10242 106 Street — the former Club 70, Cha Cha Club, Boots N’ Saddle, Boots, and The Junction The Rainbow Story Hub Foundation has submitted an application to the City of Edmonton to recognize 10242 106 Street NW as a historic place — the first step toward preserving the longest-serving gathering place in Edmonton’s 2SLGBTQ+ history. You can help move it forward, and it takes about five minutes. Why this place matters From 1970 to 2012 — more than four decades — this one address was the continuous heart of our community: Club 70 (Edmonton’s first gay bar), the…
In Part One of this biographical series, Edmonton’s Ron Byers reflects on the early chapters of his life — from coming out as gay and facing rejection at home, to finding the courage to live openly and authentically. His story traces the challenges, friendships, and discoveries that shaped both his life and Edmonton’s emerging queer community.
After leaving home, Ron moved into his first apartment with his best friend from high school. It was there that independence began to take root — a time of exploration, music, and late-night conversations about identity and belonging. Soon after, he found Edmonton’s first gay bar, a hidden space that offered connection and the promise of something larger than himself.
That discovery set him on a path of adventure. Ron joined a female impersonation revue, traveling across the Prairies as the troupe’s tech person. Life on the road opened his eyes to the artistry and resilience within drag performance — and to the chosen families built through laughter and performance in small-town bars and hotel ballrooms.
Returning to Edmonton, Ron became part of the staff at Flashback, the legendary nightclub that stood as a safe haven for the city’s 2SLGBTQ+ community through the 1970s and 1980s. Within its walls, he witnessed both the joy of liberation and the heartbreak that came with the AIDS crisis, as friends and colleagues were lost to a growing epidemic that reshaped the community forever.
In time, Ron sought peace and balance away from the city. He found it on a small farm near Tofield, a life chapter captured in the story “Loading Dock to Farm Pasture: The Annual Flashback to Tofield Migration.”
Part One captures the foundations of Ron’s journey — the courage to come out, the pull of community, and the unbreakable spirit that kept Edmonton’s queer history alive even through its hardest years.
In the mid-seventies, Big Joey – who was born Janet Wilkeson – was a character slightly larger than life. Though she was a founding member of Club 70 as well as a huge supporter of Flashback, she is primarily remembered for her no-nonsense behaviour and the power of her physical presence. It may surprise you to know she was also a dog loving softie.
For some reason Joey and I were ‘roommates’ for a short time sharing a house with John Reid – a founding partner of Flashback. I think it was his house, located in a totally cute, blue-collar working-class neighbourhood in Edmonton.
This podcast will discuss several sites on Edmonton’s Queer History Map with Rainbow Story Hub co-founder Ron Byers. Ron shares his perspective as both someone that lived it and as a historian.
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Ron Byers
Rainbow Story Hub
Gwen Tonack
Dustin Scott