Jack Rinella Collection

The collection contains photocopies of Volume I and Volume II of Mattachine Midwest’s notes (1965-1966), membership letters, and an introductory address by President Robert Sloane in July 1965, which were originally donated to Rinella by William B. Kelley.

This collection is a series of transcribed oral histories conducted by Jack Rinella and Gregory Sprague as part of Rinella’s research on the history of leather. Rinella expanded the scope to the hisory of Gay Liberation and of Chicago as he became more familiar with the materials being presented through the interviews. The project was funded by Chuck Renslow.

The interviews contained in this collection were conducted primarily by Rinella on gay and lesbian individuals, some prominent figures, who were familiar with or who were actually involved in the making of Chicago’s gay and lesbian historical past. The collection contained 65 interviews by Rinella and eight interviews by Sprague, totaling 75 interviews.

The following transcribed interviews were conducted between 1980 and 1982 by or under the direction of Gregory Sprague (who died in 1987) or his assistants. Sprague’s interviews can be found as listed in this collection as follows:

• Interview One with Jim Bradford (Box 1, File Folder 5 and 6)
• Interview with Ira Jones (Box 2, FF 32)
• Interview with William Kelley (Box 2, FF 34)
• Interview with Merle Markland (Box 2, FF 45)
• Interview with Step (Stephan) May (Box 2, FF 46)
• Interview with Michael Shallow (Box 2, FF 66)
• Interview with Samuel Steward (Box 3, FF 70)
• Interview with Henry Wiemnhoff (Parts I and II) (Box 3, FF 78)