Beach Party Was A Hit The Beach Party Sally planned with the help of her social committee, was a hit! Estimates of attendance were over 100. And everyone had a great time. Carl was on his sail-board; Scores of Eduners beat on our volleyball; Tents and kids were everywhere. Perhaps the best part was the pot-luck dinner. Smoked turkey, barbecue, various salads, all topped off with a decadent selection of deserts including cake, cookies, ice cream and toppings. It is safe to say that no one went to bed hungry on August 22nd. Mark Your Social Calendar The social committee is working on two upcoming events: Our first fish-fry will be September 12. Les has terrorized the fish for weeks and assures us we will have a fish-feast. You bring a covered dish. We will eat about 6-6:30. Thanks, Les, for catching all the fish. This is also Sally s birthday--lucky coincidence or good planning? Our next event will be a children s Halloween party at the Lake. Bring your family and plan on camping. There will be a prize for the tent with the best decora tions. Barrie and others are working on decorations for the haunted trail. Bring your treats or be tricked. Don t forget your costume. Be prepared to be scared. A Soul Set Free ... Many Eduners complain they are unable to convince their spouse or significant other to accompany them to our special place. We have also heard this lament from others who would like to visit our special place. It seems the marketers have been quite successful convincing women they are somehow inadequate if they have anything less that a model's body. But, those who are able to take that first major step have consistently reported a wonderful, freeing experience. Darla McFarland recorded that in her article for Pitch Weekly two years ago; Jennifer Curry made a similar observation in the University Daily Kansan last year. The experience and emotional transition of these two unrelated observers was remarkably similar. Enclosed with this issue of Bare Facts is a reprint of A Soul Set Free ..., a paper written by Julie Hebberd recording her first experience with social nudity. Additional copies are available for just the cost of postage. Choose Freedom at Lake Edun		Annual Meeting Planned The annual meeting for the Lake Edun Foundation is scheduled for October 30. This is your opportunity to hear about our successes for the past year and to help formulate priorities for next year. We will also hold our election for board members for the next year. We have wonderful leased facilities; Our lake is a great place to come and relax. The other programs planned by the board make it even better. It is easy to forget the very major contributions of time and effort all our board members make to insure we are able to enjoy this freedom. Because of this dedication, we are thriving and improving. But, it is time to give this board a rest. It is time to change our leadership. Each Eduner should think about what they can give back. If you think you may be interested in a board position, talk it over with a current member. Get involved! You can not just pre sume the great programs this board put together will automatically continue. It takes time and effort: Your time and Your effort. If you are unwilling to help, you can not complain if it does not happen in the future. News From L.E.A.K. By Paul Noble Thanks to everyone for making our Beach Party fun and special for LEAK!!!! We had six kids this week-end and we had a grrrreat time! We had a delicious dinner on Saturday. Thanks to the adults for all the tasty food. We also swam, walked the log, took walks and had a limbo contest. Good Going Sally!!!! Everybody be sure to come out Sept. 11-13. We will have alot of fun. I guarantee it! Hope to see you soon. By the way, if anyone sees the crazy lady in the grass skirt, kindly send her home. We re getting hungry! DON'T FORGET Sept 5; Dusk; Council Fire-Ghost Stories Sept 12; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting Sept 12; Fish Fry Sept 12; 7:30; Sauna Sept 12; Dusk; Council Fire-Jokes Sept 19; Dusk; Council Fire-Sing-along Sept 26; Dusk; Council Fire-Percussion Oct 3; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting Oct 3; 12-4; Work Day Oct 3; Kids Halloween Party & campout Oct 3; Dusk (or later); Council Fire-Ghost Stories Oct 10; Dusk; Council Fire Oct 17; Dusk; Council Fire Oct 24; Dusk; Council Fire Oct 30; Halloween Party & Annual Meeting
page 2
	Clothing-free Beaches Are Good Business Sadly, the United States can no longer boast it is the freest nation on Earth. In recent decades, nearly every European nation has surpassed us in the establishment of free beaches. European tourists visiting the Unites States look for these same normal freedoms they have come to expect at home. In 1991, Dade County, Florida recognized the rights of skinny-dippers at Haulover Beach. Today it rakes in an extra half-million dollars a year in increased parking revenues alone. In addition, the beach area has enjoyed a significant drop in crime which results in savings for police and prosecution, and nearby hotels report a 17% rise in occupancy. Conversely, when officials at the Canaveral National Seashore ticketed skinny-dippers for a few months in 1993, area motels and restaurants recorded a 15% drop in business. The results are in: Clothing optional beaches are good for the local economy. Carver's Junk And Stuff Corner By Dave Peters Hi, all. This is my attempt to put together an informa tion, question/answer area about conservation and such in Bare Facts. So bare with me as I develop this new area of what I hope will be read and added to by everyone. Help, I am not that smart!!!!! This idea came to me one day as I was pruning a tree in my yard. I start new trees by putting them in water. As the twig develops roots the cuttings become plantable trees. With help of Big Mike, we planted about 20 Corkscrew Willows beside the road. One day they will develop into a privacy hedge that will block the view of the volley ball court. Other trees were planted along the dam for the same reasons. (If you see a new plant, give it a drink of water.) This is the first idea I have put in the column. Everyone trims bushes and trees. Maybe you are throwing away cuttings that could be started ... then planted. When you reseed your yard, buy a couple of extra pounds of grass seed, spread it along the path you walk most or around the campsite you use. By doing this, a couple of bucks could do wonders next spring. Another idea is to fold a newspaper in thirds (length wise) then roll it up around a soup can with about 2" extended past the end of the can. Fold over and tamp. Remove the can, and tadaa, you have a planter pot you can plant instead of the cost of a Peat cup. Then put your starter plant in your new pot to be planted at our Edun. Don't want to use all my thoughts on the first column. As I am not the plant guru, please send any ideas, questions, corrections, old wives tales and any other stuff. Email me at woodpeters@aol.com RE: Lake Edun (or I might miss your note with all that junk stuff I get in the mail I just delete). Have a great nude day.		Lake Edun Benefits Children Don Quixote, the fictional knight errant created in the fertile imagination of Cervantes, has many parallels in today's world. Passionate beliefs and a well-intentioned crusade led Don Quixote on a quest to rid the world of evil and make it better for everyone. The only problem: he had no idea where the evil was or how to make it better. Even today, quixotic is an adjective used to describe something that is well intentioned but misguided or impractical. All available research clearly shows children benefit from exposure to adult, non-sexual nudity. It is amazing that people continue to oppose a clothing-free lifestyle in the face of such overwhelming research. It is not unlike a quixotic quest to benefit children: something done with the best of intentions but without any clear idea about what the evil is or how to make it better. And this crusade is done with such passion that it easily attracts many followers. While many talk about creating environments that benefit children, we with the Lake Edun Foundation, are actually doing something that has been shown to have a lasting, long term, beneficial impact on childhood development. We should be proud of ourselves and spread the word to others with families about our good work and the wonderful impact clothing-free living can have on their family life. If you need a copy of the available research in the area, drop us a note. From The Board Of Directors The Board is working on an active social calendar to finish out our year. See our calendar for upcoming events. The Board also talked about encouraging members to sponsor parties next year rather than all parties being presented by the Board. For several months, the Board has been discussing a growing and disturbing trend among some members to not receive our mailings. Bare Facts is our way of keeping in touch with members and letting them know about upcoming events. It is also an educational piece our members can draw upon for information to use when talking with their friends. The Board is concerned that our educational objectives are not being met when members do not receive Bare Facts. Therefore, the Board decided to change our sign-in form to eliminate the check-off option to not receive mailings (although we will continue to honor requests from visitors and guests). We also decided that in the future, all members must have a valid mailing address to which we can send Bare Facts and other mailings. This new policy is effective for all who join or renew in the future. It does not apply to current members. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Finally, the Board set a tentative date for Return to Edun/7. Although it is still subject to change, we are looking at the weekend of June 25-27, 1999. If any members know of any significant conflicts with this date, please let a member of the board know.
Page 3
	Be Kind To Our Neighbors One of our members made a wonderful suggestion recently. We should go out of our way to wave to, smile at, and otherwise be friendly to our neighbors. It is difficult to be mad at people who are always friendly to you. If we can go out of our way to be friendly and helpful to our neighbors, it will (hopefully) be more difficult for them to continue to think bad things about us. At any rate, it is easy to do and won't inconvenience us much. Random Thoughts & Reflections For the month of September, we are going to have a theme for each of our Council Fires. Note the schedule so you can come prepared. We will have ghost stories, a sing-along, and jokes. For the evening of percussion, bring drums, or any other kind of pleasant noise-making instrument. We have only four copies of the World Guide to Nude Recreation left. These make great Christmas presents. They are available on a first-come, first-serve basis without shipping charges. Use the order form at the end of this newsletter. Speaking of Christmas... That wonderful time of year is fast approaching. Keep in mind some of the unique presents available through the Lake Edun Foundation. Perhaps a T-shirt for someone special, or a subscription to Bare Facts. Maybe a book, or reprint for their library. We will run a complete listing of items available through the Foundation soon. Meanwhile, begin your list of people who will enjoy this meaningful gift. Oops! The email address for LEAK was incorrect last month. The correct address is: kblpn5@swbell.net. We have a really good answering machine except. ... Whenever there is a power break (which happens frequently in the country) it looses all messages -- both the greeting and anything others left. Please contact us if you have an answering machine you would like to trade or donate that can survive a power outage. We are beginning to update our web site. If you have not visited lakeedun.com recently, you should check it again. Are any Eduners interested and able to serve as webmaster for our site? Let us know. Return to Edun/6 Video We have completed a first cut of the video taken at Return to Edun/6. It is basically an edited down version of the raw tape and lasts just under two hours. We will continue to edit this tape and incorporate a voice and sound-over with a story line so we end up with a quality product suitable for sale to anyone interested in our organization, the Return to Edun celebrations, and naturism in general. If you ordered a tape and would prefer this more complete version without all the niceties, call, write, or email us. If you prefer to wait for the finished product, do nothing. We are still working on it.		Leaf-Man Is A Registered Trademark Just a few days ago, we received notice that our logo, the leaf man, was registered as an official trademark. We kinda like the little guy and are proud of its new, official status. Now you can be sure that anything carrying the leafman logo relates to the Lake Edun Foundation. It is a form of quality assurance. If you see him used in any other context, please let us know immediately. We must do everything practical to protect our interest in this trademark. Get Involved Many Eduners like to come to our special place just to relax and get away from the pressures of their daily lives. That is an important function. We want all Eduners to be able to enjoy our beautiful lifestyle. However, the reality is it takes a great deal of effort to improve our facilities and maintain our educational mission. There are many ways Eduners can get involved to help. And many of these can be low profile. If you have considered helping out, let a member of the Board of Directors know. We can find a way to meld your talents with our needs in a manner suitable for both of us. With the Annual Meeting just two months away, now is the time for each of us to reassess our commitment to a clothing-free lifestyle. If it is going to continue to grow and flourish in this area, all of us must help. If Lake Edun is to remain the bargain it is, we must all be willing to assist. Engaging The Power By Joel Heller The stories we tell are the stories we live by. They shape our belief systems. Our belief systems determine our actions and lifestyles. People who believe that they are going to Heaven when they die are less interested in postponing their fate than those who expect to wind up in Hell. In Engaging the Powers, author and theologian Walter Wink says that many of the world's problems stem from each generation failing to teach the next the Creation stories from Genesis. Instead, our cultural beliefs are traceable to the Babylonian stories of Creation. What's the difference? In Genesis, God created everything where there was nothing before, and everything is good. Once there were naked people in Paradise, "behold, it was very good." Order and goodness are the natural order of things. Ordinary humans carry in themselves the image of God. In the beginning, according to the Babylonian Marduk Legend, all is chaos and destruction. Order had to be imposed on an unwilling universe. Kings are the gods' representatives on Earth to suppress the natural tendency to disorder. Ordinary humans are part of the problem; only semi-divine heroes can put things right and then only temporarily.
Page 4
	For all its lip service to its Judeo-Christian heritage, our culture really believes that the world is an evil place and that more and more government is constantly needed to preserve fragile order at the expense of everybody's freedom. Nudism is about peace; it is about liberty; it is about living as our Creator intended. Equality is its natural result. You can't tell a judge from a janitor without the external trappings of office. This is why the dermaphobes are so afraid of us. Without state-mandated clothing to support the artificial world order, they fear that society would descend into anarchy. Never mind that history shows that order is best preserved in an environment of liberty. The essence of government is force. More government means more force and official violence against ordinary people. Usually, the threat of force is enough; that's how the IRS gets "voluntary" compliance with the tax code. In this election year, a plethora of political parties is springing up, each vying for votes in an attempt to take control of the poser of governmental violence. Each of them, excepting only the Libertarians, is perfectly willing to initiate force against you, individually, to achieve its goals of domination. Each believes that it is the god's representative ordained to impose order on a chaotic world.		How do we turn the tide? How can we recapture our lost liberty? We can't fight violence with violence: when you adopt the enemy's tactics, you become the enemy. The answer, Wink says, is aggressive non-violence. It worked for Gandhi in India, King in Alabama, Walesa in Poland. Every successful revolution this century has come about through aggressive non-violence. As I write, there are innumerable unsuccessful violent revolutions in progress around the globe. Their heroes are the Alexandres, the Caesars, the Ghengis Khans; our heroes are the Isley Boones, the T.A. Wyners, the Fatima Hensons. The Key is to believe that we are free and live like we believe. The powers that be will use unlawful force against us, like the Simpson Amendment in Florida, Shawnee County's censorship by zoning against Lake Edun. But with organization, discipline and a commitment to eschew violence in any form, we will prevail. Most of all, we need to tell the right stories. Reprinted from Heartland Naturists -- August, 1998