Jeanne and Barbara's Story

Jeanne Arnold was born November 14, 1931, in Racine, Wisconsin to Charles and Mildred Arnold. She studied at both UW Parkside and UW Madison. In 1953, she married Harry Chalekian with whom she had two children. 

Barbara Lindquist was born May 25, 1930, in Chicago to Clarence and Oma Holmes. She studied at Wright Junior College in Chicago as well as UW Parkside. She married Jack Lindquist and together they had four children. 

In the 1960s, Jeanne and Barbara met when they both worked as Sunday School teachers at Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church in Racine, Wisconsin. They soon were a part of the same social circle and became friends. They bonded over their family and marital struggles as well as their passion for social justice. In 1973, they started to have feelings for each other but struggled to come to terms with their sexualities.

On April 1, 1974, Jeanne and Barbara officially began their affair. They managed to keep it a secret for some time but eventually, their relationship was discovered by their husbands. Barbara and Jack divorced in 1975, while Jeanne and Harry did not divorce until 1977. During these years Jeanne and Barbara continued to see each other romantically but still struggled with their feelings towards each other, their husbands, and their families.

In 1978, Jeanne and Barbara opened Mother Courage Book Store and Art Gallery. The store housed many works that promoted feminism and established a gathering place for women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The bookstore closed its doors in 1983.

Author Phyllis E. Sweet asked them to publish her book entitled Something Happened to Me, which addressed child sexual abuse. They agreed to do so and in 1981, Mother Courage Press was established and published 5000 copies of Sweet's book. The press eventually published 25 books on the themes of abuse, feminism, spirituality, and lesbianism. Mother Courage Press retired in 2002.

After their retirement, Jeanne and Barbara continued their lives together. They traveled to goddess sites and ancient pagan ruins throughout North America, Europe, and New Zealand. Barbara took a special trip to Europe to study crop circles. They started a band called 'The Depends' and performed all over southeastern Wisconsin. Both Jeanne and Barbara continued their personal passions by continuing to write poetry and stories, paint, build instruments, and work with the Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church in Racine. 

They watched their families grow as they both became grandmas and great-grandmas in a large, blended family until Barbara passed away in 2013 at the age of 83. Jeanne still lives in Racine and writes about their story to this day.