November 09, 2025 | Michail Takach

In Memoriam: "Papa Joe" Mallien (1935-2025)

This weekend, Wisconsin said goodbye to an original Silver Star. For over 50 years, "Papa Joe" Mallien (1935-2025) was an icon of Midwest motorcycle clubs, Wisconsin's leather community, and Green Bay nightlife.

Papa Joe

We’re truly sorry to hear that Joseph “Papa Joe” Mallien passed away this weekend at the age of 90. We were honored to meet with Papa Joe on June 26, 2020, where he shared his memories (and a large collection of photos.)

Joe was born March 19, 1935, and raised in Brussels, Wisconsin a town of just over a thousand people in southern Door County. He graduated from Brussels High School in the class of 1953 and joined the Army to see the world.

“I was almost immediately taken aside by an officer and warned about homosexuals,” said Joe. “He told me that anyone homosexual in the Army was just asking to get the shit kicked out of them. I had no idea what a homosexual was. I didn’t know I was gay, and I never suspected my officer thought I was either. I don’t think I was flamboyant in any way. So, why was he telling me this? It really worried me."

“I was from small town Wisconsin. What did I know?”

Papa Joe and friend

Papa Joe and friend at Kruz

Papa Joe and Jamie Taylor

Joe became a drill sergeant in the Army and toured Europe. He was also involved with a whole lot of women. One time, he even picked up a woman at a Miss America Contest. Eventually, he settled down with a wife and three kids.

“I still didn’t know I was gay, even though I had this unexplainable thing for men,” said Joe. “It was nagging at me, and even it got too loud to ignore. I started exploring my feelings. I guess you could say I had swinger experiences. Things started to happen mighty quick after that.”

Joe decided it was time to visit a gay bar. He went to Gail’s, Green Bay’s go-to gay bar of the 1950s, and he got “picked up” during his first visit.

“They could smell the fresh meat,” he laughed. “And they came on real strong.”

“Gail’s was a strange place. It was owned by Otto Rachals, the mayor of Green Bay, and he lived in the backroom. Gail was a bit of a frump. She acted like she’d rather be anywhere else. It was across the street from a titty bar, and guys would get all horned up and then wander into Gail’s. You wouldn’t believe the stuff that went on in that bar, and there were no police, because the mayor owned it!”

Joe heard people talk about Helen’s Tiny Tap, a queer space in the downtown bus depot, where gay men hung out looking for action. There was also a downtown restaurant that employed a lot of gay men as bartenders and servers. Unfortunately, he never went to either place, and always wondered what they were like.

Joe and his wife eventually divorced, and he thanked her for driving that decision. He now understood the life he wanted to live. Later, he discovered that his sister was a lesbian, and spent some time at women’s bars with her.

“We shocked the hell out of everyone,” he laughed. “I don’t miss that.”

While driving down to Milwaukee and Madison for work, Joe started exploring more of the gay hotspots of the era. He visited Rods, 1000 East, River Queen, Rooster, Seaway Inn, and Castaways South. He was dragged to the Factory by a friend, even though disco and drag weren’t really his thing.

He remembers getting picked up by a guy, who took him back to the Antlers Hotel and tried to tie him up. (“I wasn’t ready for that…yet,” laughed Joe.)

His favorite space was Wreck Room, which opened in 1972 and quickly became his home away from home. He remembers supplying hay bales to the bar – and having some adventurous moments in those hay bales later that night.

He also spent time in Chicago, especially at the legendary Gold Coast (501 N. Clark St.,) where Etienne’s erotic murals really made a lasting impression. One time, he bought a leather band and put it on his wrist – until a friend demonstrated a more intimate place it could be worn.

In 1973, Joe was one of three people (also including Si Smits and Tom Ryan) who came together in the basement of Antlers Hotel to form a leather club. The Silver Stars Motorcycle Club was launched in June 1973 and ran until the early 1980s. A year later, Joe was also a founding member of the Argonauts, now believed to be the oldest gay social organization in Wisconsin.

In 1976, Joe and Michael Dziuba opened Manhole (207 S. Washington Ave.,) the first leather bar in northeastern Wisconsin. Manhole became the home bar for the Argonauts Leather Club. After five successful years, the bar moved to 720 Bodart Way and reopened as The Body Shop. In early 1985, the space rebranded as “Who’s.” Although Joe exited the business in 1986, Michael continued to run the bar until 1989.

“When it’s time to go, it’s time to go,” said Joe. “I was ready to be done with running a bar. It was sometimes a struggle to keep those doors open.”

Eventually, Joe came to Milwaukee to stay. In 1986, he served as a judge for a leather contest at Boot Camp Saloon, and he “decided this was home now.”

Where did the name “Papa Joe” come from? Even Joe wasn’t entirely sure. He thought his oldest grandson gave him the name, but it’s possible he was christened by Rona at M&M Club even earlier. Either way, the name stuck.

Joe concluded our interview with these words of wisdom:

“It’s never too late to live a damn good life.”

Joe and friends at Kruz, 2015.