Au Naturel
The History of Nudism in Canada
James Woycke, Ph.D.
ISBN 0-9682332-3-6
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Au Naturel is a history of the origin and development of nude recreation in Canada. Tens of thousands of Canadians visit nudist clubs and free beaches in Canada every year, while thousands more visit clubs, resorts, and beaches in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean, making clothing optional recreation one of the fastest growing sectors of the vacation industry today. How it got that way from its highly individualistic skinny-dipping and sunbathing origins is the story behind Au Naturel.
Within the local and regional chapters the sequence of discussion for clubs and beaches is geographical first, then chronological. For example, Chapter Three: Evergreet Tans, starts with a discussion of groups and clubs on Vancouver Island and then proceeds to the Lower Mainland. Chapter Six: Ontario Outdoors, starts with the Toronto area and proceeds to the Golden Horseshoe area, then to southwest Ontario, then to central Ontario, and finally to Eastern Ontario. Within each particular region the earliest club is discussed first, followed by later additions.
Au Naturel is based on information from Canadian, American, and European magazines; club and organization newsletters; correspondence between clubs and organizations; reports in the media, and personal interviews. I have quoted liberally from the original sources because the correspondence, records, magazines, and newsletters are not publicly available. I have retained original spelling, grammar, and syntax to reflect the flavor of the original sources. Readers will notice that the endnotes have not been printed here in an effort to hold down the cost of publication. All reference notes will be posted on the FCN web page in summer 2003. [www.fcn.ca/history/endnotes.html.]
Research for this book relied on the free access to sources granted by the Federation of Canadian Naturists, the Fédération québécoise de naturisme, the Western Canadian Sunbathing Association, the Eastern Sunbathing Association, and the American Nudist Research Library. I am grateful to these organizations for their assistance, particularly to Doug Beckett, Michel Vais, Karen Flack, K. Nathesius, and Dot Purcell, respectively, for permission to consult and to quote from these sources. I also want to express general thanks to the various clubs owners, managers, and members who made available club records and correspondence, granted interviews, and otherwise facilitated research. It would be impossible to list everyone here (partly for reasons of confidentiality) but all are acknowledged, however indirectly, in the Notes. And last but certainly not least I owe a tremendous debt to Ray Connett for organizing Canadian nudism in 1947 and seeing it through a very difficult childhood, and for granting permission to reprint material from his own publications, which are such a vital source for Canadian nudist history. Although Ray (and Mildred) passed away recently, his work lives on in the clubs he founded, both in Canada and in California, and in his tireless work on behalf on nudist organizations in Canada, the United States, and Britain. I also wish to thank the Federation of Canadian Naturists for granting unrestricted access to their papers and to the correspondence and records of the previous Canadian organizations which they have inherited, and for their generous offer to publish this book.
For additional information and resources about nudism/naturism please consult the following resources.
Canada:
Federation of Canadian Naturists
P.O. Box 186, Station D
Toronto, ON, M9A 4X2
Phone: (416) 410-6833
Fax: (416) 410-6833
Website: www.fcn.caFédération québécoise de naturisme
4545, avenue Pierre-de-Coubertin
C.P. 1000, Succ. M
Montreal, Quebec, H1V 3R2
Phone: (514) 252-3014
Fax: (514) 254-1363
Website: www.fqn.qc.ca
USA:
American Association for Nude Recreation
1703 North Main Street, Suite E
Kissimmee, FL, USA, 34744
Phone: (407) 933-2064
Website: www.aanr.comThe Naturist Society
P.O. Box 132
Oshkosh, WI, USA, 54903
Phone: (920) 426-5009
Website: www.naturistsociety.com
International:
International Naturist Federation
St. Hubertusstraat 5
B-2600 Antwerpen, Belgium
Phone: 32 (3) 230-0572
Fax: 32 (3) 281-2607
Website: www.inffni.org