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Jude Sharp


Introduction: 
Jude Sharp is a crafts person, an artist, a jeweler and a lesbian. She was born in November of 1947 in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and has lived most of her live in Central PA. Jude opened her first jewelry shop at 21 with her ex-husband in Denver Colorado. After moving back to Central Pennsylvania Jude met her first girlfriend. Her current store, J.A.  Sharp Custom Jeweler is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jude Sharp has crafted jewelry in her laundry room, dining room, and studios - anywhere she could create. 

Early Life:
Jude Sharp grew up moving around between different towns in Pennsylvania following her father's job as a Methodist minister. Her mother worked from home raising Jude and her two younger sisters as well as performing the role of the minister's wife. Possibly influenced by moving around a lot as a kid or her budding queer identity, Jude recalls feeling like an outsider in her schools, "I always felt like an outsider but I don’t know whether that was because of me or because I was moving around I always sort of thought it was ‘cause of me." Jude graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and has a high opinion of schools segregated by gender through high school. From there Jude attended Tyler College of Art in Philadelphia, a part of Temple University. 

"...for me personally when I first got involved with Pat I felt like I had
such a huge weight lifted off of me, because it was like, I didn’t have to try to ​be something I wasn’t anymore. It was just like, “Oh my god, this is right, this has been right all along and it just took me all these years to figure it out,”
- Jude Sharp, Oral History, August 2016

​
Coming Out: 
When asked about when she came out Jude talked about the freedom of realizing her identity as a lesbian woman when she began dating her first girlfriend. Jude also remarks on her regret at not discovering that aspect of herself earlier. Jude Sharp's youngest sister, Cate came out to their parents 3 years earlier than Jude. While her parents did not have the best reaction when Cate came out, by the time Jude was in a same-sex relationship and felt the need to come out they had settled in. Jude recollects what Cate said to her when she came out, "Wow, all I can say is that its about time." Jude says that her family was accepting of her sexual identity. Her father, a Methodist minister, went so far as to write an essay to present to other ministers debunking the idea that scripture was anti-homosexuality. 
Image: handcrafted necklaces and pendants by Jude Sharp. December 2021, photographs courtesy of Jude Sharp
History of Her Craft:
Jude Sharp was able to start working in a commercial jewelers right after graduating from Tyler College of Art, where she worked for about a year doing repair and assembly work. After that she worked part time on Jewelers Row at the same time she was making jewelry at home. She credits her early work experience with teaching her techniques of jewelry making and how to make it a career she could live off of. Jude opened her first jewelry store in Denver Colorado at the age of 21 after moving their with her ex-husband. Jude briefly lived in California with her then-girlfriend before returning to Pennsylvania in 1979. Starting then, she made prosthetic legs and other orthotics for 5 years, making jewelry in her dinning room whenever she could. Jude Sharp then opened Sharp Jewelers with her partner Sue Martin in the summer of 1984 in Lancaster. While their romantic relationship did not continue their business partnership did until they sold Sharp Jewelers in 2001. Jude's current store is named J.A. Sharp Custom Jewelers, which she sold to Andrea M. Amey in 2019. Jude continues to work there creating custom jewelry using responsibly-sourced stones from historic downtown Lancaster city. 
Image: handcrafted rings by Jude Sharp. December 2021, photographs courtesy of Jude Sharp
PictureAdvertisement for Sharp Jewelers. July 1999, courtesy of LGBT-009 Lavender Letter Collection, Dickinson Archives
Jewelry and Queerness:
Jude Sharp does not credit her identity as lesbian as a factor or influence in her pursuit of art, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and an artist, her craft and queerness are inherently linked through her. In her life Sharp opened several different jewelry shops, as discussed above, it's notable that for Sharp Jewelry and JA Sharp Custom Jewelers, Jude opened both business in conjunction with her partner at the time. This is a relatively small detail, though notable nonetheless. Jude would often also go to pride celebrations and women's festivals to sell jewelry from a booth, and advertise in the Lavender Letter, a newsletter for the lesbian and Sapphic community in and around Central Pennsylvania at the time (see image). ​

Jude Sharp also remarks of the sense of community and love she felt when working with other members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Jude Sharp, Oral History, August 2016
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P.O. Box 5629
Harrisburg, PA 17110

(717) 409-5781
info@centralpalgbtcenter.org

© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • The Long Road
    • Beginning >
      • Early Experiences
    • Philadelphia >
      • Philadelphia Part 2
    • Harrisburg >
      • Harrisburg Experiences
    • Lancaster >
      • Lancaster Experiences
    • York >
      • York Experiences
    • Allentown
    • Montgomery >
      • Montgomery Experiences
      • Montgomery Part 2
    • Work Continues >
      • Current Challenges
    • Acknowledgments
  • With Open Hearts & Open Arms
    • Gay LIfe in Pre-Castro Cuba/Homophobia/What's In a Name? Part 1
    • What's in a Name? Part 1 Continued/UMAP/Mattachine Society
    • Leftist Gays in the US/The Mariel Boatlift
    • The Mariel Boatlift Part 2/Resettlement Camps
    • Resettlement Continued/Press Coverage
    • Immigration/What's In a Name? Part 2
    • LGBTQ+ Organizing
    • The Mariel Generation/Life in PA
    • The Eromin Center/Impact of AIDS
    • AIDS in Cuba/LGBTQ+ Rights in Cuba
    • Acknowledgements
  • Stories of Discrimination
    • Hate Crimes >
      • Anita Bryant
      • Escalating Violence
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Bookstore Bombings
    • Employment Discrimination >
      • Blacklisted
      • "Moral Turpitude"
      • Elected
      • Traumatized and penalized
      • Other Stories of Employment Discrimination
    • Transgender Discrimination >
      • High School Experiences
      • Other Stories of Transgender Discrimination
    • Housing and Property Discrimination >
      • Vision of Hope MCC
    • Conclusion
  • We Believe?
    • Early Expereriences
    • Coming Out
    • LGBTQ+ Groups >
      • Religious Life
      • Social Life
      • Political Life
    • Faith and Identity
    • LGBTQ+ Clergy
    • Responses: Backlash
    • Responses: Acceptance
    • Looking Forward
  • Duty, Honor, Pride
    • Vietnam War Era >
      • Investigations
    • Post-Vietnam Experiences
    • "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy >
      • Personal Experiences
      • Criticisms
      • Repeal
    • Closing >
      • Citations
  • History of LGBTQ+ Bars
    • Bars of the 1950s & 1960s
    • Bars of the 1970s
    • Bars of the 1980s
    • Bars of the 1990s & 2000s
    • Harrisburg, PA
    • Lancaster, PA
    • York, PA
    • Bar Spotlights >
      • 400 N. 2nd Street, Harrisburg: Pre-Raids
      • Johnny Kobler's
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Friendly Bars of the 1960s
      • The Neptune Lounge
      • The Strawberry Inn
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1970’s
      • Silhouette/D-Gem
      • Shadows
      • The Archives
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1980’s
      • Harrisburg LGBTQ+ Bars of the 1990/2000’s
      • Village Tavern Night Club
      • Tally-Ho Tavern/ The Loft
      • Railroad House Bar
      • The Fiddler
      • Sundown Lounge
      • Altland’s Ranch
      • Town Tavern
      • 14 Karat Room
  • Gender Identity and Gender Expression
    • Terminology
    • Early Years: Impersonation
    • Entertaining for a Cause
    • Gender During Gay LIberation
    • Medical Classification
    • Rise of Publications and Organizations
    • The 1990s
    • Advocacy and Visibility
    • Expansion of Organizations and Activities >
      • Oral Histories and Photos
    • Where We Are Now
  • LGBTQ+ Art and Artists
    • Jude Sharp
    • Paul Foltz
    • Inspired
    • Aries and the Gay Era
  • The Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus
    • What is the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus? >
      • PA Rural Gay Caucus Education Committee
    • Where were these groups located?
    • Gay Lobby Day
    • Important People
    • Pushback Against Opposition
    • What Happened to the Caucus?
  • Early LGBTQ+ Activism
    • Life Before Stonewall
    • Who's Who?
    • Richard Schlegel
    • Social Organizations
    • Effects of Stonewall on Central PA
    • Political Organizing
    • Rifts in the Movement
    • Read All About It!
  • Coming Out
    • Emily Newberry
    • Joanne Carrol
    • Amanda Hecker
    • Mara Kiesling
    • Maria Warren
    • Shaka Hudson
    • Lindsay Snowden
    • David Payne
    • Dr. Eric Selvy
    • Heidi Notario
    • Tammy de Sol
    • Cindy Lou Mitzel
    • LGBTQ+ Support Groups
  • Out on Campus
    • Acknowledgments
    • Bryn Mawr
    • HBCUs
    • Lafayette College
    • BCCC
    • Penn State
    • UPenn
    • Pitt
    • Lehigh University
    • Shippensburg University
    • HACC
  • Other Resources