Bare Facts
Copyright 2000 Lake Edun Foundation, Inc.
Official Publication of the Lake Edun Foundation, Inc.
April 1, 2000

Tax Day - Tax Party

Eduners will celebrate Tax Day this year with a Tax Party. Vickie and Carl are hosting a tax day party at their new digs in Kansas City. So.. Leave your 1040, your W-2, your Schedule A, and form 4692 at home. Bring a pot luck dish, your favorite beverage and a party smile and join the Eduners at Vickie & Carl's for a great party on April 15.

Return to Edun/8 Plans

Nothing is as simple as it ought to be! We had hoped to include the Return to Edun/8 brochure with this issue of Bare Facts. But, it is not complete, yet.

Nancy has most of the bands confirmed with only one or two left to go. And she has an expression of interest from many potential vendors. As her planning process moves forward, the event continues to sound like it will be the best ever. As always, if you are interested in assisting with this important task, let us know. In the mean time, be sure to schedule your weekend of July 14-16 so you don't have any conflicts with Return To Edun this year.

Use the order blank enclosed with this issue of Bare Facts to place your order for tickets at the early, member price. Members can receive tickets at half price if they place their order before July 7 and their own membership expires after July 16. Parking will be an additional $5.00 per vehicle. If you wish, add $5.00 to your ticket price to pre-pay this expense.

Chamber of Commerce Event

On July 18, just two days after Return to Edun/8, we will host Business After Hours for the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce. This will be a great opportunity to educate many in the local business community about Naturism and the Lake Edun Foundation. Because of the curiosity most have about our special place, we expect a large turn-out. It is important that it is well planned so our visitors leave with a positive impression. Our biggest need is for Eduners to volunteer to supervise our parking lot, which will probably be very full and others to help with the food and answer questions. This will be an opportunity for you to make a large difference on the local scene.

If you are available on Tuesday, July 18, from about 4 PM on and are willing to assist, please let us know. It is important that we have many Eduners on hand to help.

The Benefits of Membership

Weddings are a special time. We have all been invited by friends to their wedding. And we go ... bearing gifts. It is easy to spend $50.00 or much more for a friend's gift. Now, there is a way to help members reduce this cost: Give the newly wed couple a one year membership to the Lake Edun Foundation.

This is FREE for any member to give to anyone whose wedding they have been invited to. They will receive Bare Factseach month and may attend all LEF activities. Since the purpose of this is to reach out to new members, it is not available if either of the new couple has been a member of LEF in the past year. Just send us a copy of the invitation, how you want the certificate to read, and where it should be mailed.

Keep this option in mind next time you are asked to give a wedding present. What can be more appropriate? Give a valuable present the newly weds will remember (and talk about) long after the celebration has ended.

Did You Know?

Fred Rogers, creator and star of the PBS children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is 71 years old; has been married to his wife for 48 years; is an ordained Presbyterian minister; and takes a morning swim every day in the nude.

DON'T FORGET

Apr 1; Sat; 12-4; Work Day
Apr 1; Sat; 5-7 pm; Sauna
Apr 9; Sun; 12-4; Work Day
Apr 15; Sat; 2-4; Board of Directors Meeting
Apr 15; Sat; 7 pm; Tax party at Vickie & Carl's
Apr 21; Fri; 8-10 pm; Heartland Naturists swim in KC
Apr 29; Sat; 12-4; Work Day
Apr 29; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Apr 30; Sun; 6-8; Sauna
May 6; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
May 13; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
May 13; Sat; 12-4; Work Day
May 13; Sat; 5-7; Sauna
May 13; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
May 20; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
May 21; Sun; 12-4; Work Day
May 21; Sun; 5-7; Sauna
May 27; Sat; Luau - Sponsor: Dizzie & Bill
May 27; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
June 3; Sat; 12-3; Open House
June 10; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
June 10; Sat; 12-4; Work Day
July 8; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
July 8; Sat; 12-4; Work Day
July 14-16, 2000; Return to Edun/8

Presidential Pearls
by Kelly "aka Dizzy" Shepardson

Happy Easter, everyone! The month of March flew by, as time usually seems to do. There was quite a bit going on in March. Thanks to Russ, who along with some other volunteers had a booth set up at the Wholistic Health Fair at UMKC on March 19. Many thanks to Russ, Karen, and Peggy for putting in the time and effort to help get the word out about Lake Edun. If you have an idea of a way to spread the word about Lake Edun, just drop me a line at Dizzie28@yahoo.com. I am happy to spread the word about Lake Edun and the benefits the Naturist lifestyle has to offer.

Biology Bill and I are sponsoring the Luau again this year. It promises to be fun, with lots of music, games and a potluck dinner in the evening. Mark that on your calendar for Memorial Day weekend and plan to be there. (This might be the only time when you can legally see people getting lei'd!!! :) Sorry, I couldn't resist throwing the pun!)

Summer is going to be upon us before you know it. Don't forget our annual open house on June 3rd. The times will be as follows: 12p.m. to 3p.m. will be clothing required, from 3p.m. to 5 p.m. it will be clothing optional, and from 5p.m. on, it will be nudity required. This will be a great chance for those who are curious to see what the Naturist Lifestyle is all about and be able to ask questions. Tell your friends and co-workers about it. They may be interested in visiting with us. Last year we asked for a donation of clothing. We have not officially decided what the admission fee will be this year. Stay tuned for further developments.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the Board of Directors. They work very hard to get things accomplished and they deserve Kudos for doing such great work! Thank you all for all of your hard work!

Wedding Bells are ringing at the lake this year, let me tell you! It's official, Biology Bill and I are engaged! We have set our wedding date for June 2, 2001. We will have a party at the lake this summer to celebrate our engagement. Look for details in coming newsletters.

Also, if you haven't heard, Stephanie and Jason are getting married this summer. Jeff and Carlie just announced they are getting married this summer as well! Congratulations to both couples !

I hope everyone has a good Easter holiday, and don't forget to set your clock ahead one hour on April 2!.

From The Mail Bag

Dear Lake Edun;

A couple of years ago Lake Edun had a deal with Fiest to donate a percentage of my long distance phone bill to the Lake Edun Foundation. My bill is no longer with Fiest but some company called IONEX. Telecommunications. Is this agreement still in place? - Dale

Thanks for the inquiry. With all the corporate changes Fiest went through, they cancelled the agreement. Thanks for your support!

Help Beautify Lake Edun

Spring is upon us once again and it is once again time to plant trees. This is an annual effort and some of the trees planted in years past have reached the point where we are now enjoying them.

The trees are small and easy to plant. It is a fairly quick process to get them on their way to provide future beauty. It is also an enjoyable time to visit with other Eduners concerned about the beauty of our special place. Join us on our work days to help in this important activity. Your effort now will help us in the future and will also help with our budget.

If you want to help but can not make it to one of the scheduled work days, contact us. We can make arrangements that will be convenient to your schedule.

Is A Nude Beach Good Business?

Adapted from an article in the February, 2000 issue of the N Newsletter

Last year, the Toronto City Council began a bold experiment. South of the Toronto City Centre Airport is a relatively secluded area on one of the slowly shifting sand bars in Lake Ontario. It has a long history of use as a clothing-optional beach. It is called Hanlan's Point.

This year, the Council evaluated the success of Hanlan's Point. One Councillor, George Mammoliti, who has opposed nude or clothing-optional use of the beach from the beginning, was once again vocal in his opposition during the February committee meeting. "I don't think the city should be running a nude beach," he stated. And, of course, he attempted to characterize the area as a place where lewd conduct is rampant.

Staff Inspector Edward Hegney is in charge of the Toronto police marine unit. He pointedly refuted Mammoliti's remarks when he told the committee the nude beach at Hanlan's Point had not been a problem area.

Usage the beach has enjoyed tells an even more convincing story. The committee learned that ten times as many people use the clothing-optional section of beach as the nearby clothed section. For those who still doubted, ridership on the ferry to the island increased by 10% in 1999 over prior year's figures. In addition, Councillor Kyle Ray, in whose district the beach is located, pronounced the year-long experiment a complete success.

This experience in Toronto adds to the mounting evidence from such places as Wreck Beach in Vancouver and Haulover Beach in Miami: clothing-optional recreation is good for business and good for governments that embrace them

Return to Edun/7 Video Update

Eduners are the greatest! The video for Return to Edun/7 is still not completed and Eduners are still waiting patiently for it. But, take heart. Dave promises that he is working on a preliminary version which, when complete will yield the final version in fairly short order. If all goes well, the final version of the video will be near-professional quality and should be complete by summer.

Uncovered Opinions
by Dave Bitters
Get Over It

The weekend of March 25-26 was pleasant enough to banish the remaining traces of the winter doldrums. So I decided to treat myself to a double dose of nature au naturel.

Saturday I drove out to my favorite section of the Perry Lake hiking trail. As I pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the Military Trail Campground I noticed that the usually locked gate was wide open. Experience has taught me that this likely signifies the presence of hordes of happy campers nearby.

Under such circumstances I don't even bother to investigate. It's easier and less problematical just to find another trailhead.

About 20 minutes away from my alternate starting point, as I climbed a steep hill I encountered a band of hikers heading my way. It turned out to be a group of Boy Scouts.

No time to duck for cover to put on shorts. Besides, why bother? I decided to just keep walking.

But the group leader had other ideas. He proposed to halt his column of boys long enough for me to scramble back downhill and out of sight.

Under Kansas law and, as far as I know, under Jefferson County ordinances as well, I'd have been within my rights to ignore his request and just keep going. Sometimes, though, the urge to deliver an impromptu lecture on the fine points of the law, the state of body acceptance in the heartland and ridiculousness of the nudity taboo gives way to common sense. After all, the Boy Scouts have become fairly conservative in recent years, due to some splashy headlines about scoutmasters molesting their young charges. I didn't want to bring down the wrath of parents onto some poor devil of a hike leader. Still, one might hope for the day when it would be within the norms of common etiquette to be able to say simply, "Get a life."

My other weekend Naturist experience involved a Sunday visit to Lake Edun. Trips to Lake Edun from where I live involve enough of a commitment of time and turnpike fees that I make them very infrequently. But it was a nice day, and I wanted to check the state of the venue that I'd defended in the February legislative hearings.

I found that unquestionably one of the neighbors who supported HB 2726 gets a full view of Lake Edun's naked people, particularly in the winter and early spring.

A policy statement in a recent issue of "Bare Facts" urged Lake Edun users not to be undressed in the parking lot - this is reasonable and neighborly enough. But it also urged caution, while hiking around the Lake Edun grounds, to avoid those areas where there might be a clear line of sight onto the neighbor's property.

Here, I'd have to take exception to the stated policy. Since being naked (particularly on one's own property) violates no laws, the remaining basis for this caution involves simply being a good neighbor. But being a good neighbor works both ways. At the February hearing Webb Garlinghouse was very clear about Lake Edun's educational mission. One of the things we promote is body acceptance.

Body acceptance has many dimensions, one of which involves accepting the nude bodies of others if they choose to be so attired. At some point, those who support body acceptance would have to say "We're sensitive to your concerns, but nobody ever suffered harm from seeing a naked person. So just get over it."

Just as in the John Lennon song "Imagine," close your eyes and think about a world in which the state of one's attire (or lack thereof) is no more controversial than, say, the type of car one drives. Consider how much saner and more sensible our country would be if this ideal came closer to being the cultural norm..

Imagine.

Report On Wholistic Health Fair
By Russ

Lake Edun had a booth at the Wholistic Health Fair held the University of Missouri-Kansas City Student Center on Sunday, March 19. Communiversity sponsors the annual Fair to support the body, mind, and soul. There were workshops, demonstrations and booths with all types of health alternatives. Dowsing, energy balancing, massage, and women's health were some of the booths beside the Lake Edun booth. Approximately 300 people attended. We handed out 40 to 50 of the just-printed brochures. In return, most shared their nude experiences and expressed a desire to visit Lake Edun. Several mentioned that they walk around nude at home. Most of the people were from the Kansas City Area and ranged in age from 20 to 40. Eight of them even requested additional information.

There was a lot less negative reaction to the booth than I thought there would be. It seemed like only 3 times during the Fair did anyone react uncomfortably to naturism. It was enjoyable talking with people who stopped by. Another Eduner, Peggy, helped during the busiest time of the fair. Perhaps we would have an even better response if there were an attractive background to the display to grab the attention as people walk by. I would enjoy working another booth again!

Items We Need

We also need more lids for trash barrels. These should be designed to fit over a 55 gal barrel and keep the rain out.

3-5 gallon plastic pails. These make wonderful storage containers. We are about out.

We are getting short on wood for the sauna. If you have access to scrap lumber we can burn, please bring it. You may leave it in the parking lot next to the trail to the barn.

The Naturalist Naturist
By Biology Bill

By now the solar equinox has passed and the season is officially Spring in Kansas. In my yard the crocuses have already flowered and gone by, and various other bulbs are in bloom. Cardinals have been singing in the trees behind my house for a month already, and migratory birds such as grackles have been at my bird feeders for several weeks. To mark the changing of the seasons, I'd like to add a few words here about what spring is like at our Lake Edun.

As everyone knows, animals and plants of all kinds celebrate the coming of spring by waking up after a long period of dormancy, or moving back into the area after a winter spent in warmer climates. Many species attempt to take advantage of the season of plenty by having babies, producing seeds, or doing whatever reproduction requires for its kind. Everything does not spring back into action (pun intended) at the same time, however, which is what the topic of the rest of this article will be.

While we all think we know what "Spring" is, that doesn't mean we all think of the same things. I happen to start thinking spring when the first cardinal starts singing in February, and I've been wearing shorts around town for over a month now. Others think Spring comes when the leaves bud out on the trees. On the other hand, there are a lot of people at the Lake, I'm sure, who only think its spring when people start hitting the beach on the first 90 degree day. Different strokes for different folks.

Well, its like that for the animals and plants, too. Certain animals start thinking spring when most of us still are bundled up for winter. Some birds of prey, for instance owls and certain hawks that require a long, long season for their chicks to grow up may start nesting in January with snow on the ground.

Do you notice a lot of squirrel activity in late January and February? Are the critters chasing each other up and down the tree trunks? Well, those are mating chases. (See if you can guess which gender chases which!) Baby squirrels can be mostly grown up by what many consider to be springtime. Heck, some of the mice I study over near Lawrence reproduce all year round, even in the winter! Its not particularly surprising to see a pregnant or nursing female vole in January. I even noticed the starlings outside Dizzies bedroom window building a nest under the eaves during the coldest week of the first part of the year.

Many animals and plants have a schedule to keep, and if its still cold out when they get moving for the season they really don't mind. Other animals are late risers in the spring, though. Many cold-blooded critters, like various frogs, snakes and turtles need it to be nice and warm for them to get moving. Its kind of hard to bask in the sun on a rock in the lake when there's ice on top! (Certain frogs get started when its cold. Chorus frogs have been singing for over a month now.)

Other animals don't have the food they need available early in the season; insects that need flowers to feed from, and various birds that feed on hordes of flying insects have to wait until later to get their acts in motion. Many of the insectivorous migratory birds don't show up until April or May when the bugs are easy to catch, though many of their seed-eating cousins arrive from down south as early as February.

Other resident animals may look like their breeding activity starts in the spring, but it can be a carry-over from the previous year; deer fawns born in the springtime were conceived last autumn. Animals like bears (which no longer live in Kansas) frequently are born in winter dens while the mother is sleeping through the winter, and babies don't get to see the outside world for weeks or even months.

Plants have a lot of variation in activity, too. We all recognize the leaves on the trees, and the spring flowers. We don't always realize that certain plants get their whole life cycle over with before the trees leaf out and cut off the sun making the forest floor too dark. Other plants may not start their life cycles until summer or even fall. On the other hand, coniferous trees like our red cedars are green and growing all year round.

In my experience, Lake Eduners don't usually consider it to really be spring until May, when we start seeing cars at the Lake. Nevertheless, there's lots of activity earlier in the season to be aware of. So if you see a tall guy poking around the far side of the Lake with binoculars and rubber boots wearing clothes (!), it just means I like to celebrate spring with the early risers. Even if its not warm enough to enjoy the Lake au naturel, think about seeing what its like early in the spring. It doesn't just start to be a pretty and interesting place at the summer kickoff party.

New Brochure Completed

We have completed a new color brochure with new pictures describing some of the benefits and activities of the Lake Edun Foundation. We are pleased with the product and expect to use it widely in the next year to explain our activities to others. A copy of the brochure is enclosed. If you need additional copies, contact us.

Random Thoughts & Reflections

It's that time of year again. We have seeded some trails and roped them off. Please do not walk around these signs. It is important we give the new seed a chance to take root.

We are approaching completion on the video for Return to Edun/7. It will include scenes from the event and interviews with those attending integrated by a narrative script. Any Eduners who are interested in being considered for the voice-over, please contact us.

We will be changing the lock on the gate April 10. Members will find the new combination enclosed.

EVERYONE: If you are the last to leave, be sure the gate is locked. On several occasions the chain has been left down when the parking lot is empty.