The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 391 - The Nudists

Episode Date: August 13, 2019

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine the first west coasts nudist camp.SourcesTour DatesRed Bubble Merch

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podcast network. Sure. This is an American history podcast each week I read a story I Dave Anthony restarted from American history to my friend Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is going to be about. And called it quote is jam-packed. Jam-packed. I'm the fucking hippo guy. Dave okay. My name's Gary. My name's Gary. Wait. Is it for fun? And this is not going to come to Tickly podcast. Okay. This is like Adam. And a five-part coefficient. My room's a place. Now hit him with a puppy. You both present sick arguments. No sleep though hippo. No sleep though hippo. Action part. Hi Gary. No. Is he done my friend? No. No. Ronda, Ronda in the car. Oh, that's some good times, huh? 1750. Nice. You're very Lord Jesus Christ. Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a doctor friend of his former president Benjamin former president Franklin. It's why he's on the bills. Yep. Quote, you know, the cold bath has long been in vogue here as a tonic. Sorry, Benjamin. This is starting real hot. Benjamin Franklin is writing a letter to who a friend a friend about the bath. Yes. Okay. You know, the cold bath has long been in vogue here as a tonic, but the shock of the cold water has always appeared to me as too violent. And I have found it much more agreeable to my constitution to bathe in another element. I mean, cold air. Are we still the bads? With this in view, I rise almost every morning and sit in my chamber without any clothes, whatever. Then half an hour or an hour according to the season, either reading or writing. Wow. What a weirdo. So Benjamin Franklin just takes an hour a day and just nudes right? Yeah, he nudes up. He nudes in the morning. Morning nudes with Ben. That's what it's, that's what it eventually became called. Okay. Yeah. I'm writing to you while my Jimmy John is out. I'm actually, I've tied the pen to my pecker and I'm doing it with my waiststrokes. Anyway, I don't like baths. Anyway.

Others of the time who enjoyed skinny dipping or other nude activities include John Quincy Adams or Walt Whitman, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson regularly went swimming without clothes. Okay. I think Washington would go in the Potomac all the time. Sure. Right. Right. But can't get his teeth wet though. Yeah. No. Oh, they imagine. Oh, no. But that was an individual thing. It was considered radical and they remained a small minority of the population. Skinny dippers. And nude, and nude doing, nude doing of things. Okay. Until the Germans got into group nudism, which became popular after 1900. Sure. Okay. In 1920, Germany established its first nude beach on the island of Silt. Okay. In German nudism, it was, it was a reaction to urbanization and rapid industrialization. Okay. The idea was to go back to nature, be healthy, get exercise, have gardens and be a vegetarian. He's German. Fucking hippies. Oh, I think. Oh, man. Okay. How are you going to drive that? Around 1930, the Berlin School of Nudeism opened. Finally. This is how to do it. Oh, that's easy. Take off your pants. All right. It encouraged mixed sex open air exercises and hosted the first international nudity Congress. This is great. This is great.

This is great. This is great. I fully support this. German nudist camps popped up out in the woods and attracted socialist liberals and pacifists, all who were opponents of the Nazi party. Okay. Interesting. When Hitler came to power, he first outlawed nudism, but then brought it under regulation. Okay. It's amazing to think that, like, Hitler at times was doing other things. You know what I mean? Like, you just think of Hitler, you're like, he did one thing, but he's like, no, maybe they should be able to congregate nude in certain zones. They run around with you dick out a little bit. Yeah, you know. So restrictions were put in place because of the Nazi belief that nudism was a, quote, breeding ground for Marxists and homosexuals. And breeding. And breeding. Yeah. Mixed sex nudism was out as a, quote, a reaction to the increased immorality of the Weimar state. Mixed sex. Yeah. Meaning now you can only be gender nude.

Yeah. So they were saying men and women couldn't be naked together. That's a bummer. But still, it remained very popular and even had support among members of the SS. Okay. So that's nice. Yeah, that's nice that the SS could just relax a little bit. Yeah. See him with the Swazis off. Germans. Germans brought their version of nudism to America in 1929. Okay. They came to America. Sorry, when they came to America, most German immigrants went to New York or Chicago. But when they wanted to practice nudism, they ran into trouble because going naked in a gymnasium in Berlin was a lot different than going naked in a gymnasium in New York. Yeah. Well, so sure they got here and they just started fucking strutting through the gym and everyone's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy. Hey, hey, put a towel down. Put a towel in the equipment. What are you doing there? Jesus Christ, Franky.

I was just going to do with my legs. Yeah, no, I'm going to work out my leg day. No, cover up the jimmy jam. This is a bummer, dude. Yeah, no. This is New York. I'm stuck to your material. What we do is shorts. My buttocks seem to have kind of cupped it in a suction cup as fashion. Hey, this is New York, not fucking Berlin with your ass down. Yeah, I'm in New York. Yeah, it's like, fuck this. I get it. Berlin, you look at each other's buttocks all day, but not here in New York. I mean, New York is a no buttock city. If you're playing a sport, like someone snapped the ball. We used to play mixed, you know, athletics. Mix athletics? Yeah, boys, women, you know, messing, mocking it up, you know, like I'm playing, you know, whatever, play volleyball, play whatever. No, no, buddy. The shuttle cocks. You got a new name. Yeah, where's the shuttle cocks? I know where it is, actually, because one of the guys put it in himself. But that was, we have like five others, so it's fine. But anyway. Do you know that when you say phrases like one of the guys put it in, you lose your accent completely?

Yeah, no, that's great. Well, look, it's Ted. It's me from before. And you guys asked me to leave the gym, so I kind of reinvented myself and I gave up a bunch of stuff. So going naked in North America at the time was about eroticism, burlesque, gay bathhouses, stripteases, not about health, fitness or recreation. Okay. The way nudists were able to navigate the situation was to go outside the city. Nudist camps began to spring up in the country. Kurt Barthel is considered the father of the modern U.S. nudist movement. Okay. He put an ad in German papers seeking like-minded people for a meetup. And it's in America, though. Yeah, right. Okay. And he put out the papers like, hey, who wants to be naked and just, you know, hang out, do naked. Just like regular stuff, but naked. You want to do that? That's what the ad said. Right. It's like, okay. You want to maybe take a pass? No, I'm good. That's perfect. The first organized nudist outing was held on Labor Day, 1929. There were seven people in attendance, three women in format.

Barthel then founded the American League for Physical Culture in 1929, the ALPC. Members of the ALPC visited Least Farms in Westchester County in the summer and participated in gymnastics in rented gyms and pools in the city in winter. Okay. He then set up America's first official nudist camp, Sky Farm in New Jersey in May. It's not a farm. 1932. Okay. Sky Farm. Sure. Two split off groups formed. The American Sunbathing Association. That is the greatest. The American Sunbathing Association. Yeah, we're pretty like just here to have a good time. Make sure everyone's like on the same page. Yeah. And the American Gymno Physical Association. Weirder. Our name's not as cool, but it's got Jim in there and then, you know, our stuff's out.

We're also nude. We're nude. Same as the other guy. Oh, we're all three of us nude. But I don't like the way you're nude. That's why I started my own group. Because when you're nude, you're like, I'm a sunbathe and I'm like, man, I want to do some sports. It's cool, man. It's not fucking cool. You guys just lay around. Dude, I don't want to play some football, bro. All right. We're chill like, yeah, let's play. Have a disc. A disc? Yeah. Football. We can play frisbee football. What the fuck's the matter with you? This is why we have two different groups. We can play regular football. Feels like you want a beef, dude. We're on the same page. Fuck you, man. You're a shitty nudist. All right. All right. Yeah.

We are so close to fighting right now. Naked fighting. Okay, awesome. Get a little exercise. No, that's your group. Let me punch you in the goddamn face, bitch. All right. What do you mean, all right? Let's do it. Let's do it. Fuck you. Do what? Anything you want, man. It's cool. We're naked. It's not fucking cool, man. Same team, man. Fuck you, you fucking weird naked guy. All right. What do you mean, all right? Stop fucking saying that shit. All right. Yeah. Love it. Yes. In, dude. Fuck you. I don't know why I'm hard. I don't know why I'm hard. All right. Cool, man. I'm hard, too. It's awesome. You son of a bitch. It's cool, man. I agree. I am like, yeah, for sure. I'm not crying. Bro, it's fine. I'm not fucking crying, man. It's cool. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. We're still going to have different groups. It's not your fault.

It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. I can't believe I'm still hard. It's not your fault. Okay. All right. I'm just going to put my pants on. All right. That's cool. That's how I feel right now. Whatever you want to do it, man. Yeah. Here for you. Okay. Dad messed you up, man. I don't want to go. All right. All right. Okay. I'll see you later. All right. See you later, man. That dude's awesome. I love that dude. In 1932, the AGA... Someone right now is just like driving their car listening to this and just sounded like a psychopath. Fuck you. Oh, geez. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. In 1932, the AGA established the Rock Lodge Club, nudist facility in New Jersey.

Okay. A Dutch reform minister started the Christian natress movement. Natrism began expanding nationwide. So the reason nudism is catching on in America was the same as Germany. It was a protest against modern urban life with rapid urbanization and new consumer-oriented economy dominated by giant corporations. In cooperation, some Americans believed there's a disconnection with nature and it threatened to weaken the nation. Well, I'm glad to see we've solved that. So they got naked and they tried to tune in with nature. There's actually... This sounds nuts, but I can't even remember what it's called, but it's like connectivism or something like that, where it's like people who are like, yeah, we just make sure that our feet or hands touch earth for like a half a day.

Yeah, sure. There's like a forest meditation. And there's like genuine like, you know, connective healing issues in there and stuff, but still it's like, really, you think touching the earth is good for us? I wonder, it doesn't seem like that makes any sense. Also, fiction like Tarzan glamorized being naked in the forest with monkeys. I added the monkeys part. That's where I want to be. By the way, that's a different kind of naked. That's where you're like, well, I might get these balls of mine stuffed in my mouth from a monkey. I don't want to monkey around my dick out. They'll steal that peach.

They will completely steal that peach. And two nonfiction books came out, Newtism in Modern Life, the new gymno-phosphi... Gymno-physi... Gymno-physi... Gymno-physi... Gymno-physi... I never heard of that word. I don't think it's a word.

Jan Gay's ongoing naked. Jan Gay's real name was Helen Reitman. Her father was president of the Chicago Hobo College, Ben Reitman. Okay, right? Yep. Callback? Her book was about an extremely repressed Midwestern girl who discovers the ecstatic freedom of outdoor German nudism. These books introduced Americans to nudism and talked shit about capitalism. Okay.

Liberals like the erotic possibilities of social nudity and how it pushed change. The erotic possibilities? Yeah. Well, there's still... Americans are still caught up in the fact that if you're naked, you're... Well, that's what they're saying. Yeah, they're getting titillated by the nudism. Right.

Whereas nudists are just like, let's... Let's say it's not about sex. It's not about sex. They're like, oh, look, they're gonna bang. Nudist camp started popping up in rural areas on the east coast. Hobart Glassy was a Syracuse University graduate who had worked for a while as a psychologist. Okay. Hobart and his wife, Laura, L-U-R-A, Laura, a home economics teacher, got into nudism.

Okay. He soon became assistant director at Upstate New York's Camp Olympia, one of the first U.S. nudist retreats. These names are just great. I feel like it wasn't hard to move up in the nudist world, like there wasn't a lot of competition at this point to become a manager or whatever. Without any signature dress code, it's hard to tell who's a lieutenant and who's just a regular police. Are you in charge here? Uh, yeah.

No. Oh, no. Yeah, you can't say, oh, yeah. You're just naked, but we're all naked. But who's in charge? What? That guy. Hey, are you in charge?

Yeah. No, the way you're saying it. Huh? No, I'm not. This is one of our naked jokes. We're a collective. In 1933, the Glassies came to Southern California to open a nudist camp in a more temperate climate. Okay.

A quote, eccentric, iris-born businessman named Peter McConville also came with them. Okay. McConville had been a New York grocer, and he had been introduced to nudism while growing up with relatives in northern Australia. That tracks 100%. Yeah, that tracks. No questions there. It's not a snake. Yeah, yeah.

After three, after the three searched the area, they found their spot in the Cleveland National Forest above Lake Ellsnor. That's amazing. Cleveland. Uh, on the border of Orange and Riverside counties. Okay. 40 miles from Los Angeles. Okay. They leased a portion of Rhodes Ranch and built two simple cottages and put up 10 tents.

Okay. There was no electricity or indoor plumbing. Okay. So you're shitting in the woods. Yep. Hobart named the camp Elysian Fields. See, I can do most of this. No outdoor plumbing stuff.

No? That's tough. That's when you're done. That's camping. It's nude, yeah, but it's nude camp. Like, it's, I mean, it is like my favorite show, Naked and Afraid. It's a lot like that. I've never said I'd be suited for it.

But you've gone camping even shitting in the woods. I have done that. Yes. But it's not ideal. But that's kind of a part of camping. It is. Yes. But also being part of like a human, I think now has become like cleaning and like, you

know, you feel like a, you feel dirty. You can bring a, a travel bidet. That's all I'm asking for. They have those. They have travel bidets. I'm just asking for a friend to get a mouthful of water and just don't do that. No, don't. Don't do that.

Oh, I thought that was what you said. No, I said travel bidet. You bidet for each other. No. Yeah, you bidet each other. No, that's, you're talking about two guys in a relationship. I'm talking about a travel bidet is when you're single. I think I, I think I've conflated the two.

Is it Elysian Fields? Is it a lie? Do you know how to pronounce it? I think it would be Elysian. Elysian? Yeah. I mean, here they pronounce it Elysian in Los Angeles, but I'm going to get, I'm sure I'm going to get emails that it's something else.

They're actually Amels. In May 1933, Elysian Fields had its opening weekend. Yeah. Elysian. I think Elysian. Is it E-L-Y-S-I-A-N? Yeah. Elysian.

Elysian. Elysian. Yes. Like what you get from a leech. They said, quote, their dream was to assist people by providing a place where the pressures of our artificial civilization might be removed. A select list of people were invited. Okay.

So, most of them were professional men and women and their families. We spent the day talking and playing various games. The only difference between our gathering and the ordinary picnic was that we worn our clothing. Yeah. No clothing. Yeah. Tough self for the kids probably.

Though he, no, see I disagree. No. Because kids, I think kids up until a certain age just have zero problem being naked. I agree with that. It's the, it's the fact when you're around adult naked as a kid, it's real weird. Okay. Like I remember the first time I was in a locker room and I like was like, what is that? You know, I was like, I can't handle what I saw.

No. If you're a kid and you see old man balls, like that's a tough. That literally is why at the YMCA they're like, here's a room for like 15 and under and then here's the room where you're allowed to see what happens to old guys' balls. It's a bummer. Yeah. Old guys' balls is a bummer. Especially the why.

They're weighing themselves. You know what I mean? Like they have a real culture in there. Yeah. No. Guys at the Y, old guys at the Y like to just hang out naked for as long as they can. You walk in and there's a dude sitting in a chair reading a paper. Oh yeah.

Sitting in a chair that other people sit in just reading a paper. Some guys doing his nude abs on the floor like, ah, ah, you see what my balls do when I clench? Ah, isn't that fun for a nine year old to see? Are you looking up the pronunciation? Yeah. Let's check it out. I think I would imagine it as a lesion.

Yeah, it's a lesion. A lesion fields. Um, so I should have looked that up before people yell at me and call me in the coward and then someone will throw a harpoon at me. Excuse me? Yeah. That's what happened last time. Someone threw a harpoon at you.

It hit me. Where? All right, my tum-tum. Okay. Let's just, maybe we should just keep going. That's what the doctor calls it. My tum-tum. He rubs it.

What? Huh? Maybe just... Uh, Hobart, uh, made a point to assure the public that they weren't insane. Quote, at mealtime, we dressed in conventional shorts. Okay, right. Yeah. Cause you're gonna, you don't want to get the food on your hot...

Yeah, mustard pubes. Yeah. It didn't take long for word of the naked people playing games and talking in the forest to reach the Riverside DA's office. That is what I love. It's like, what are they doing? Yeah. Well, they're frolicking.

Yeah. Like literally. They're breaking the chain of society. Yeah. There's literally the... Why's the DA? Nothing else you could give a... Yeah.

I could give a shit less about the naked people. Oh, they don't wear clothes? Yeah. What are they doing? They're eating. Okay. Great. A few days after it opened, District Attorney Earl Redwine and the local sheriff...

Redwine? ...arrived. That's a great last name. The L.A. Times reported, quote, a belligerent District Attorney yesterday cost... It's full of red wine. ...cost a chill over Elysian fields and sent three promoters of the strange cults scampering for their trousers and overcoats. Weird.

Overcoats. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Like they're flashers. Because that's where they grab as an overcoat. Yeah. Yeah.

For sure. The old that remained of a little group of ten who gathered Sunday in the old Rhodes Ranch to woo nature without the benefit of clothing. The only people there were Hobart, Laura, and another naked guy, obviously. Hey, my... I'm single. I was... I'm divorced.

Hello. Ugh. The D.A. was furious and lit into Hobart and Hobart responded, quote, we are not operating a nudist colony but a secluded vacation center where people may go naked. There is a distinction. I mean, you should not have to defend why you're naked. Oh, I'm naked. I'm on my property.

Get the fuck out of here. Yeah. Yeah. D.A. red wine said there was no distinction and, quote, you can commune with nature all you want as long as you wear some clothes, otherwise there'll be no colony. Riverside County won't stand for nudism. Nobody in Riverside is naked ever. It's good.

Once, I put on my fucking jeans before I take a shower. That's right. My dungarees. I put them on, a shower, I get out of the shower, I put on diver pants, and I slide the dungarees off underneath. Why wouldn't you just take off the dungarees? Oh, because you'd be nude for a second. That's right.

You fucking pervert. It sounds like you're... I'm not the weirdo. It sounds like you're wasting a lot of jeans. You're the weirdo. You think man was made to walk around naked in a forest? Are we getting a citation or something? Is there any...

Because we'll just take it. We don't need to talk to you for a while or anything. I am looking you in the eyes. That's fine. Yeah, but if there's a ticket, I don't know if one of those officers, there's a ticket or something. Here's your ticket. All right.

You're fucking there. Fuck you. Do you want a hot dog? Yes. All right, here you go. A hot dog, nice try. Red Wine made another visit a few weeks later, a few days later. It always does.

I'm back. In this household. Check it, who's got chaps? And threatened that anyone naked would be, quote, thrown in jail every day of the week if I find anyone here without proper clothing. I like the idea that he does start showing up with less on though. Like he's like enticed by it, but he doesn't want to let them know. That's right.

You got to wear clothes. You just lose a button. To calm DA Red Wine down, Hobart promised that every person at a lesion fields would wear shorts, sweaters or bathing suits. Okay. Sounds very legal. But he had no intention of doing that because he knew the district attorney had no legal leg to stand on.

Right. Okay. Still, the nudist kept a lower profile for a while until July when Hobart sent a letter to the LA Times columnist, to a LA Times columnist declaring the camp fully open for business. Yes. Hobart, quote, a lesia is a half a mile off the Ortega highway and is reached by a government road which is closed to the public by federal authorities.

No one accepting those having business with the inhabitants of the area may travel this road without being subject to fine or imprisonment or both. Okay. But to get there, you have to private, try to get there. So no one should be arrested because no one's going to stumble across. No kid or whatever you're fucking worried about is going to stumble across the nudist. Right. Right.

The Glassies then went on a PR tour trying to build up good relationships with their neighbors. They donated to local charities and took part in community events. After a while of doing this, Hobart was convinced a lesia was safe. Even D.A. Redwine backed down. The LA columnist took note and was impressed, quote, he is clever. When he started the a lesion fields, there was a roar of protest from citizens officials, but that is all quieted down now.

Okay. That's it. It's all good. Oh, it's at the end of the story. Congratulations. That's pretty good. Yeah. Not much to it.

Oh. There's a little bit more. Okay. People were still fascinated with the nudist camp, though, and Hollywood came calling. What? A former child actor named Brian Foy wanted to get into directing and producing, and he saw a lesia as the perfect opportunity. I'm interested to see where this man's vision goes.

Foy and his crew began filming a fictional, quote, health film. Okay. It was about a reporter who comes to find a nudist colony as a skeptic and leaves converted. Oh, right. Okay. That happens. I like that. Yeah.

I see Dudley Moore. Quote, we decided we'd just put everybody on the screen naked. Maybe then we'd do some business. Okay. So, all right. So your movie's probably not great plot-wise because your plan now is to just show a bunch of genitals. That's right.

Okay. In it, a fully clothed Hobart gives a lecture in front of a campfire about the benefits of nudism. Okay. Great scene. I did that. I did that speech in my... Is that one of your auditions?

Analyze. Yeah. And then I have used it for... Many auditions. Yeah. Like Winchit. Winchit, I did. It's might be a little long for what you're looking for, but you'll see why this works

with Winchit. You want to just say Winchit into the camera? No. No, no, no. I got an actual thing prepared. I'm going to take off my shirt. Okay. In November 1933, Elysia, Valley of the Nudes, premiered at Talley's Criterion Theater in

Los Angeles. The LA Times film critic did not enjoy it. Oh, interesting. Quote, attempting in all seriousness to set forth the theories of the nudist cult, but often unconsciously comical, Elysia seemed to be drawing audiences largely of men yesterday. Yeah. I mean, that really is what it's going to turn into, right? Yeah.

I'm going to go watch this film down at the theater. It's about people getting into a thing that they're into. I'm going to go work off at the movies, hon. See us. Sir, I'm here to find out about the nature help situation, and you have your naked and... My question is, do I got to buy one for my ticket for my friend here? This little guy? The hog?

Oh, sir. No. Huh? Could you leave? Actually, it would be great if you would leave. Also, don't look at me like that. I'm going to go in. How much does this cost to have a popcorn that ain't got the bottom?

Okay, sir. For whacking. It's $4. All right. There you go. Thank you. That's from my bottom. What?

That's where my money was. What? Later. What is wrong with you? So I'll go back to this. What excuse of entertainment it aims to offer is difficult to conjecture outside of arousing a purient curiosity on the part of some beholder? The reviewer also said there was a lot of lecturing.

Yeah. So you know what I want to see is a movie of just naked people lecturing? Well, again, I mean, they were covering plot issues with nudes. It's not a great plot. So, yeah. It's like, yeah. It's all speeches. It's like, yeah.

Hey, so why are you naked? Well, it's a long, long, long, long monologue, and here I go. The lectures were full of pseudo-scientific claims like exposing the naked body to the sun was necessary to recuperate and build up the flesh. Quote, the American Indian never caught colds until the white man put clothes on him. Well, that's not an issue we can argue with. And there were the soon-standard shots of nudists playing football, baseball, sunbathing, and eating in the nude, as well as the racist talk of staying fit enough to, quote, outdo

the savage at any sort of game. Wait, what? Just outdo the savage at any sort of game? Yeah. So the savage, you know. Who said that, though? They said that during the film. Oh, okay.

It's one of the benefits. Right, okay. Of nudism. Right. Interesting. Twist. Yeah. There's nothing like nudism and white supremacy thrown in together.

Yeah, no. You're probably watching that like, sorry, was that just... Did that just... Did they just suddenly throw in a white supremacy? Did they get weirdly racist? It's like... That's right. And we're all one unless you're not white.

All right. Let's move over here. Come on. What did he say? He said white dicks. White dicks. All right. Let's go.

The powers that be in America were not thrilled with the movie. It was banned in Los Angeles and other American cities. It was banned in all of Puerto Rico where the president issued a statement. Oh boy. Quote, if nude men and women appeared in the streets of San Jose, the police would have to restrain them. Okay. Okay.

All right. I guess I'm taking off my clothes around these streets. I'm sorry. Not clear. No, officer. Don't. No, not clear what I was saying. Tackle me.

Don't. Tackle him. Oh, shit. With all this blowback, Hobart decided to move Elysia to a more strategic location. Sure. In 1934, he and his investors bought a secluded piece of land further up the Ortega Highway and moved the camp there. The land was located in both Riverside and Orange counties.

Okay. So it straddles. Right. A reporter asked Hobart about this. Quote, it was purchased with full of knowledge of the fact it was partly in Orange County and partly in Riverside County. As a matter of fact, the thought that such an arrangement might be of value in receiving district attorneys and sheriff's squads was one of the reasons why the land was purchased.

If relations become strained, and I sincerely hope they do not, we would play hide and seek with the unwelcome visitors. Oh, okay. While the Riverside officers were seeking on their side of the line, we would be hiding on the Orange County side and vice versa. That is smart. I think it sounded like, it sounds flawed, but that doesn't make a little sense. That doesn't make sense.

Yeah. Unless both sides come at once. Yes. Then that's, yeah. I also ran across a story in the newspaper, out near Ontario, there was a forest fire and the firemen were going in and all these naked people were running the other way because it was burning towards the latest camp. They're closed.

Hobart then invited the California governor to alize it. Okay. Bold move. Yeah. One of those things that the governor probably won't do. He was like, well I don't, I'll do it. No, governor. I'll do it.

No. Yeah. I'll take this tie off and his jacket and the shirt. No. Now's the time I got to let you know about my spare nipples. There's a few mainly back. An alarming amount of people have a third nipple. Yeah.

But the governor was afraid he would have to get naked if he went. Hobart told the reporter they would consider altering the rules, quote, we possibly would allow him to wear at least a pair of shorts. You can cup it. We've agreed that you may cup your stuff. And plug your butthole. You may do that. May I have the governor's butt plug?

Here it is. But they built up the new camp, a mess hall, a recreation hall, a sleeping quarters, and a commissary. And they started a nudist newspaper. Okay. The Nudes paper. The Nudes. The camp was taking off.

It was incorporated as Fraternity, Elysia, and soon had 200 members. Solid. Yeah. They would take applications to get in. Someone would do a home visit and an interview, because they didn't want creeps, and clearly a lot of creeps would try to get in. Yes, for sure. Out of 6,000 applications, only 200 made it in.

Wow. In the summer, around 75 people could be found daily at the camp, but that number plummeted to half a dozen in the winter. Hobart, quote, in the winter, there isn't so much disrobing. Yeah. Only first names were used at the camp. Interesting. A reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel was told only wholesome and decent persons were

allowed to join. Okay. Quote, no snickering fools are tolerated, and we are not a cult or similar organization. We do not eat herbs or roots. We live just like other people, and nudists are very sanitary. You can eat roots? There's a lot. We'll tell this.

Root judgment. Who's getting root shit? Clearly he's been getting a lot of shit. Yeah. All right. Look, I don't eat roots, and I'm not dirty. What? Are you talking about that dirty root eater?

God damn it, that fucking rooty. You're ruining all of our shit, dude. I didn't eat the roots. Well, then what the fuck are you digging him up for? I was going to make a soup, but I'm not anymore. Why are you naked? Because it's better. I'm a monkey.

You don't understand. When Spring came in 1934, they met their biggest enemy yet. Clothes. Swarming bees. Oh shit, yeah. Thousands of them. Oh god. The LA Times.

Dr. Glassy opined that bees are annoying in any settlement, but in a nudist colony, the service of attack has many times increased, and the defender is greatly handicapped by aerial assaults from all directions at one time. Yeah, it's also, I mean, getting stung sucks, but if you get stung, you know, there. Not good. Yeah. He also said the bees were creating a mental issue that was, quote, seriously cramping the carefree life, and out of door goes that form an important part of the colony's routine.

Right. So now everyone's like angry. Oh, damn it. You can't have fun at Batman when there's bees around. No. Stinging penises. First of all, I called a local judge, but he said bees weren't in his jurisdiction. Look, find him guilty and get him off the land, please, your honor.

Can we get a warrant? Something. Look, I don't know how the law works, but can we put him in a bee jail? I don't. I don't think there's any precedent for me giving a bee warrant. These bees are criminals. All right. Here is a warrant for the bees to leave your property.

Now, if they don't respect this, what's our next move? Like if they are bees. I would. I think we might have to do the unthinkable. Have you heard of a fogger? Hmm. Yeah. Or you could bring in a new queen.

That's interesting. Yeah. One of us will dress like the queen. Yes. Boom. Thank you, your honor. I am the queen, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, you are all my subjects. Let's go this way for a while.

So the judge referred him to the local agricultural inspector. He said, that guy said there's not a lot that can be done. Yeah, they're bees. They're just kind of doing what they do. He did tell them that killing bees was, and self-defense was legal. And then he referred them to a local bee inspector. It turns out it was a guy starting a bee farm next door and they somehow handled it. Oh, okay.

The bee inspector was like, well, I got to the bottom of it. It's right there. Yeah, there's a guy with a bunch of bee. That October, there was a fire after a suspicious explosion in the commissary. Okay. So locals rushed up to help, and it was the cloth and uncloth working together for the greater good. Yeah, probably a little weird for half of them.

It's awkward a little bit, yeah. If you could just move your penis, I can help get that out of there. I can't. Okay, I'll just touch it. Why are you trying to fuck with the way I'm trying to live my life? There's a fire. Oh, is there a fire? Yeah.

Or are you just mad because my dick's out? Well, I'm not crazy about it, but there's a fire. So let's just take some of these, these are your hats? You trying to fuck with my lifestyle, bro? There's a fire. Yeah, there's a fucking fire. But I'm also naked, and that's your own fucking hang-up. No, I'm like whatever about that.

I really am just trying to help you guys, so there's been an explosion, and there's a fire. All right. Cool, man. Thanks for coming up here, the man. Okay. You know what I mean? Yeah, sorry.

I'm just trying to get some of this stuff. All right, man. Good to meet you. I'm just going to help. It wasn't. Yeah, I'll see you later. All right, see you later, buddy. Cool.

That's not fair. He's on the ranch, man. Doesn't seem like anyone really has your back. He doesn't seem very popular. There's a fire, I guess. I was pretty freaked out. The newly built kitchen, the mess hall, and the recreation hall were all lost. Obart said a prowler had been seen the week before.

After this, Alicia started falling apart, and infighting began. Apparently, in 1935, there was a deep rift among the nudists over how to run the camp. Some backed Hobart, and others backed Pete McConville, the colony's business manager that I ever tried. Okay, all right. Word of the warring factions got to the press. McConville was asked about it, and told the LA Times, quote, either glassy or I must go. Well, it seems like we've lost the plot a little bit in the forest.

But the glassies were spending less and less time in Alicia anyway, and more in Los Angeles. Hobart said he was still in charge, and that McConville was doing a bad job as the financial manager. Hobart said he was willing to buy or sell. He didn't care. No one outside the group ever knew what the fight was over. McConville said he would turn the land into a chicken farm. Okay.

I told him to report it. But I didn't think he was fucking around. Okay. McConville won the battle. He either bought or forced Hobart out, and McConville took over the camp while Hobart kept control of the corporation named Fraternity, Alicia. Okay. So the glassies set up a new nudist camp at Latuna Canyon in Sun Valley, which is much

closer to Los Angeles than Orange County. It's also about 10 minutes from here. Right. Yeah. It was known as the Ranch. Okay. McConville changed the name from Alicia to Olympian Fields. Okay.

It's like a whole Greek. Yeah. It's also probably, you just want to put your stink on the business a little bit yourself in the wrong term. Poor word choice. With the attention seeking Hobart gone, the old now smaller nudist colony flew into the radar. Okay.

Hobart continued pushing nudism, giving frequent talks at the Clifton Cafeteria in Los Angeles. Okay. Sure. Wow. There's a lot of stars. I know you're all eating, but I'd like to talk about having your dick out. Great cheese. Yeah.

The cheesecake. Don't touch our food. This is a cock and balls. Okay. This is no different than being around a redwood. Sorry. Here's your calamari. Magdrifts.

Yes. Put them on here. Nope. Okay. He wrote several articles that were published in the nudist magazine. Sure. The new nudist colony thrived. Charles Richter, along with Beno Gutenberg, came up with the Richter scale to measure

earthquakes in 1935. Okay. That same year, he and his wife became regulars at the Glassies' new nudist camp. It's just, now, Dave, if you've done nothing else in your life, it's that you've changed forever the way I'll imagine the Richter scale. He's like, yeah, and it measures that. Anyway, Helen and I are going off to the woods. We don't wear clothes anymore.

See ya. At Caltech, many of his fellow workers viewed Richter with unease. For his part, he just saw nudism as a way to become closer to humanity. He wrote that his wife, Lillian, was a much better nudist than he was. Yes. She doesn't wear anything either. She's so fucking great at being naked. She's really naked.

When I take my clothes off, I'm like, I'm not very good at this, but when she's naked, it's like, holy fuck. You're like, that's great. You're the best. Yeah. And then you're like, why did you marry that nude guy? And then nobody says anything. This is like a nightmare scenario I see in my head.

I'm painting my own clothes. Anyway, am I talking out loud? I shouldn't be. No one's here. Oh, that's perfect. I said that to myself and I'm talking to a tree. I don't have a wife. Yay, earthquake.

So she, quote, rejoices in fresh air, sun and healthy exercise. Okay. The doctor said he never knew what real friendship was until, quote, we joined the glassy group. So he never really felt at home until he was naked in Tuna Canyon, with his buddies. The glassies had their second nun, sorry. Another miracle. Oh, god damn it. It's a nun again.

These are the worst to raise. The glassies had their second son, who was the first baby born in the New Year in Los Angeles in 1937, five seconds after. He was named Gareth. What? What? No. What?

He was? Yeah. Really? Gareth Glassie. Can we just take a minute and talk about how great he is? I don't know what his nickname was. Shut up and read your stupid story. Meanwhile, in 1938, McConville allowed another health film to be shot at Elysia.

The first one was a health film. Yeah. Oh yeah, they're health films. It was called Unashamed a Romance. Oh, no. No, I don't like any of this. It's a porno. This is going to be a porno.

He's going to accidentally make porn. In it, McConville played a gamekeeper. This is the IMD description. Ray Lane entices her workaholic boss to come to a nudist camp in the hopes of winning his heart. Things go swimmingly until attractive and pert blonde Barbara captures his attention. This is a porn. That sounds like a porn.

It's porn. I couldn't figure out, but it sounds pretty, it's not, it doesn't sound health at all. It sounds, I want to fuck. Yeah. And there's naked people. It's just basically naked people. And there's two, yes. Yeah.

Yep. There were splits in the news community that were highlighted at a convention in Santa Cruz in 1937. Okay. The leader in Santa Cruz called his group the Elysium Foundation. Hmm. It's similar. Yeah.

It's very similar. And held this convention two weeks before Hobart and Fraternity Elysia were going to hold their convention in San Diego. So fucking prick, 390 delegates came, a representative from Hobart's group went up and talked shit to the press saying it was unethical, misnamed and unauthorized. Okay. No naked people authorized this. It's just, it's like the, you're just already going like, oh no, even this is becoming like

a corporation. You can't, you can't have, you came walk around naked in the forest without someone else trying to walk around naked. Oh no, we're taking your company name. I'm naked in the forest. Intellectual property. Like seriously, you can't even do this. Yeah.

And it's so, 100% against what it's supposed to be about. Right. Yeah. And this movement has started because of like, yeah, let's, you know, get along and get so worried about the dumb world. Totally. It's just commune with nature, man. Yeah.

Really? How about I commune with nature? Better you. We're communing with nature better. Well, I'm doing it a week before you. I hope a bee stings your wife's breast. Well, that's how we get off. That's true.

It's a fetish that 0.001% of the population is into. And it's really hard. It's the worst. Because you have to get a bee that will do it. And that's complicated. You know what we call it? Boobies. I'll see you all later.

And she walked into a river. So Hobart's representative also said there was a lack of, quote, orthodox nudism in as much as a few pair of panties and a sprinkling of braziers were in evidence. I'm not very happy about that. This is a nudism. There's panties in there. I'm looking in your direction pantywares. Seven of the colonies didn't even exist.

So seven of the colonies that were registered, he says, aren't real. Seven of these colonies don't even exist. These aren't real nudist colonies. These people have fucking clothes on. This is just Fresno. He indicated that a pants-wearing nudist was no nudist at all. And a pantsless nudist associating with such should be shaken from the orthodox ranks. This man hates pants.

He's really got a pants issue. He really gets pants. Panties, pants, braziers. The leader of the convention said he was, this is all clearly jealousy from Hobart. Both conventions, though, were successfully held. Things took a turn for the worst. What? That's what matters.

That's right. Things took a turn for the worst of the ranch. On March 27, 1939, Hobart was working on a trestle that had been used for handling or in an old silver mine on the Latuna Canyon property. One of the pieces of wood gave way and he fell 25 feet and died instantly. Oh, shit. Hobart was 36. Richter called it, quote, a great blow to the whole organization.

But Laura kept the ranch going. A year later, the 19-year-old daughter of a famous silent film actress shot herself with a.22 rifle at the ranch. She had disappeared for four hours in the middle of the night and her 36-year-old husband accused her of being naughty with another male nudist. So he called the guy on the phone and they were yelling at each other. And then while they were yelling at each other, she shot herself. Oh, shit.

The press went nuts. Nudism was called, quote, a corruption of the mine. Oh, for God's sake. And a cult. Of course they're going to blame nudism. Of course there are. Instead of just like two people fucking around on their husband, like, yeah. It's like a tale as old as time.

And they're like, turns out when you lose your clothes, you lose your mind. No, the fucking shooting is because of video games. That's why there's so many shootings in Sweden. The Los Angeles Herald Express ran an expose on nudism a week later. The sheriff said he was going to conduct a nudist survey to find out what all these nudists were doing and how many camps there were. Yeah, let's see what they're doing out there. I'm going to send my boys out to find naked people.

And we're going to see what these naked people are up to. And we were going to use the bloodhounds, but they need an article of clothing to sniff to find the perpetrators. And in this situation, that tactic has been rendered useless. Now Bobby said the butthole, never mind. It's a long story. We were talking about it for about two days. It was really graphic and horrifying, to be honest.

LA Times quote, the sheriff pointed out that while there is no law prohibiting the establishment of the camps, there is also no law against finding out what they're all about. Okay. Sure. I guess. What is law? Yeah, what is law? I can investigate whatever the fuck I want, whether it's legal or not.

All right. That doesn't... Right now I'm going to investigate this doughnut. Okay. Okay. Guilty. Oh, what the hell is happening? Full meltdown.

Full meltdown. A series of raids were conducted on the ranch. Laura was arrested numerous times. The charges were a stretch, including quote, allowing men and women to mingle while nude. Yes. We've all heard that law. Good. Yeah.

Do not bring felony. Yeah. Excuse me. Don't mingle while nude. The ranch was secluded. The cops would watch with binoculars from a distance. From the distance, you're like, I'm single and ready to meet up. They really watch us.

They even made a two-minute film using a telephoto lens from the surrounding hillsides to show in court. Oh, wow. It showed men, women, and children sunbathing and swimming nude around the pool. Oh, my God. End this. All the charges they brought against Laura never led to anything more than fines and probation, and then World War II came, which made nudism seem like not that big of a deal.

But then the war ended, and the LAPD turned their sights back on naked people minding their own business. An anti-nudity law was passed, which stated three or more nude persons, not of the same sex, could not be in a facility together. So three new dudes could hang out, and three new women could hang out, but two new dudes and a woman cannot. So in 1946, a male and female officer posed as nudists and applied for a membership. That's so funny going undercover.

What are we going to put the wire, Sarge? We talked about the butthole, right? Oh, I thought I was just doing a bit. Really? Yeah, put it up your butthole. Awesome. Uh-huh. It's the 50s, so this is huge.

Yeah, that's enormous. It looks like a can. Yeah, it is a can. Yes. Okay. And then there's a string attached to it. Oh, and that goes to the other can. That's right.

Don't you think they're going to notice the string? I doubt it. All right. Off we go. I think they'll be looking in the front end. Okay. But I can't talk through. Yeah, we'll figure it out.

My worry is that it just sounds like cavernous nothingness, but we'll see. Can you hear me? How? Hey, past the macaroni salad, I said. Hey, Jim, is your butt talking? Yeah, yeah. My dad had one, too. How's it going in there?

Oh, I need to go to the hills to talk to a non-officer. Excuse me. Is there nudism? You idiots. Um, so they, to this male and female officer go, apply for membership. They signed forms saying they accepted nudism and that it was beneficial for their health. They took a tour of the camp where they saw, quote, a score of persons, including two young girls and four boys playing badminton, ping-pong, and sunbathing nude at the camp.

Two more cops then showed up and someone yelled, the coppers are here and everyone put their clothes on. Okay. Laura and her new partner were arrested. They went to trial and were found guilty. Laura got 180 days in prison. Good Lord. The ACLU got involved and the case was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court who ruled

the nudist's personal liberties were not being unduly restricted. Wow. Our Supreme Court is fucking bullshit. Well, right now it's about to happen. But it's just, it's happened throughout history. I mean, they said slavery was cool. It's a fucking garbage institution. Yes.

Yes. Well, the decision stood, Laura and her new partner went to jail. The ranch closed. Richter called the episode, quote, about as nasty a little story of the failure of a minority group to secure its constitutional rights as I know of. Clearly he had never heard of slavery or other sort of thing. Yeah. Look, take a moment to process what you're about to say.

Yeah, let's think about it. Let's think this one through. Think for five, literally five seconds before you say what you're about to say. He continued to be a nudist for years, but nothing ever compared to the ranch for him. Laura went on to marry the guy who had been her new business partner. McConville aged and eventually sold his nudist camp in 1954 to a couple named Wally and Flo Nielsen. McConville lived there until he died in 1959.

They were still using his scrotum as a tent then. After the Nielsen's renamed the camp, McConville, in his honor, also nice that he had Ville in his name. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They raised their children in the nude there. They added resort-style improvements.

There was a bathhouse, a swimming pool, and tennis courts, but the Nielsen's divorced in the 70s and Flo became the sole owner of the 129-acre camp. They had a small membership and locals liked them. They even would bowl nude at the local bowling alley every week, though it was closed to the public and windows were covered, but they still got naked bowling time. Yeah. I mean, especially if you show up on Black Night, you're like, this isn't Black Night, you know what I mean?

Or it's like, isn't it cool? You can see all the colors on your shirt. You're like, nah, we're just naked. By then it is... Do you wear shoes? Do you wear bowling shoes? Yeah, for sure they don't wear bowling shoes. You can't bowl in bare feet.

Good God, man. Imagine that look. By then, nudism being some statement about life was gone, so much had changed over the years that nudism didn't... I mean, now we've got Playboy and Penthouse, and by that time it's like, nudism isn't like a scandalous or like, wow, you know. And the camp still did not have electricity, which caused memberships to decline more. In 1991, a reporter from LA Times visited an XTV stage manager now helper on the camp.

He was dressed in a Western scarf and cowboy boots. Yeah, I love it. Love it. We finally have it here. Perfect. You meant boots? Don't make me shoot you. Quote, it feels so damn good not to have to put something on when you get up in the morning,

you're dressed. He lived at the camp for 11 years with his wife and two daughters. He said camp officials were leery of single men. Half a dozen kids were living at the camp year round at that point. A reporter watched them riding around on bikes nude. In 2000, Flo renamed it Camp Mystic Oaks and changed it to Nude Optional, but new members didn't come. In 2007, Mystic Oaks closed and with it, the dreams of the naked dream.

Well, yeah, it's very, you always, it is weird when you think about clothes, when you think about like how it is, you have to, I mean, especially when you grow up in it, you're like, you have to wear clothes. You just have to wear clothes. But in reality, it is really weird. It is really weird. Like we shouldn't. I mean, you shouldn't.

Right. I mean, protective clothing, sure. But for the most part, you should be able to just be like, yeah, why not? But it's weird that it's illegal, yeah. But then it's certain. But then it's not in a lot of places it isn't illegal, like, but, but, but mostly, I mean, certainly, you know, I've read a ton of stories and 20s, 30s and stuff where they just made it super illegal and bathing suits were illegal, all kinds of shit.

And it depends where to, like, you need to have the right, like you couldn't right now, we could not say you like clothing, optional in Los Angeles, so it'd be a bit very crazy. I bet I wonder if you can walk around like a woman go out around their top. Well, in New York, there's, yeah, there's certain parks where you're allowed to walk around. Yeah. So there's, and that's what it should be. I mean, the whole stigmatizing nudity is fucking insane while we have people shooting

at schools. That's really what it is. Yeah, it really is. It's like the folk. Yeah. The focus, the things we choose to focus on. It's all because of religious shit where people can't, you know, handle their dicks. They can't imagine seeing flesh in human form and not wanting to either.

Well, you fuck that. You fuck that. You fuck it. Yeah, exactly. You know, what if you just hang out and say, that's a beautiful body? No, you fuck it. Yeah. I mean, really, that is what, like, religion is.

It's like, it's like Pence saying he can't go and be alone with a woman or like something like that. Because why, dude? Like, you can't, like, you're super weird. You know what I've always loved about that one, too, is the idea that any woman would want to be alone with Mike Pence. It's like, yeah, Mike, Mike, don't worry. The society set that condition for you, too.

Wow. Yeah. Nudism's a trip. I always, whenever I think of Nudism, I always think of M.A.S.H., which I watched as a kid and Hawkeye was always reading Nudist magazines. Oh, really? Nudist magazines? Nudist magazines.

I mean, it was, so that was during the Korean War, which was the 50s, and so it was before Playboy and stuff. So they had Nudist magazines and it was people playing sports nude, and he always was looking at them. Well, he would not be allowed. He's there for the wrong reasons. All right. That was scandalous.

Yeah. Very interesting. More people should be nude. That's my opinion. Especially you. Let's get this done. Let's shut these mics off. All right.

Keep the camera going though. Thank you. Thank you.