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Conference moira::naturism

Title:Naturism
Notice:Site report index is in topic 7
Moderator:GENRAL::KILGORE
Created:Tue Jan 26 1988
Last Modified:Thu May 08 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:457
Total number of notes:3687

313.0. "Concord, Mass c/o pond" by MOIRA::FAIMAN (light upon the figured leaf) Mon Jun 03 1991 18:02

I'm entering this note for a conference reader who would like to remain
anonymous.  If you would like directions, send me mail, and I'll forward
it to the author.  (A bit of information about yourself might help the 
author to feel comfortable sharing the site.)

	-Neil Faiman, NATURISM co-moderator

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I am a read-only user of this conference and have gotten a lot from it.  I'ld 
like to give a little back by sharing a very special place with you.  

This pond near Concord, MA is clothing optional, and being off the beaten path 
is enjoyed by relatively few people.  It's a small pond - maybe 1/3 the size of 
Walden - and is clean, shallow (depth is uniformly about 5.5'), and cool (fed by 
springs).  It is surrounded by forest, with miles of hiking trails going through 
varied terrain.  One can find grassy spots in the sun or shade (tho late 
afternoon the sunny spots get pretty few).  There's even a safe diving spot! 
This place has given me some great images - wind rustling through the stands of 
white birch - the flight of a bird as it swoops down for a drink - truly as 
beautiful place.

I've been told that the pond has been a traditional "skinny dipping" spot for at 
least 40 years (one of our older users).  More than half of the people swimming 
or sunning do so sans suit.  And the atmosphere is friendly although you can be 
alone - geographically or socially.

The men, women and children who use this pond feel protective about this special 
place.  Rowdiness is discouraged, people take their trash with them and courtesy 
is widespread (e.g., asking dressed people if nudity would offend them).  Beyond 
preserving the tranquility of this beautiful spot, we want to avoid a repeat of 
an episode that happened 4 years ago, when police came to discourage naturist 
recreation.  This was a reponse to large. mostly male crowds that began to come, 
with some rowdiness, drinking, etc.

I believe that the members of this conference would understand and agree with 
the values of this place.  If you would like directions to this pond - send your 
request to the moderators (is that just Neil?) and I will send them to you. 
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
313.1AURA::WONGThe wong oneTue Jun 04 1991 14:285
To the mysterious noter:

	Thanks!

	B.
313.2WEFXEM::GAUVINThu Jun 06 1991 16:263
    That sounds like a great spot, but I do have a question..
    What is a SANS SUIT ??/
    
313.3Naked!GENRAL::KILGORESoutheast UTAH ManiacThu Jun 06 1991 16:345
>>    What is a SANS SUIT ??/
    
Sans means `without'.  So a Sans Suit is a Birthday Suit!  ;-)

Judy
313.4WEFXEM::GAUVINMon Jun 10 1991 10:235
    Thanks Judy. That's what I assumed it was but you know what happens 
    when you assume something
    
    Ron
    
313.5CADSE::WONGThe wong oneTue Jun 11 1991 02:3211
    One of my friends visited this place this past weekend and he said
    that he didn't see any nudity there.  He didn't know if there was
    someone he could have asked about it.  There was one guy who
    was swimming in the nude, but he covered himself with a towel
    as he left the water.
    
    Could the base noter give us more information, please?  Is it clothing
    optional during the week, or did my friend go to the wrong part
    of the pond?
    
    B.
313.6Cautious NuditySTEPS1::WILSONTue Jun 11 1991 12:1732
    Ben,
    
    I went there over the weekend.  While there, I spoke to "Rick," a
    naturist that a number of DECnats know (yourself and Robin, among
    others).  While there on early Saturday afternoon, he was sunning
    himself when a man and his two young sons came over.  Rick asked the
    man if he minded Rick's being nude.  The man said he didn't.  Soon
    thereafter, he peripherally saw someone approaching him, and quickly
    covered up.  It was one of Concord's Finest, who hassled Rick about
    Having Been nude in front of the young boys.  The father said that he
    didn't have a problem with it.  (Most people that go to this pond are
    ware of the nudity, and accept it.)  The cop said that HE had a problem
    with it, and made Rick get dressed.  He said if he saw Rick nude there
    again, he would arrest him.
    
    People, having heard this, became very cautious.  They would, as you
    said, remove their clothes/towel to go in the water, but would get
    dressed as soon as they got out.  Typically, they didn't go nude at all
    when there were children present.
    
    The cop returned on Sunday, but didn't find any "violators," and left. 
    I was there later in the afternoon on Sunday, and didn't have any
    problem.  About 1/2 of the people were nude at various stages, and the
    others had no problem with it.
    
    The pond itself is very nice, kind of "Waldenesque."  The water was
    warm near the top, and very chilly at the bottom.  It is only about 6
    1/2 feet deep at the most, and is, as the base noter described,
    permeated with tannin.  But it was clean and refreshing.  All in all it
    was a really nice area that I will definitely return to.
    
    Jack
313.7CADSE::WONGThe wong oneTue Jun 11 1991 13:423
Ha...figures Rick would get hassled...

he was one of the people who managed the Quarry...
313.8sounds familiar...EXIT26::SAARINENTue Jun 11 1991 18:329
    This pond sounds familiar, when I use to Contra Dance at the
    Girl Scout House in Concord, a group of people would go to
    a pond in Concord afterwards and go skinny dipping under
    the stars. I never drove to the pond so I am not sure if
    this is one and the same...but it sounds like it....could
    some one send me directions please?
    
    thanks
    -Arthur
313.9RE: Directions to the site ...STEPS1::WILSONTue Jun 11 1991 19:0922
    For the benefit of those noters who may have missed this paragraph in
    the basenote, I am repeating it.  (Neil, please feel free to delete
    this if you believe it inappropriate.)
    
    I am entering this reply because I have received requests for
    directions to the pond.  The basenoter has requested that he be the
    vehicle for supplying directions, and Neil has agreed.  I wish to
    comply with this decision.
    
    Jack
    
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Note 313.0                   Concord, Mass  c/o pond                   8 replies
MOIRA::FAIMAN "light upon the figured leaf"          39 lines   3-JUN-1991 15:02
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm entering this note for a conference reader who would like to remain
anonymous.  If you would like directions, send me mail, and I'll forward
it to the author.  (A bit of information about yourself might help the 
author to feel comfortable sharing the site.)

	-Neil Faiman, NATURISM co-moderator

313.10CADSE::WONGThe wong oneMon Jul 22 1991 13:0626
Well, a bunch of us went to that pond in Concord for some sunning...
It's a bit of a trek through the woods...almost as bad as the quarry.

We got to the pond and walked by one couple that was nude; the woman was
covering herself with a towel because there was a family nearby.  We walked
up a bit but then decided to go back to the first location because it was
"established" already.  We set down near the nude couple and asked the
other people if they minded if we went "clothing-optional".  When they
said that they didn't mind, we set up our spot.

During the day, about ten others came up and also went nude...mostly
couples.  The entire pond is pretty neat.  It's "small", but then it's
several hundred yards across.  The entire thing is about 5 feet deep;
I walked across to the other side (and people know I can't swim!).
The water doesn't go anywhere so it accumulates heat all day.  The water
was *WARM*!!!!  Maybe in the 80's?  There were cold sections and warm 
sections so it was possible to be refreshed if you stirred up the water alot.
In the middle the water didn't get stirred up much so it was incredibly warm.

One woman said that she had been going nude there for several years and was
lucky enough not to encounter any cops.  One man said that the cops mostly
come by on Saturdays before 2 pm.  It seemed like a great place; the naturists
there seemed pretty nice and not worried about the police harassing them.
There were a few voyeurs, though...:-(

B.
313.11CADSE::WONGThe wong oneSun Jul 28 1991 19:2817
    FYI...
    
    The place got a visit from the police today...they said that 
    a woman saw nude people and made a complaint.  They took ids and
    said that their sargeant would decide what to do with that info.
    They might drop the matter or send in a fine or something.
    
    They haven't figured out that they should turn down their radios
    when making a raid so people have a decent chance of getting their
    swimsuits on. :-)
    
    One guy said that he was "fined" in the past and ended up making
    a contribution to the pond's conservation fund.
    
    Good luck...:^)
    
    B.
313.12DON'T Go There!STEPS1::WILSONTue Aug 06 1991 12:4226
    I STRONGLY recommend against nudity at this pond!  I was there
    yesterday, and not one, but TWO police cruisers were there.  I was
    alone on the beach area, nude, listening to my Walkman with my eyes
    closed (a mistake!) when someone nudged me with his foot.  It was the
    Man!  He told me to get some clothes on, and asked for an Id.  I asked
    him what it was all about, and he said that nudity at the pond was a
    "criminal offense."  He said that he saw my name, and that if he saw me
    there nude again, he would arrest me.  (This is the same thing that
    happened to Rick.)

    I got dressed and left, and went into Concord center.  I called the
    police dept., and asked what the story was re: the pond.  The officer I
    spoke to said that nudity at the pond could be a felony.  I asked him
    what the charges and statutes were.  He said that Lewd and Lascivious
    Behavior could be a felony, and that Indecent Exposure was a
    misdemeanor.  I again asked for statute numbers, and he said he didn't
    know offhand, and wasn't about to look them up.  I asked him if they
    were State, Federal, or Local statutes, and he indicated that he
    thought they were State.
    
    Obviously, the cops are going to continue to flush out those disgusting
    naked people, and keep Concord free for the moral majority.  If you
    plan on going there, I strongly recommend you go in a group, and have
    one person standing guard at all time.
    
    Jack