In 2016, Dusty Green uncovered the story and photos of
two young lovers Len & Cub while working in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
Leonard O. Keith and Joseph Austin “Cub” Coates were both from Havelock, a
village in South Eastern New Brunswick. Len was an amateur photographer and his
photos not only document rural life in New Brunswick at the beginning of the
20th Century, but also his relationship with Cub. Sadly, Len was eventually
exposed as a homosexual and driven out of town in the 1930s.
The tale of Len & Cub is a rare example of an
early queer relationship in New Brunswick and Canadian history. Green, along
with the help of archivist Meredith J. Batt are in the process of writing a
book on the lives and relationship of Len & Cub set to be released along
with an exhibit at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick in
2021.
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| Postcard portrait of Leonard Keith (left)
and Cub Coates, c. 1915-1920 |
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| Len Keith and Cub Coates c. 1915 |
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| Leonard Keith (left) and Cub Coates
sitting together in a shirtless embrace c. 1915 |
