the ewsletter - naturist action committeenaturistaction.org/newsletter_07-10.pdf · there’s a...
TRANSCRIPT
There’s a fledgling, non-landed na-turistgroupinAnchorage,AlaskacalledtheAnchorage Naturist Meetup Group(ANMG). I started this group on theMeetup.com siteinMarch2010inorderforfellowAlaskannaturiststomeetandsocialize.Aswritteninthegroup’ssum-mary, “From summertime sunning andhiking, to wintertime sauna sweatingandhot-tubbing,someactivitiesaresim-plymorecomfortableinthebuff.Thisisintendedasalow-key,non-sexualsocialgroupfornaturist-mindedAlaskans.” The Anchorage Naturist MeetupGroup is not the first such group at-tempted in the Last Frontier. Before or-ganizing theAnchorageNaturists, ImetsomeAlaskansthroughNudistFriends—
though not without heavy screening ofthose looking for hook-ups rather thanmeet-ups—and then throughagrouponTribe.net that had many members butno activity.There is also a small retreatin Wasilla two hours from Anchoragethat is quietly trying to restart, hopingtouseANMGmembersasabase.Addi-tionally, a newbed andbreakfast calledWhisperingWindsisnowintheworksinthequirkyfisherman/artistcommunityofHomer,Alaska.Closeness tonature is abigdrawinAlaska,soitmakessensethatthestatewouldhavesomenaturisthistory. Starting a naturist group inAlaskahas its challenges, yet we’ve startedanyway.When taking into account theweatherand theunforgivingwilderness,
theprimedayandlocationforbeingna-kedisn’talwaysthere.Weareupagainstshortsummerswithfickleweather,mos-quitoes,territorialbearsandmoose,andspikyandburn-inducingplants thatareas big as and more prevalent than thebearsandmoose.So, Ihavefound thatwhen there is a sunny,70-degreeday—oranumberoftheminarow!—Iwanttoliveitfullyandinmybirthdaysuit. AnotherissueisthatAlaskanswhomaybenaturist-mindedaren’tnecessar-ilygoingtosearchforagroup,orlabelthemselves “naturist.” They just do innaturewhatfeelsrightatthetime.Also,someofushavepositionsinsocietythatmake it awkward to be overly publicaboutournaturism.
July 2010The N
aturist Society LLC/N
aturist Action C
omm
ittee/Naturist Education Foundation
ewsletter1
Go barefoot all over!
The
www.naturistsociety.com • www.naturistaction.org • www.naturisteducation.org
FREEHIKING NEAR Anchorage, AlaskaRyan Thomas
Ryan Thomas
New Alaska Naturist Group
I’ve recently privatized our groupaccessshortlyafterournewAnchoragegroup generated some Internet buzz.AcolumnistfortheAnchorageDailyNewsstumbleduponusonMeetup,sawastorytoberesearched,andwroteanunexpect-ed,humorousarticle(“Hey,nudehikers,whataboutthebugs?”AnchorageDailyNews,May19,2010).Itwasablessingin away, sincewe got somemembersfromit.Yet,youneverknowifsomeoneis agun-toting, right-wing,SarahPalinconservative or a live-and-let-liveGird-wood granola cruncher who’d been na-kedinamountaintarnjustyesterday. Another concern is that managinga social group through Meetup is notfree.There isapriceof$15permonthfortheorganizer,yetmembershiptopar-ticipantsisfreeonthesite.TheANMGwill need to consider how to raise andallocate funds while keeping membersinterestedinbeinginvolved. We’ve gone on several hikes,helped theWasilla retreat get cleaned
up by removing some shards of glassfrom the sunning area, skinny-dipped,and enjoyed a beach picnic.With theexception of the picnic, activities sofar have drawn 2-3 people each time.Meetupshavebeenduringweekdaystoavoidthepublic,yetdaytimehoursarealsowhenmanymembersareworking.More evening and weekend activitiesareneeded. The afternoon “beach” picnic at-tracted nine of us, breaking any re-cordoftheTribegroup.Iusetheword“beach”looselyasswimminginthedan-geroustidalmudflatsalongCookInletis not an option, only sunning on therockysoil.Next touswasabarrierofboulders that reached out to thewaterathightide,convenientlyblockingoursectionofbeachfromcasualfoottraffic.Only a late arrival climbedover thoserocks to find us.Thiswas amost pre-ciousday. FutureANMGactivitiesincludein-homemovie nights and hot tub parties.
Alsoon theschedulearemoreclothing-optional hikes a distance from wheretextile families go, camping along ariver,andcanudingandportagingaloopoflakeswithanovernightinasecludedcabin. Ifind it ironicandabit sad thatthemovie nights have had themost af-firmativeRSVPssofar,sinceIthinkofnaturism in summertime as being con-nectedtotheoutdoors.HowdoIchangethis closeted mentality when I’m a bitclosetedmyself? Imaybeon the trailsandontheWeb,butstill,Ikeepaprettyprivateprofile. An association with The NaturistSocietycouldbenefitthedevelopmentoftheAnchorage Naturist Meetup Group,sowe’llbelookingintothat.Thegrouplooksforwardtomoreactivitiesandpar-ticipantsinthis, thebiggeststateintheunion. Alaskan naturists interested inlearningmore about theAnchorageNa-turist Meetup Group can contact us [email protected].
July 2010The N
aturist Society LLC/N
aturist Action C
omm
ittee/Naturist Education Foundation
2
Go barefoot all over!
New Alaska Naturist Group, cont.
NAC and NEF Assist in Radio Pilot
Mark Storey
A primary goal of theNaturistAc-tionCommitteeandtheNaturistEduca-tionFoundation(thepoliticalandeduca-tional adjuncts to The Naturist Societyrespectively) is to inform the publicabout naturism.Multiple times a weekaNACboardmemberreceivesaphonecall or email froma journalist or radiotalkshowhostneedingacommentorin-formationregardingnaturism.Thishap-penssooftenthatNACseldomthinkstoletothersknowaboutthiswork. ArecentexamplearosewhenradiohostMiriamWidman sought guests onherOregon-basedpilot radio showDieGermanStunde (TheGermanHour) todiscuss German and U.S. responses tonaturism.ShecontactedOregon’sNACboardmemberDon Zirbel to see if hecouldbeon theshow,butZirbelhadawork conflict he couldn’t avoid. Zirbel
Bill ColesNEF AREA REP Claudia Kellersch conducts a workshop at the 2009 WNG.
directed Widman to NAC chair BobMortonofTexasandWashington’sNACboardmemberMarkStorey.Storeyhadrecentlybeenresearchingandcomment-ingonGermannaturismforNmagazine,so he was somewhat familiar with thehistory of social nudity there.Widmanthoughtthatinformationvaluableandar-rangedtointerviewStoreybyphonedur-ingtheshow. Morton and Storey suggested thatWidman also contact NEF Area Rep-resentative and German-born ClaudiaKellersch for her first-hand insight ofGermanandU.S.attitudestowardsocialnudity.Twentyminutesbeforetheshowaired,Kellerschwasable togetbacktoWidmanandjointheshow. WidmanintendsDieGermanStundetohighlightissuespertainingtoGermanculture. Her pilot show aired June 25,2010, opening with fifteen minutes onGermanandU.S.naturism,followedbydiscussions on German music, soccer,andhealthcare.Theprogramcanbeac-cessed at http://kboo.fm/node/22246. Ifyou like the segment and its discussionaboutnaturism,there’sanopportunityatthewebsitetosaysotoKBOOpublicra-dio.ThemoreKBOOreceivessuchinput,themoreopen theywillbe to featuringdiscussionsaboutnaturism. This is just one small example ofwhatNAC,NEF,andtheirAreaRepsaredoing to inform the public about natur-ism.YourgenerouscontributionstoNACandNEFmake the continuation of thisgoodworkpossible.
July 2010The N
aturist Society LLC/N
aturist Action C
omm
ittee/Naturist Education Foundation
3Go barefoot all over!
NAC and NEF Assist in Radio Pilot, cont.
Peggy LambLAKE INDEPENDENCE was the perfect spot for a nice, cool dip.
Debbie Jungwirth, TNS staff
ENG—Camp Westmont Style
“Andagoodtimewashadbyall.”Ithinkit’ssafetoassumethatthiswasthecase at the June 14-20EasternNaturistGathering at CampWestmont in Poyn-telle,Pennsylvania.Itwasajourneyintotherealmsof theunknown—asTheNa-turistSocietyhadbeensafelyensconcedatEastoverResortforthepast12years.But,as theysay,change isgood,and ittrulywasthisyear. The grounds at Camp Westmontwerefabulous.Therewasanaturallake,hikingpaths,go-karts,greenlawns,andbeautiful landscapes.Therewereplentyof workshop accommodations, a hugedininghallthatpermittedeveryonetoeatatonce(insteadofeatinginshifts),andtherewasplentyof dedicated space formovies,dances,massage,andyoga. Thebestfeelingcomingawayfromthisyear’sENGwas thatof familyandfriendship. It seemed that everywhereyou looked there were people helping
people—be it Westmont staff or TNSmembers. The entire week had a good,solidfamilyvibe. There were some glitches pre-paring for a gathering at a previouslyunseenlocation,butallweredulynotedsonextyear’seventcangomoresmooth-ly. Plans are already inmotion for newand improved events, workshops, andsocials. The lakefront area is breathtaking,andwecompletelyunder-utilizedit.Notso next year!Thebonfireswere hugelypopular andweplanon scheduling sev-eralmorenextyear.OurnewdancediscjockeycamefromtheranksoftheTNSmembership,andhewaswonderful.It’salways nice to have someone volunteerhisorhertalentforgatheringevents. Several attendees came from farawayto joinusatCampWestmont thisyear.Wehadpeople fromFlorida,Cali-fornia,Texas,Michigan,andOntario.
The Naturist Society LLC
/Naturist A
ction Com
mittee/N
aturist Education Foundation 4
Go barefoot all over!
The Newsletter (ISBN N9. 1075-735X) is published by The Naturist Society LLC, Naturist Action Committee, and Naturist Education Foundation, P.O. Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903. Entire contents copyright ©2010. Published items may be reprinted with prior permission. Request an annual subscription with a donation of at least $25 to NAC. Your financial assistance is vital! VISA/Mastercard donations accepted at (800)886-7230, or you may donate online through the NAC Web page: www.naturistaction.org.
Contact the NAC BoardRobert Morton - TexasChair/Executive [email protected]
Bill Schroer - [email protected]
Mark Storey - [email protected]
Allen Baylis - [email protected]
Morley Schloss - [email protected]
Virginia Schnee [email protected]
Judy Williams - British [email protected]
Don Zirbel - [email protected]
The Newsletter Editor: Mark Storey
1-800-886-7230 www.naturistsociety.com
www.naturistaction.orgwww.naturisteducation.org
July 2010
For more information call 800-866-7230 or www.naturistsociety.com
Gathering Schedule
Plan to
attend an event
in your area!
™
2010ENG Camp Westmont Style, cont.
Oneofthemanyhighlightsofthisgatheringwastheopennessandfriendlinessoftheyoungstaff atCampWestmont.Used to dealingwithkidsaged6-10,theyreallywentoutoftheirwaytomakeusfeelwelcome.Theownerofthecampdidthesame,evengoingsofarasprovidingpil-lows andblankets fromhis home to those thathadforgottentopacktheirs. ThemostimportantresultofENG2010wasthefeelingofsolidarity,spirit,andreunionthatremainswiththeTNSstaff.Itwastrulyextraor-dinary.TheTNStaglineof“Family,Friendship,Fun”wasnevermoretruethanattheENGthispastmonth.TNSmembersandfellownaturistsshouldmakeplanstoattendoneoftheremaining2010gatheringsandnextyear’sENGatCampWestmont.
Ron MarshTHE GO-KART TRACK was a highlight at Camp Westmont.