The library at The Center is now the Paul “Miss P” Wegman Memorial Library, after being dedicated on April 3 to the facility's very first librarian who passed away eight years ago.
“Miss P” was the headliner at the Parliament House for decades. Her ashes are placed under the stage at The Footlight Theatre.
“So every time you see a drag queen trip, that's Paul grabbing their heel,” said Miss P's brother, David Wegman.
“She was a mix between Tallulah Bankhead and Don Rickles,” said Center Executive Director Randy Stephens. “She was definitely an icon that a lot of people remembered.”
At the dedication ceremony, Wegman donated books from Miss P's personal collection, a commemorative plaque was hung and attendees watched the screening of a video memorial of Miss P. Stephens said the library now contains 3,500 volumes, which members of The Center can check out for free.
“Her brother donated some of her personal books including her own personal dictionary and a few other reference materials that she used,” Stephens said.
He said The Center has had five librarians over the years and “each one of them have brought something very valuable to it,” so Stephens plans to write a brief history of each to be distributed to The Center's members.
