Sadly, AIDS decimated SAGA’s board, taking the lives of eight board members including Stevens and ending publication of the Calendar. As the 80s marched on and AIDS gripped San Antonio’s LGBTQ community, the disease, its casualties, and attempts to mitigate the destruction it wreaked, dominated the pages of the Calendar.
Short articles and editorials covered news and events of interest to gays and lesbians. That came in handy as the Calendar’s “Community Directory” listed local queer businesses and organizations and advertisements for gay and lesbian bars pointed the way to the city’s thriving queer social scene. The publication began its six-year run as a diminutive bi-weekly periodical that fit easily into the back pocket on pair of jeans. Published beginning in 1982, the Calendarserved as the communication conduit for the San Antonio Gay Alliance (SAGA), established by Michael Stevens, former UTSA professor turned gay activist.
