Bare Facts
Copyright 2000 Lake Edun Foundation, Inc.
Official Publication of the Lake Edun Foundation, Inc.
August 1, 2000
Box 1982; Topeka, KS 66601 Voice Mail: 785-478-BARN e-mail: benude@lakeedun.com Website: www.lakeedun.com
Edun's 2nd Annual 60's Party
For the second year, Eduners will experience the far out culture of the 60's at our own Tie-Dye party on Sunday, September 3. Last year, the event was one of the most popular of the season. Vickie will provide professional quality dies to use on any cotton, rayon or silk. Eduners should provide their own articles to dye. (No sheets or towels, please. They tend to just drink up the dye.) We will have a few white T-shirts available or bring your own. Pre-washed cotton will accept the dye more easily.
We will begin tie-dying at about 1 pm. Vickie is providing everything required to produce your own work (except the garment). She and other Eduners will be on hand to lend advise or you may refer to her book with dynamite ideas. Music from the 60's will permeate the Edun atmosphere.
After everyone has created their masterpiece, we will enjoy a fabulous Edun pot-luck dinner starting about 6 pm. If you are unable to bring a dish, please contribute $5 to NAC. As evening settles over our paradise, we will dance the night away, with memories of a bygone era.
Kansas Naturist Invitational
We have invited representatives from Naturist clubs across the state to come to our special place on August 5 to meet and share ideas on our favorite subject - Naturism. The visitor's contributions will be sent to the Naturist Action Committee which supports Naturist causes across the country.
This is the first of what we hope becomes an annual affair so it is difficult to predict how events will unfold. We will have a pot luck dinner and there will be an address from the local NAC area representative. In addition, we expect a few seminars on topics of common interest such as PR issues; attracting new members; and identifying and dealing with undesirables.
Mark your calendar and plan to join us on August 5 for an afternoon of fun and sun! Activities will start around 3pm with a potluck dinner to follow at 6pm.
Use Of Lockers
Over the years, we have been able to provide a limited number of lockers for Eduners to store their personal belongings while they are at our special place. We hope Eduners and their guests find these useful. Recently, some people have been leaving their personal locks on lockers even after they leave Lake Edun.
In order to have lockers available to all who desire to use them, it is important not to keep your personal lock on the locker if you are
not actually at Lake Edun. If you have a lock on a locker, please remove it as soon as possible.
Return to Edun/8 Was Excellent
By all accounts, our Return to Edun celebration this year was among the best ever. Weather for the weekend was warm and dry; visitors from at least 7 states were warm and friendly; and the bands were hot! It was wonderful!
Friday evening Eduners warmed up with keryoke. Saturday Eduners spent their time socializing with long lost friends who meet annually at the event, and listening to some of the best regional bands available. About 6 pm on Saturday, the Libertarian candidate for congress from the second district, Dennis Hawver, explained his positions on various issues important to Naturists. His message seemed to be well received by all present. We were disappointed candidates from the main parties did not even have the courtesy to even acknowledge our invitation. Perhaps they will be asked about it later in the campaign.
Saturday afternoon we received a challenge to a volley ball game at a neighbors house. Eduners responded with enthusiasm. A team formed and we competed well, winning two out of the three games and having much fun in the process.
Based on the surveys participants handed in after the event, this was the first experience of this sort for about 1/3 of those who came to Return to Edun/8. Yet, everyone said they would want to do it again.
Thanks to all the hard working Eduners who made this year's event such a success, especially Nancy, who made it all happen.
DON'T FORGET
Aug 5; Sat; Kansas Naturist Invitational
Aug 5; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Aug 12; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
Aug 12; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Aug 18; Fri; 8-10; HN Swim in KC
Aug 19; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Aug 26; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Aug 27; Sun; 3-Dark; Closed for Libertarian Fund Raiser
Sept 3; Sun; 60's Tie-die Party
Sept 9; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
Sept 9; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Sept 13; Wed; 5-8; Closed for Private Party
Sept 15; Fri; 8-10; HN Swim in KC
Sept 16; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Sept 23; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Sept 23; Sat; South beach & Locust Grove closed for party
Sept 30; Sat; 12-4; Final Work Day of the season
Sept 30; Sat; Dusk; Fellowship Fire
Oct 14; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
Oct 20; Fri; 8-10; HN Swim in KC
Oct 28; Sat; Annual Meeting & Election of Board
Oct 28; Sat; Halloween Party
Presidential Pearls
by Kelly "aka Dizzy" Shepardson
I would like to start off by thanking everyone for a wonderful Return to Edun 8. I think this was our most successful event to date! Thank you, Nancy for all of your hard work! Thank you also to everyone who gave of their time to help make Return to Edun 8 a great success! It is good news to report that we were invited over to our neighbor's house for a volleyball game and the Team Edun won! The opposing team later came over for a swim! So, if you see our neighbor's across the street from us, be sure to smile and wave hello!
I would also like to thank those of you who took part in the auction where we auctioned off JC's shorts. JC is a local DJ at radio station V-100. JC came out for a live remote Friday morning of Return to Edun. He was a brave soul for getting nude at Lake Edun during his show! JC left his boxers for us to raise money for Topeka's Meals on Wheels. We auctioned them off Saturday night and raised $125. Thank you everyone for showing your support of Topeka and Meals on Wheels.
Don't forget about the NAC benefit we are having August 5th. It will be a potluck dinner and fundraiser for the Naturist Action Committee. We have invited all the clubs from across the state to join us. We will donate proceeds from visitors' contributions to NAC. We hope this will be a good way to get to know people in the other clubs around the state and raise money for a good cause. For those who don't know, the Naturist Action Committee is our lobbying body in government. They lobby to keep nude beaches open. NAC was also a great help to us in January when House Bill 2726 was open for debate. This is our way of showing our gratitude and to help raise funds so they may be active in the future. So, please join me August 5th at Lake Edun for a fundraiser for NAC!
See you there!
God Never Takes A Vacation
That was the sign on the marque. We in Western society are a self-centered lot. We believe God spends all her/his time worrying about each of us as individuals; that he or she really doesn't spend any time concerned about the cows we eat, or the trees we cut, or the Earth's resources we plunder. It is interesting to contrast our attitude about God with the Greek concept of the deities. In ancient Greek times, they believed the deities concerned themselves with their own lives on Mt. Olympus and pretty much left humans to fend for themselves.
Over the years, many people have commented about how peaceful our special place is, and how good they feel about themselves and the world in which we live after visiting Lake Edun. Nancy and a few others have recognized certain healing qualities that seem to visit those who frequent Lake Edun. Nancy is interested in investigating the possibility of forming a group to look into these issues of spirituality, healing, unity and the spirit.
If you have an interest in being a part of this group, email Nancy at childofone9947@aol.com.
Nudity Is Natural, Wholesome and Fun!
From http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atrium/3762/
The idea of being nude in front of others strikes terror in most of us. We in America have been trained to equate public nudity with sexual immorality. For the most part, it is due to our "religious heritage". I stress "religious heritage" because there is nothing in the Bible that bans nude recreation
Personal body shame will result when women constantly compare themselves to young and "perfect" models, which only results in anxiety. Believe it or not, participating in social nudism will make that body shame and embarrassment disappear for the most part. The mental energy protecting oneself from being seen nude will be diverted to better uses.
People might think that children growing up in such an atmosphere might tend to be sexually immoral, but the reverse it true. Kids that have seen nudity all their life find nothing thrilling about pornography, are less likely to engage in premarital sex, and are less likely to find dirty jokes amusing. Sex education, provided by an openness between parents and their kids, is done in a clean, matter-of-fact manner. [For more information on this ask for our brochure, Familial and Societal Attitudes Toward Nudity, and the Effects on Children's Development.]
Are you starved for nudity? This sounds a little strange. People should be experiencing family or public nudity from childhood up. This satisfies normal curiosity that people have about each other. Kids going through puberty with no knowledge about what is happening to them can be frightened, especially if talking about such things is taboo in that household. Kids will find out, and hopefully not in a school bathroom. Parents should tell their children about these kinds of things but most fail to out of fear of broaching the subject. They (parents) are too embarrassed themselves about their own bodies to talk to their children about theirs. Then they object to the public school system attempting to offer sex education. Social nudism could be the solution to the problem
People should regularly experience wholesome public nudity.
Consider A Position On The Board
Although it is still summer and the water is warm, our annual meeting and election of a new Board of Directors is fast approaching. Our Board is a working group that sets policy and insures our active program is carried out. The Board meets monthly, usually in conjunction with other LEF activities. It is a great opportunity to really have an impact on Naturism in Kansas.
A listing of the various Board responsibilities is posted on the Barn and will appear in the next issue of Bare Facts. If you believe you
might be interested in serving on the Board of Directors for a year, look over this list and find a responsibility you are prepared to be
responsible for. Then, let a member of the Board know of your interest so you may be added to the slate of candidates.
June 1st, 2000
Reflections by Stacey Lynne Dohn
Well, I'm out here at Lake Edun and it is so peaceful. It's away from all the tension and chaos of the outside world. It's like taking a vacation, a vacation to where ever I want to go!! It reminds me of all the beautiful creations God has made or created and put on this Earth. The quietness that it brings or that it has. I can almost hear the wind singing and whispering to me. It's saying and reassuring me that everything is going to be alright!
Here, we don't have any worries or cares in the world! Everyone makes us feel welcome and doesn't look down on us. There is no certain category that separates us from the next person! We can come out here and not worry about what other people are going to think of us. They "accept" us as family. If you want to be by yourself, you can. If you want to be around new and interesting people, you can do that too. Or, if you just want to sit and be at peace with Mother nature, well, you can even do that too!!
Twelve Religious Reasons
We Object To Nudity
Or, How some people will invent facts to support their foregone conclusions.
Final Work Day Scheduled
The final work day of the season is scheduled for Sept. 30. This will be an opportunity to bring in our equipment and make the facility ready for winter. While Fall work days lack the anticipation of the Spring, they are fun and not too arduous.
If you are available the last Saturday of the month, join us to help close things down. If you can't, but still want to help, there will be plenty of tasks that are best accomplished in the winter. Check with a member of the board to learn what you can do to help.
There are several members who elected the working option that may wish to take advantage of this opportunity.
From The Mail Bag
Dear Lake Edun;
Just wanted to drop a note about The Return to Edun Festival.
This is my first visit to a naturist resort of any kind, since last October was when I first ventured into naturism. I really didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't nervous.
I am already a member of a non-landed club in St. Louis, so I was familiar with being nude with other people, but I was pleasantly surprised to how many people showed up! Wow! What a great turnout!
I was also impressed how friendly the staff was....First person I met was the security guard at the gate and he told me to go ahead and park. The second person was Sam. He told me where the Barn was and there I went. Webb and everyone there was very nice and that is appreciated very much!!
Lake Edun was very nice and I hope to come back next year for the Festival.
Naturally Nude - Ron
Dear Lake Edun:
This year's version of Return to Edun was great - good bands, mellow crowd, etc. The grounds looked good, too. I'll refrain from the superlatives ("best ever," etc.) because it's difficult to make fair comparisons year-to-year. But anyone who would object to what went on at Lake Edun this year simply wasn't there.
My friend Jean was favorably impressed. After having straddled the fence for several years about participating in nude recreation, she seems to have taken to it like a duck to water. This is, I think, a compliment to our collective efforts. Not knowing what to expect, she was nervous as a first-timer a few weeks ago. But in her recent experiences she seemed quite at ease, particularly at Return to Edun. Her reactions: "I want to get some sun" and, driving home, "What's the big deal?"
This is the question we should be asking the officials, too (in print, at that). However, a lot of hard work goes into providing the
comfort level that makes reactions like this possible. Congratulations. - Dave
Dear Lake Edun:
I want to drop you a line and let you know that I had one FANTASTIC weekend!!! It was wonderful. I've rarely felt such freedom. Although it was my first visit, it will NOT be my last.
Thanks again.
- Joe
Dear Lake Edun:
I was able to attend Fri 7-14, had to work 15th & 16th. Had a great time swimming and talking. I'm wondering: is there a mailing list of future events, group meetings, and so on?
- Robert
Items We Need
Wheel barrows or 2-4 wheel carts. Working condition or for parts. They get a lot of use and need to be replaced.
Canoe paddles for our flotilla of boats.
One of our chain saws has worn out. If you have a chain saw you no longer use, we can certainly make good use of it to trim the trees.
Every once in a while, sod is taken up and not replaced. Perhaps the grass appeared to die or plans changed. If any Eduners come upon a quantity of sod, we have several places it can be put to good use. Even if it appears dead, its roots will serve to hold soil and retard erosion.
Additional accessories for our shop vac. If you have an old shop vac that no longer works, we can use the accessories, especially hose, etc.
Two water heaters that don't leak; they don't need to work either. Mike is going to use them to improve our shower.
Random Thoughts & Reflections
If you haven't seen our new sign, be sure to take a look and share your reaction with us. As a result of the county's continuing legal challenge, the board believed it best to make a clear and public statement about our mission. We hope all our supporters will find this addition attractive.
The only candidate willing to make a presentation at Return to Edun, Dennis Hawver, asked to host a fund-raiser at our special place on August 27 from 3 pm until dark. Although we are prepared to make our special place available to all candidates equally, we are flattered he believes use of our facility will aid his campaign. Accordingly, we will be closed for this event. Eduners may, of course, join his (clothed) fund-raiser. He is reportedly asking for donations of $25 per person.
Sally & Bobby inform us they have three extra sleeping bags. Two of them zip together. These are in nearly-new condition. If any Eduners need a new sleeping bag, see Bobby or tell the Caretaker.
Our new chain into the parking lot is a little heavier than the old one. If you are the last to leave, be sure you lock the gate by placing the chain between the two eye bolts and then sliding the padlock through the top eye bolt, the chain and the bottom eye bolt.
We have taken aluminum to recycle twice so far this year and already our mower fund has almost $100 in it. Thanks to everyone who is helping us save our aluminum. And thanks to Cookie for her substantial contribution.
KDOT info radio says the I-70 exit at Auburn Rd. will be closed. They expect it to re-open around Labor Day.
by Dave Bitters
Here is the text of two letters to the editor Dave has submitted. Both have been printed. We hope more Eduners will write letters to their paper's editor.
Submitted to the Topeka Capital-Journal
Several years ago I attended a conference at Turtle Lake Resort, located halfway between Chicago and Detroit in rural Michigan near the town of Union City. The weather was much like we've had here in the Heartland the past few days. One afternoon the temperature reached 100 degrees, with 90 percent humidity.
Despite the heat and humidity, I wasn't uncomfortable. Turtle Lake Resort has lots of trees and as one might expect, it's located on a lake.
It also has a clothing-optional policy - wear whatever you want, including nothing at all. Most of us were nude. Putting shorts and a shirt back on made me instantly appreciate the more casual dress code. A full-sized billboard with silhouettes of a naked family greets people passing through Union City. The caption reads, "Enjoy Life Naturally at Turtle Lake Resort." Evidently the Union City Chamber of Commerce supports Turtle Lake Resort.
This pattern occurs elsewhere, too. In Palm Springs there are 5 clothing-optional resorts that the local Chamber of Commerce supports. In fact, 2 of them have representatives on the Chamber's board of directors. Both the City of Miami and Metro-Dade County actively support clothing-optional Haulover Beach and with good reason. The beach's parking lot annually generates over $1 million in parking revenues. Some credit Haulover Beach with saving Miami's sagging tourist industry after the fatal shooting of a German tourist several years ago.
I learned recently that Topeka's Chamber of Commerce has reneged on an invitation to hold one of its "Business After Hours" mixers at Lake Edun, a local clothing-optional facility. A spokesperson for the Chamber was quoted as saying, "it wouldn't be appropriate for the chamber's dignity and image."
Well, maybe. But I suspect this isn't the real reason for the reversal. Healthy portions of ignorance and narrow-mindedness seasoned with a pinch or two of fear may provide a better explanation.
Nationally, nude or clothing-optional recreation constitutes one of the fastest-growing segments of the recreation and tourist industry. People recreate in the nude for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it's more comfortable - particularly when the weather gets hot. The rude comments and sexual posturing that some may imagine definitely are out of place at naturist locations.
Some argue that the modern civil rights movement began in Topeka. It's unfortunate that other forms of prejudice survive a half-century later. It's even sadder when a form of recreation that lots of people have found positive and life affirming gets bad press from an organization purportedly dedicated to community betterment.
Submitted to the Pitch Weekly
The article about Webb Garlinghouse and Lake Edun ("The Naked Truth," PW 7/6-12/00) contained a couple of bloopers that beg to be corrected. Reporter Mary Spiro Levin referred to Lake Edun's annual outreach activity as "Back to Edun." Actually it's "Return to Edun." This is trivial and picky, but Lake Edun's flier is quite clear about the name.
A more significant gaffe is a quotation Levin attributes to Topeka Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Merle Blair, "What Mr. Garlinghouse likes to do in his spare time is his business, but it is illegal in public."
I disregarded the slur about Webb Garlinghouse's pastime as the sort of comment the uninformed often make. But the part about illegality in public drove me straight to the Internet. After a decade of fighting against anti-nudity legislation, I wondered if he knew something I didn't.
I came up with nothing.
Kansas does have a misdemeanor statute relating to lewd and lascivious behavior (KSA 21-3508). The portion of this law that most closely relates to nudity deals with "publicly exposing a sex organ or exposing a sex organ in the presence of a person who is not the spouse of the offender and who has not consented thereto, with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desires of the offender or another." One of the case annotations (State v. Perrigo) states: Intent to arouse or gratify sexual desire makes offense narrow and specific; not unconstitutionally overbroad or vague.
In other words, as long as it doesn't involve sexual gratification, nudity is legal in Kansas. This affirms the nudist and Naturist position that nude isn't lewd. (There's an exception. In a misguided effort to protect the sensibilities of its residents a decade ago, Douglas County Sheriff Loren Anderson, with the support of Clinton Lake manager David Rhoades, got the county commission to adopt HR 90-4-1. This made nudity illegal in unincorporated Douglas County. If you get caught skinnydipping at Clinton Lake you risk a $50 fine. Sensing that he might have broached a touchy subject in a university community, Anderson points out that this ordinance has never been applied.)
In January, first-term Representative Cindy Hermes (R-Topeka) introduced House Bill 2726. This would have declared nudist parks
in the state to be nuisances. Among other things it would have forced them to shut down and would have exposed their owners and
operators to steep fines and forfeitures. But the bill was so poorly worded that it also would have made it illegal for unmarried
individuals of the opposite sex to see each other nude. Fortunately, members of the committee on local government saw this bill as
over the edge and let it die. (If nudity had been illegal, this issue probably wouldn't have surfaced in the first place.)
Kansas really is Toto-land. Maybe that's why it's so much fun living here. First, we grab international attention by paving the way for
schools (and homeschoolers) to give equal time to creationism in science classes. Then we get the head of the Topeka Chamber of
Commerce making erroneous and demeaning statements about the recreational opportunities Webb Garlinghouse tries to provide to
make their city more vibrant and interesting.
July 10-16 was Nude Recreation Week. Nude recreation is one of the fastest-growing segments of the recreation and tourist industry. Cities such as Miami actively support clothing-optional venues like Haulover Beach and with good reason. The beach's parking lot annually generates over $1 million in parking revenues for the city. Some credit Haulover Beach with saving Miami's sagging tourist industry after the fatal shooting of a German tourist several years ago.
Last time I looked, Kansas ranked 50th in the nation in tourism. Maybe there's a reason for this.The Naturalist Naturist
By Biology Bill
Passage Into The Air
As I floated in the water at the main beach during Return to Edun, I was asked a number of times what the little critters floating around in the water were. If you didn't notice yourself, there were a significant number of little dark brown animals about an inch long in at the surface of the water, and they came apart if you investigated them closely. They were particularly noticeable where the water was warmest (and that water was HOT, particularly on Friday evening), but that didn't mean the carcasses were the result of a heat-related die-off. Instead, they were another reminder of the ubiquity and variety of the most abundant animal groups, the insects. The carcasses were shed mayfly skins.
You could tell that the animals were insects, if you looked. You could see there were six legs attached near one end of the body. You could see a pair of jaws nearby. You could see sets of gills trailing off the sides behind the legs, and a three-part tail made up of appendages called cerci. These were no fish, but clearly insects. But what were they doing there? There are a few nuggets of information necessary to tell the story.
Most people are aware that immature insects frequently look pretty different than they do as adults. For instance, everyone knows that butterflies start out as caterpillars. However, people may not completely make the connection that this kind of life history means an insect really acts as two completely different organisms at different stages of its life; it's kind of like being reincarnated as a member of a different species. This is the first piece of information that helps us understand why dead insects were floating around at the Lake margins.
Most people also know that insects move from one stage of life to another by shedding their old skin, and emerging from within it looking new and shiny. Again, a butterfly emerges from a semi-cylindrical case called a cocoon (or pupa, or chrysalis). But this is a general thing in insects; even when they are growing out of one stage that looks like the next one, insects shed their skin all at once. When we sunburn, the skin falls off in little pieces. This is actually happening to us all the time, just the pieces are usually too little to see. But insects shed in one
fell swoop; the animal crawls or flies away and a little dead shell is left behind. We find evidence of this process most often when we find the shed exuviate (cast, or skin) of a larva that has matured into an adult. This almost allows us to tell our story; all that we need is some knowledge about particular kinds of insects.
Mayflies are interesting insects in several ways. First, I have to inflict on you their scientific name: Ephimeroptera. This is a Latin compound word that means "temporary wing," and it is one of the most fitting scientific names I know. The insects are present at other times of the summer, but have gotten their common name from their amazing abundance in some parts of the country in warm days in late May. Mayflies may live for a long time as nymphs (larvae), but once they shed their larval skin and fly away they do not eat. They merely look for mates and then die. Their adult, winged lives frequently span only a single day. Nymphs live underwater; they prey on small aquatic organisms and bits of debris. They grow through several stages at the bottom of streams and ponds, shedding their skins in transition. Adults fly above water, looking for mates. The large, yellowish insects with two vertical wings when landed and long, streamerish cerci (tails) that sat quietly on trees or your gear during the festival were adult mayflies. What we found floating in the Lake was the evidence of their transition from immature to mature. When it is time for mayflies to become adults, they head to the surface of the water and grab onto a jutting stem or just sit on the surface tension. The larval skin splits down the back, and a wrinkled, vulnerable adult crawls from within. Within a short time the body hardens and the wings pump full of blood, and the mayfly flies away, looking for a date. It only has a short day or two to find one.
That completes the story of our mysterious floating carcasses in Lake Edun during the Return to Edun festival. Maybe you hadn't noticed; maybe you didn't swim much. But wildlife is not just visible at times like that when it is present in large numbers; it is always there, always ready to be explored by a watchful eye and an inquisitive mind. Keep a look out for other animals at the Lake, particularly at quiet moments. You, too, may just see an insect emerge from its youthful skin and take wing for the first time.