According to Gary Chichester, Chicago's first Pride parade permit allowed for circus animals. Chichester would know—the permit bore his signature. Never having organized the parade before, organizers played it safe by asking the city for everything, horses and elephants included.
Chichester revisited that story and others from his decades of activism in a "Fireside Chat" with leatherman author Douglas O'Keeffe at Center on Halsted July 16.
Chichester grew up in Chicago and later the suburb of Niles, the son of a Dixieland drummer father and a mother who worked for a fire equipment company, an unprecedented career for a woman at the time.
Chichester attended high school with current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the two, both interested in politics, served on the class council together. Chichester described the young Clinton as "dorky."
"She had these coke-bottle glasses," said Chichester. "She was a brainiac."
When he was 16, Chichester's family took a vacation to Los Angeles. It was there he first noticed gay men.
"I thought, 'Hmm, who are all these boys walking around in these tight white Levis?'" he said.
Chichester decided he had to explore on his own, so shortly after his family returned, he moved to L.A. by himself. By the time his plane landed, he said, he was an out gay man.
In L.A., Chichester got to know actors, writers and others in Hollywood, including Henry Wilson, the gay talent agent that shaped Rock Hudson's career.
"He was going to discover me, which never came through," said Chichester with a laugh.
It was not long, however, before police busted the 17-year-old as an underage transient and shipped him back to Chicago.
In Chicago, Chichester watched history unfold from the start of the post-Stonewall gay rights movement to the political turmoil of the time. He watched as busloads of police cracked down on protesters and media at the infamous '68 Democratic National Convention.
Chichester's connection to LGBT life only grew over the next few years. He was involved in the early movement at local universities through Gay Liberation Front. But Chichester and others wanted to organize beyond universities.
In 1971, they formed the Chicago Gay Alliance.
Around the same time, Chichester and others were working on putting together the city's gay pride parade. A march of 100 to 150 people had been held in 1970, but in 1971, organizers wanted to create a joyous event. Still, they didn't know how many people would attend a parade or what they would march with. Planning for all possibilities, they asked for a permit that included everything, said Chichester, including horses and elephants. The city approved the permit.
Chichester found early employment managing Man's Country, the North Side bathhouse owned by legendary leathermen Chuck Renslow and Dom Orejudos. Working for Renslow and Orejudos, Chichester had a hand in planning the first Mr. Gold Coast Contest, named after the couple's leather bar. The contest was the precursor to International Mr. Leather, which Chichester still helps organize today.
Chichester remained active through LGBT organizations and causes through the AIDS crisis. He raised funds for AIDS advocacy as a clown with Circus Vargas.
One day, former Windy City Times Publisher Jeff McCourt told Chichester that he would donate $5,000 if he performed on the trapeze. The follow year, Chichester made good on the bet. He and longtime friend R.J. Chaffin dubbed themselves "The Flying Rotundas" and took to the air.
Chichester's skills in event planning and production would eventually lead him to a career with AgencyEA, a Chicago-based marketing agency. Since, Chichester has helped plan events for Oprah Winfrey.
But his commitment to LGBT community has remained steadfast. Asked if he would change anything about his life if he could go back in time, Chichester said he would not. He has no regrets, even if the gains made by LGBT activists during his time changed what being gay meant to Chichester personally.
"I actually had more fun being gay when it was naughty," he said with smile.
