IAGSDC History Project
The IAGSDC History Project is the name for an umbrella project encompassing a series of several smaller initiatives by Allan Hurst, which include:
- The digital recreation/restoration of the book Ten Years IAGSDC.
- The 10/25 Project.
- Creation of this wiki.
- The (eventual) scanning and photographing of the IAGSDC Archives in Karl Jaeckel's home, and subsequent relocation of the materials to a research library facility for safekeeping.
Original Goals
The original goals of the History Project were to (1) Restore Ten Years IAGSDC, (2) Create a follow-up book covering years 10-25 (through the 2008 Cleveland, OH convention Touch A Quarter Century).
At a lunch meeting during Touch A Quarter Century, the IAGSDC board requested that Allan add the inventory and indexing of Karl Jaeckel's extensive IAGSDC archives, and figure out somewhere to relocate the physical archives for safekeeping.
Ten Years IAGSDC Digital Edition
In 2009, Allan released the Ten Years IAGSDC Digital Edition (as a PDF document) of the book Ten Years IAGSDC: A Collection of Pages From Our Memory Book. The release was formally announced during the brunch at DC Diamond Circulate.
10/25 Project
The 10/25 Project was intended to be a gathering of historical material (e.g., interviews) covering the period from where the 10 Years book left off and the IAGSDC's 25th Anniversary Convention in Cleveland, OH. (Hence the name "10/25".)
As production of Ten Years IAGSDC Digital Edition dragged on (for roughly two years longer than anticipated), it became apparent that producing a formal printed "10/25" volume--or even an electronic book as a PDF file--would be highly impractical at best.
The 10/25 Project was informally morphed into a combination of coordinating the gathering of oral histories, which will be uploaded into the IAGSDC History Wiki. There is consideration of renaming this effort the "IAGSDC Oral History Project".
Revised Goals: Wiki Creation
After nearly two years of thrashing about trying to figure out the best way to gather material for the 10/25 Project, Allan decided to ditch the idea of creating a book and instead create a website allowing anybody to make their own historical contributions via a wiki.
Danny Lee graciously researched and then installed a copy of MediaWiki software on the IAGSDC's website, to which Allan added an organizational framework and some initial content.
Oral History Project
The Oral History Project is intended to gather stories and personal histories from callers, dancers, and friends of the IAGSDC. Happy Doodle was the team leader for this project.
IAGSDC Archives
Karl Jaeckel's home is filled from top to bottom with valuable and rare IAGSDC ephemera. One of the goals of the History Project is to scan and/or photograph all of the ephemera, create a master index, and upload the resulting digital content (and index) to this wiki.
After the ephemera have been digitally scanned and/or recreated, the colletion will be placed in a suitable research library capable of (1) preserving the ephemera and (2) providing public access to the materials as needed by researchers and historians .
Some of the institutions under discussion include Chicago's Gerber/Hart Library, the San Francisco based GLBT Historical Society, similar institutions in New York, or the [Library of Congress]. Discussions with any of these institutions have not yet commenced.
History Project Team
Current Members
Past Members
History Project Logo
The History Project Logo was created pro bono by Urso Chappell in 2010. Urso also created the logos for both the Houston 2021 and Minneapolis 2022 IAGSDC conventions on a paid basis.
The logo is composed of deconstructed parts of the "exploded" IAGSDC Logo, to suggest historical deconstruction. The IAGSDC and History Project logos are presented below for easy comparison
Original IAGSDC Logo
IAGSDC Logo updated in 2015
History Project Logo
