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“Bring Your Own Towel” 323 323 Chapter 17 ”BRING YOUR OWN TOWEL” Nudism, Federal Courts, and the Timberline Lodge ALLISON BARRELL Nudity, as typically viewed by American society, is usually regarded as a taboo topic, often equated with pornography and prostitution. The problem with nudism in American society is one of perception, and nudists tend to be condemned as perverts. There are more than three hundred nudist camps in forty-one states in the United States today, where some 300,000 Americans claim membership.1 There are over one million practicing nudists worldwide.2 This means that there could be a nudist in line at the local grocery store, or maybe playing the organ at the Baptist Church on Sunday. Practicing nudists can be found teaching in public schools, in the halls of the U.S. Congress, and throughout American society. Nudism has deep historic roots, and the idea of being nude for recreational purposes is not a new or trendy phenomenon. The philosophy is thousands of years old, going back to ancient cultures as diverse as the Japanese, Romans, Hawaiians, and Greeks. These people did not view nudity as gross or vulgar, for it was the Greeks above all who set the standards for beauty and proportion. The Greeks commonly practiced nonsexual, social nudism.3 Exposing skin has always been a topic of great discussion in this country, and despite that, some citizens simply prefer to practice their right to be nude. This is the case in Cumberland County, Tennessee, specifically at theTimberline Lodge Resort. Established in the mid-1960s, the Timberline Lodge is nestled in the heart of the Cumberland Plateau. One resident complained, “There’s a bunch of crazy people running around naked outside Crossville.They take part in orgies and who knows 324 ALLISON BARRELL what all. I’ve heard that they swap wives and just do all sorts of disgusting stuff.”4 The reference to the nudists in the woods is in regard to Timberline Lodge, Tennessee’s oldest clothing optional facility. It may strike one as unusual that a nudist camp exists on the Cumberland Plateau in the buckle of the Bible Belt, but Timberline’s history is interesting and significant. Though early pioneers called the plateau “the Barrens,” and it developed late industrially and commercially, it was the remoteness of the plateau that made it appealing. It is a place of rugged beauty on a par with the Great Smoky Mountains, but without the traffic and overcrowding . After the construction of Interstate 40, which allowed for greater travel and easier access, Cumberland County flourished, encouraging tourism and the creation of retirement communities. Its average elevation is 1,980 feet, and its average temperature is a mild 54° F. It is the perfect location for a relaxing vacation, which includes the “Timberline experience” for a number of enthusiasts. A nudist movement of sorts existed in Cumberland County as early as the late 1800s, long before open nudity was even an option in America. A well-educated group from Indiana came to the area to grow apples, calling their settlement Pomona. A woman from this group, who was particularly interested in health and well-being, encouraged the ladies of Pomona to join her, rising early in the morning to dance nude in the apple orchards, hoping that the dance would assist the apple-growing process. Prurient interests encouraged males to take the train from Monterey to Pomona, where they might espy the naked lasses bouncing around. Other Peeping Toms, Dicks, and Harrys hid in the woods to watch the ladies dance.5 A painting in the Timberline Lodge office is named “The Ladies of the Fields of Pomona.” It depicts barely clothed women dancing in an apple orchard. Despite apples and nude dancing, Pomona failed to thrive, though remnants of the establishment remain. There is a road named Pomona, and prints of the picture of the dancing women can be found in many stores throughout Cumberland County.6 Though they do not grow apples, members and visitors of Timberline Lodge and Resort share a common bond with Pomona. At Timberline , women, men, and children are all welcomed and encouraged to be free from clothing. The original owners who established the lodge consisted of a group of twelve to fifteen people from Nashville, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Participants in this founding group were highly educated professionals engaged in stressful jobs. Among the founders were employees from Oak Ridge National Laboratory with [3.143.228.40...

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