The "tree falls in the forest" metaphor may not be a perfect fit, but the work of thousands of gay activists has been lost to history because it was never documented. As generations of our community die, our history dies with them.

A few brave people did try to document our community, either as major events were happening or through groundbreaking historical research. These writers, journalists, photographers, filmmakers, academics and historians have tried to find many needles in the haystack, through interviews with pioneers, digging into old university and museum archives, and reading the often-biased coverage of the mainstream media. In some cases, finding out if there was a "there" there meant reading between the lines and piecing together what it was to be "gay" 100 years ago, when letters and photos may have been destroyed. People usually did not "come out" in any political sense, and families tried to hide any trace of "immoral" behavior once their famous relatives passed on.

Unfortunately, this still happens today. I began covering the Chicago gay community in 1984, just as AIDS was starting its devastation. As people died, their families often shunned partners and friends and threw away archival materials. This happened time and again, as older gays died in nursing homes, lesbians died of cancer and many young activists were struck down in their prime by violence, accidents or suicide. A few managed to leave a lasting, documented legacy, foremost among them Greg Sprague, who started a history project in the 1970s and was a force behind the founding of our city's main gay and lesbian library and archives. His materials are now stored at the Chicago History Museum.

There are many others who have contributed to documenting our community. Although national gay and lesbian historians have tried to include Chicago in their works, their efforts can only go so deep into any one city. Because Chicago lost some of our earlier historical pioneers, and perhaps because this is such a "working" town with activists intensely focused on building community, there have been few efforts to put our gay history down on paper or in other forms in a comprehensive way.

This is beginning to change. Several history projects ( books, films, Web sites ) are in the works, and as our community ages, more people are interested in making sure we learn from the past, and honor those who came before us. Why now? Maybe it is not just because individuals are aging, but also because our community as a whole is approaching 40 years past some of our own major events. From the Trip raid and Democratic National Convention riots in 1968, to our first Pride parade in 1970, and the Anita Bryant protests in 1977, we are at a point in time where we can reflect back. From those early events, the community came into the 2000s stronger than ever, hosting Gay Games VII in 2006 and witnessing the opening of the Center on Halsted in 2007.

As a working journalist writing articles and taking photos, I have tens of thousands of photos and articles of my own to help retrace the footsteps of our movement. In early 2007, I realized that much of this work, especially what was done prior to the Internet, would be lost for the next generations, who mostly get their information online, rather than from libraries and museums. I do believe they want to learn about the past, just as I was hungry for such information when I was a young adult. We must follow the path to the future and digitize our archives before they become irrelevant, or before the materials deteriorate.

This is not to dismiss the role of physical institutions. They are critical parts of our community, and especially important to researchers. But there has to be more, an effort to get these materials onto the Internet so we can reach and teach even more people in our community. It is also a way for those just coming out to safely learn about their history, during a time when they may be afraid to pick up a gay newspaper or ask a librarian for a gay research text.

So, in early 2007, I launched the Chicago Gay History Project. I deliberately chose the word "gay" as all-encompassing because the word has historical significance. "Queer" is too modern, and including gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, intersex and allies ( GLBTQIA ) , etc., is difficult to explain in a mainstream context. We were once "gay," and that included men, women, transgender, bisexuals and more. We are now GLBTQIA, and we are still a community. "Gay" simplifies, but it does not deny the reality of our diversity. I am a lesbian, but I am also "gay" and "queer" and "dyke" and whatever other words someone chooses to use to define me when they love me or hate me, fire me or hire me, attack me or honor me. We have also alternately used LGBT and GLBT throughout the book, because there is no one standard used by the community.

The first stage of the History Project was collecting information and interviews. In May 2007 my first video interview was with Ferd Eggan, who passed away a few weeks later. Attorney Mary York died just four months after her interview. There were 10 people on my list who died before I was able to interview them. As every death occurred, it further validated the reasons for collecting these stories. More than 250 people were interviewed on video, and hundreds more completed written surveys. Ultimately, thousands of people will be included in the History Project. The main qualification is to have had an impact in Chicago, whether short- or long-term. This could be in politics, culture, sports, academia, history, the law or other areas.

I also began the process of scanning old photos; I received donations from many photographers, as well as publications such as GayLife and Gay Chicago Magazine. I also dived deep into the archives of the publications I have produced, including Windy City Times, Outlines, BLACKlines and others. Our team also scanned complete copies of old Chicago gay and feminist media. The most important person in this process has been Marie J. Kuda, Chicago's treasured historian and writer, who has tens of thousands of her own documents, many of which she has shared for the first time for this project.

The ultimate goal is a Web site with hundreds of thousands of images, interviews, articles, publications and more. The Web site will formally launch in the summer of 2008, and it will continue the task of digitally archiving our community and its oral histories.

While I was working on the Web site, www.ChicagoGayHistory.org , Chicago's public television station WTTW created a documentary about Chicago's gay movement to air in June 2008. It seemed a natural fit that the materials I was collecting could also be used by WTTW. Expanding on that, we worked with Agate Publishing to create a book as a companion to both the Web site and the WTTW film, Out and Proud in Chicago, which was co-produced by Daniel Andries and Alexandra Silets. That is why this book carries the same title as the documentary—to make it clear that all three of these projects are companion pieces.

There is no way that one book, or one film, can fully document the history of the Chicago gay community. We especially wanted to emphasize pre-1980 events, as that is more "historical." There are hundreds of people and groups that have played key roles in our community whose stories could not be included here because of space limitations. The Web site will be an important supplement to these projects, and it will grow for years to come. As you read this book, know that this is truly the tip of the Chicago gay iceberg. We are so much more than can fit in between these covers, and we hope to include additional companion books in the coming years. Enjoy this visual overview of our community. If you have your own stories to tell or photos to share, visit the Web site, www.ChicagoGayHistory . org.

From Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Community, edited by Tracy Baim, Surrey Books, 2008.