Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 20, 1978)
Willamettans STORE WIDE SALE 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% OFF on ALL summer stock! i i^AVt. I 4 14 II I \ H( I I S 880 E. 13th on campus • 341-2320 OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF From outside the Willamettan col ony looks like an average cluster of houses, without clothes lines. The residents have a pool, a sauna, a tennis court and a beer garden. They also have a locked yellow gate to keep the perverts out. In the winter, the colony has only 12 permanent residents, but during the summer attendance expands to several hundred. And when several hundred people take off their clothes, beauty goes out the window, resident Jenny Tucker explains. It offers a chance to see people for what they are. “We’ve got scars of every descrip tion here.” They have to look at the spiritual size of people or junk the whole thing. “It's a great equalizer. We learn to see people from the inside out.” The colony covers 40 acres of forest land, complete with a collection of wilderness trails for those in terested in encountering nature in a personal way. Since it began in 1953, the colony has always supported a family at mosphere. When members join, ac cording to Big Ed Tucker, they must bring along their spouses if they have one in stock. “We don’t want people coming up here for a ‘Wild weekend,' ” he explains. “This is a place to come and relax with the family." The club carefully screens appli cants. Before becoming a member, an applicant must make one trip nude. The group then watches the applicant’s reactions, and will vote on whether the applicant has the right attitude. An applicant who spends his time walking around chuckling prob ably wouldn't fare very well, for ex ample. Several members bring their chil dren into the colony and let them loose in a nudist playground for the purpose. “The best place to raise children is in a community where nud ity is accepted,” says Gerald Mor selle, who brings his two children in regularly. “It will help them grow into more complete people." Other members retired into nudity. Big Ed and Jenny ran a mom and pop’s grocery store on the coast be fore becoming nudists. “I just wish I had joined sooner," says Big Ed. “In 30 years we never had time for any thing but work." Leonard Jones worked for 38 years with the railroad before becom ing a resident nudist. “It’s peaceful. We have no hassles here,” he says “It spoils you for anything else.” The only dark spot in their life comes when he and his wife have to go to town. “We dread it.” Other residents choose to put on get some residents to run through a field of daisies. However, this is not their natural pose. They feel more at home doing chores or riding motor bikes. They keep the daisies around as props. Story by JOCK HATFIELD Photos by ERICH BOEKELHEIDE clothes each day to work in town. It isn’t required that members run around nude all the time. Some choose to go half-and-half. Once in a while a member will wear only sneakers and a tie as an amusing social comment. An Emerald photographer tried to Each year the American Sun bathers Association and the Ameri can Nudists Association hold con ventions. The northwest nudist con vention at Squaw Mountain drew nudists from all over the country. Un fortunately the volleyball and horse shoe events were rained out, so the convention centered around hot showers and streaking. The Wil lamettans hold a sunshine festival late each summer, with volleyball, swimming, tennis, and tan events. When the colony started 25 years ago, it ran into trouble. The six found ing couples had a hard time scraping up the money to buy the land. But they wanted a private area and even tually gathered enough support. New members must pay dues, and help keep up the grounds. For this they become part owners. The pri vate property allows the colony to exist apart from the outlying commun ity, but colony members are con cerned about public opinion. A recent newsletter warned members to watch their actions. It delivered the message on a background of big eyes: 'As nudists we are under more or less constant observation — both inside and outside the park, so let's all do our best to project a good image!” The county commissioners ruled .emu Oregon Wilderness Supplies Summer Clearance Sale 25% off Frame packs, Soft packs, books, fabrics, shirts, pants, parkas, goretex, rainwear, and camping accessories. Oregon Wilderness Supplies Lower Level EMU ) 10-4 M-F 686-3089 3 Bans professional hair supply THERE’S A NEW PLACE IN TOWN where you can buy the same beauty supplies professionals use. Shampoos • Conditioners • Make-up • made by: Redken Jhirmack Mahdeen K.M.S. Jerome Alexander Image Vidal Sassoon Fermodyl Dermetics Regime and many more Special lines of Men’s products too. Plus special hair brushes, blow dryers, barettes and other hair supplies. Open 10-5 Monday thru Saturday i r j r i r i r 1233 alder * 344-2447J Summer is the nudists’ season, their goal, their nourish ment. It offers them a chance to reap the rewards of the business. Not far outside Eugene, in Marcola, the Wil lamettan nudist colony has started cashing in. ■ i • i ii r i • ~ min—"iiTiTii — i— nir~ -- rr last summer that public nudity is il legal, overriding a nudists’ rights movement. Nude bathers still swim in the Eugene area, but they use discre tion, according to Gerald Morselle, the head of a nude bathing group. This makes the Willamettan colony the only legal stomping ground for the nudists in the county. Public sentiment is against the nudists, Morselle feels, because of social inhibitions. “A lot of people want to skinny dip,” says Morselle. “But they’ve been raised to believe it’s wrong to enjoy sun and water completely.” The Willamettans take steps to pro ject a good public image. They screen visitors. “We don’t want per verts coming in here to oogle,” ex plains Jenny. But once a visitor wins the group’s confidence, the members are completely open. “I grew up in a family where there was never a dis play of nudity,” explains Big Ed as he strolled about the camp dressed in shoes. He says it was a relief to join the Willamettans. The nudists haven’t disregarded all of society's pretensions. Big Ed and Jenny live in a plush trailer. Visitors drive Winnebagos. They regard nud ity as relaxation and feel as comfort able walking around naked as out siders would wearing houseclothes. ENJOY A CUf OP OtIR TIME ESPRESSO WITH "YOUR TIZZA! 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