

What events do you schedule in addition to the convention and the Mardi Gras in New Orleans?
There are many other events, but they are sponsored by the chapters and to which all members are invited such as the Halloween trips to Provincetown sponsored by the Boston Chapter, the Labor Day gathering sponsored by the Oklahoma City chapter, and the formal black tie dinner/dance New Year's Eve celebration sponsored by the Desert chapter in Palm Springs, California.  About 1,000 men attend the New Year's Eve event each year.

On your Web site you state, "As our organization grows, we will be leading the pack in seeking answers to the needs and problems of maturing gay and bisexual men." 
For the most part, the issues facing gay and bisexual men are the same as those facing straight men . . . health, legal, finance, adjusting to retirement, travel, relationships, etc.

What about HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and PWAs issues?
Individual chapters educate members on HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and PWAs issues.  Most chapters have a program at their monthly meeting and subjects vary.  Chapters educate their members about other organizations through speakers and joint exchange of newsletters.  Chapters are encouraged to mail their newsletters to each other.  They provide a good resource for ideas of programs, special activities, etc.  Our decision to remain as just a social club is based on the theory that there is a great need for such a thing among the older men and that there are other organizations they can join to get political or social service activities.  Further, we feel that if we devote all our resources to improving their social life and their image of themselves, that their participation in political and other facets of gay life will come naturally.  And we have proven that it does!  We never discourage participation in other facets of gay life, but as an organization we do not sponsor such participation.

Did you ever think that your organization would grow to be nationwide and worldwide?
When I started PT, I thought I was starting a little club of guys that would meet once a month for a general meeting and might have a few special events.  I had no clue there was so much demand for this sort of thing that it would grow into a worldwide movement now with 55 chapters and still growing.  I attribute the rapid growth to need.  There are many older gays who are aging without a partner, many have lost their partner through death or other reasons.  Many don't realize they are gay until they are older and don't want to go to the bars to meet people.  Also, those who have partners and a good social life enjoy the camaraderie of other men like themselves.