In the early 1970s, Thom Hansen, also known as Panzi, discovered Fire Island and Cherry Grove. During his first visit to the Grove’s Ice Palace, he watched the renowned NYC drag queen, Gypsy, perform in front of an audience of police officers and their wives. But the performance was not the only thing that made him fall in love with the town. Finding self-representation and a strong LGBTQ+ community set the trajectory for him to become not only a visitor but also the first Homecoming Queen of Cherry Grove.
Hansen’s first role as a drag queen was as an audience member during a Melba Moore show at the Empire Room of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
“My lover and I were in a group of three men and a woman,” explained Hansen. “We were concerned that we wouldn’t get good seats, so I put on a dress to try to secure better seats, and we were seated in the front; it was frightening but thrilling. That is how it started. Something about fooling the world is very exciting.”
Joining the drag troop Mom’s Greenery, Hansen took the name Daisy but later changed it the following summer while hanging out with friends.
“Many people said I needed a name that was more camp, but someone explained I looked more like a Pansy than a Daisy. From then on, I went by the name Panzi,” recalled Hansen.
However, Hanson’s greatest performance would come in July 1976, which created a 50-year-long tradition: the Invasion of the Pines.
50 years ago, Pines’ Blue Whale restaurant owner John Whyte refused service to drag queen Teri Warren. Despite Warren being well respected in the neighboring Cherry Grove community, Whyte, a conservative gay man, shunned anyone who was flamboyant.
Much of Whyte’s biases towards flamboyant people were shaped by his experiences with local law enforcement vice raids against same-sex couples. As early as 1965, one such raid detained 20 men in Cherry Grove and five in Pines. When arraigned, the men were fined $50, and their names, professions, and addresses were all published in local papers.
In the aftermath of these raids, Whyte would pay bail in solidarity with the victims. However, in the mid-70s, times were changing: vice raids had ended, and the LGBTQ+ community was making small strides towards equality, but the fears of reprisal for being who you are were worn like scars on the older generation.
As word spread that Warren had been snubbed, Panzi and his friends were watching the United States bicentennial on television. While watching the patriotic flotillas sailing along the Hudson River, Panzi became inspired.
Panzi, with others (Max Killingworth, Gene Taylor, Chuck Young, Jack Flood, Amelia Migillaccio, Lyn Hutton, Nick Sinisi, and Robert Levine) donned their best drag queen outfits, chartered Randy and Sally’s Water Taxi, and navigated into the harbor along the dockside during one of Whyte’s tea dances.
Announcing that the queens had arrived, Panzi blessed the harbor and the spectators, then headed to Whyte’s other bar, the Botel, to be served drinks. Whyte was nowhere to be seen. Keeping the tradition, Panzi and his friends planned another Invasion the following year – but Whyte had his workers call Panzi and tell them they were not invited.
Panzi was not deterred and organized a louder and bigger Invasion. The following year, Whyte had workers call Panzi to affirm that the Fire Island Pines Property Owners’ Association (FIPPOA) did not want them there and promised legal action. However, the Invasion grew louder and larger than it had the previous year. During the 1980s, the Invasion became a ritual. Guests at Whyte’s restaurant requested special seating, which Whyte sold for $25 a seat.
The growing community’s embrace of the event and the influx of guests encouraged Whyte to invite Panzi for drinks at his restaurant to reconcile their differences.
Over the years, the July 4th Invasion of the Pines has grown, in some estimates, to thousands of spectators. Participants charter a ferry, crowding as many as 400 people dressed in their best drag to be part of the iconic event.
Carl Luss, a participant in the Invasion, reflected on one of his most memorable experiences: dressing up as Little Orphan Annie with a sign that read, Your son will come out tomorrow.
“The fun thing about it is to be someone you’re not. It is Halloween for adults,” said Luss.
This year’s Invasion comes on the heels of what the LGBT Network calls a federal political climate that is “invalidating the existence of transgender people by dismantling critical equity initiatives.”
“The first Invasion began when someone in drag was refused service at a restaurant,” said Panzi. “Now, 50 years later, the first Invasion is magnified by the political tone against the trans community. Yes, we are celebrating, but let’s not forget what started this because we are back where we began.”
