George R. 'Bunny' Opper

Spirited, sassy, carefree and colorful, "Bunny" began his life as George Opper in rural Grafton, Wisconsin on April 21, 1936. Bored with the country life, the thrill-seeking teen hitchhiked his way downtown as early as age 13. By 1949, downtown Milwaukee had not only an active queer underground, but its first known strip of gay bars (400 block of N. Plankinton Ave., between Clybourn and St. Paul.) For Bunny, midcentury Milwaukee was a playground.

Long before dating apps existed, he would meet like-minded friends at the Greyhound Bus Station or Milwaukee Road Station. "You'd wait, you'd watch, and you'd follow them out. That's how I found the men and the bars."