Their last headline: Aleta Fenceroy and Jean Mayberry were behind the headlines for years, but the duo known as "Fenceberry" needed to move on.As the activist duo known as "Fenceberry," Aleta Fenceroy and Jean Mayberry played a big role in gay and lesbian politics for eight years. Every day they would comb comb 1. a vascular, red cutaneous structure attached in a sagittal plane to the dorsum of the skull of domestic fowl. It consists of a base attached to the skull, a central mass called the body, a backward projecting blade and upward projecting points. 2. the Internet for gay-related news stories and letters, format the clips into easy-to-read e-mails, and send them to over a thousand activists and journalists who came to depend on the service to stay informed. As coverage of gay issues proliferated, Fenceberry's homegrown home·grown adj. 1. Raised or grown at home. 2. Originating in or characteristic of a locality: "Rock is homegrown music in the United States, evolved from blues and country and Tin Pan Alley" news service expanded from one or two e-mails a day to as many as 10, sometimes including over 50 stories. But on July 31 the Nebraska couple, who have been together 13 years, sent out their final e-mail blast, their retirement motivated in part by months wrangling with AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. , which regularly blocked their broadcasts. "Jean and I need to spend less time on the computer and more time involved in our local community and with each other," Aleta wrote. The Advocate spoke to Fenceroy and Mayberry a few days after their announcement. How did Fenceberry start? Aleta: It started as a way to get people to write letters to the editor. A man named Bill Stosine was sending out news e-mails every day. When he decided to stop we went into news withdrawal. I was in school and working full-time, but Jean had time on her hands. Bill sent her his e-mail list and said, "Have at it!" She did it for the two years I was in school, then we shared it for a year, and I've been doing it for the past five. How did Aleta end up running it for so long? Jean: After two years we moved from Sioux City Sioux City, city (1990 pop. 80,505), seat of Woodbury co., NW Iowa, at the junction of the Big Sioux and Floyd rivers with the Missouri; inc. 1857. It is a shipping, wholesale trade, and industrial center for an extensive agricultural and livestock area (including [Iowa] to Omaha, and I thought, I don't want to sit by the computer for five or six hours a day anymore. Gradually Aleta did more and more. I'm amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. at the incredible job she's done. She's been rockin'! What was the hardest part? Aleta: Fitting it into my day. I would get up and do an hour or so before work and after work spend the evening in front of the computer, seven days a week. So it was unpaid and took up all your free time. Why keep doing it? Jean: It didn't start out us a service for other people. We wanted the information ourselves. We were in Iowa and wanted that connection to other people, to people who cared, people who were active and fighting for gay rights. Aleta: Part of it was the thrill of the chase. Finding that interesting story and thinking, Oh, readers will love this one. And it was a way to be an activist without ever leaving my home. I had a comfortable chair, could sit here in sweat pants with a latte, and be an activist! Did you have help? Jean: People had this misconception mis·con·cep·tion n. A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding: had many misconceptions about the new tax program. we were like the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. , with people all over working for us. We're just two old dykes here in Omaha. Aleta: But we did have some help: people who monitored their areas and sent stuff to us and writers who would send us their stuff. Why stop now? Aleta: I want to spend more of my life in the world. Jean is an avid AVID Cardiology A clinical trial–Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators that compared the effect of implantable defibrillators vs the best medical therapy–antiarrhythmics for survivors of MI or those with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia gardener and we have a beautiful backyard, but I sometimes go for over a week without stepping into it. How do you feel now that it's over? Aleta: It's been a privilege. People have written to say it's had such an impact on their lives; it brings tears to my eyes. People allowed us into their e-mail boxes, into their lives. Jean: It's kind of a grieving grieving Mourning, see there process. We've lost something. It's had a profound effect on our lives. What's next for yon? Jean: We're going to be working for the John Kerry  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. campaign.
And one of our local activist groups has been wanting us to get involved
for years. I like the sense of freedom we have now. We went to a
friend's house the other night and didn't have to rush home.
It's been a long time since we've had that.
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