november 19. 1999 * jM St
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hen Tom Cook came out to
his mother 17 years ago, she
shared with him a story
about a man she had loved
who was gay.
The account registered in Cook’s mind.
After all, it was a fascinating footnote in a fam­
ily’s history, and Cook savored the enlighten­
ment.
Call it his nature.
“I am interested in what it is that defines a
man or a woman,” says the Portlander.
This passion— blended with a desire to make
a lasting contribution to the sexual minorities
community— led Cook to co-found the Gay and
Lesbian Archive of the Pacific Northwest five
years ago.
The organization is fueled by historians and
others who are dedicated to the preservation
and docum entation of the region’s sexual
minorities history. It functions as a nonprofit
educational organization, historical society and
archive.
According to Cook, GLAPN is committed
to dispelling homophobic myths and discover­
ing the unknown, or—as is often the case with
queer history—acknowledging the ignored.
“We are a wonderfully diverse community,”
he says.
According to Cook, GLAPN collects and
makes available to the public the photographs,
records and stories that embody the lives and
culture of queer folk.
He and eight other board members manage a
collection that is housed and maintained by the
Oregon Historical Society. They are committed
to public awareness of and access to these
records through exhibits, lectures, special events
and an Internet site.
Tom Cook savoring the archives
W
D riven to
D iscover
A passion for history motivates Tom Cook and the
Gay and Lesbian Archive of the Pacific Northwest
by Bonita B ielski
Recognizing the great value and benefit of
sharing life stories, Cook says GLAPN is cur­
rently documenting the narratives of individuals
through an oral history project called Voices.
The premise is that each of us has a relevant
tale to tell about life as a queer individual, and
these stories help us recognize that we are part of
a larger human family.
“We encourage people to leave the personal
items that represent their gay life to the archive
or historical center. Photographs and written
records that otherwise might be lost or destroyed
will have meaning as part of the archive’s col­
lection,” Cook tells Just Out.
In order to secure a more complete picture of
the sexual minorities community’s history, he
says, accounts from a broad range of people are
needed. He says these first-person accounts can
provide a personal perspective on certain his­
toric events, such as the Stonewall Riots, or on
a particular time period, such as lesbian life in
1950s Portland.
Cook says the stories, which hopefully will
be told and retold for generations to come, can
inspire and give added meaning to the events
that become history.
The GLAPN Internet site features several
people who have participated in this project.
These men and women share stories that
include sexual nonconformity as young adults in
the 1950s, and the founding of Portland’s first
gay and lesbian political organization.
One Portland resident was an eyewitness to
the Stonewall Riots of 1969, and he discusses his
experience as a closeted gay man in the Com ­
munist Party.
According to Cook, it is GLAPN’s philoso­
phy to record an individual’s life as well as the
aspects of his or her identity. These tape-record­
ed documents become a permanent part of the
gay and lesbian collection of the Oregon Histor­
ical Society.
Included in the collection is a selection of
historical essays and photographs of figures such
as Dr. Marie Equi, a Portland physician and suf­
fragist, and Ray Leonard, a pioneer woman who
came to Oregon in 1889 and passed as a man.
And with a visit to the Internet, he says, one
can explore gay history of the Northwest or the
manuscript collections housed by the society.
The GLAPN site also has a long list of links to
other national and international archives.
If you’re considering a GLAPN research
visit, please note that many of the materials are
located off-site and require at least a day’s notice
to have them delivered to the Oregon History
Center— home of the Oregon Histocial Soci­
ety— for viewing. You can review the scope and
content notes of the numbered collections
either at the Oregon Historical Society’s library
or on the GLAPN Internet site.
GLAPN also welcomes volunteers who
would like to participate in the preservation of
the queer community’s history.
Volunteers are needed for recording and
transcribing oral histories, and collecting
archive materials, among other tasks. Carpentry
skills are also needed to build a portable exhibit,
and GLAPN gets many requests for public
speakers.
■ Membership in the G ay AND LESBIAN A rchive
P acific N orthw est is available and
encouraged for individuals and households. For
more information, visit G L A P N ’s Internet site at
www.teleport.com/~glapn. The Oregon History
Center is located at 1200 S.W. Park Ave. in Port-
land; its phone number is (503) 222-1741.
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