Nothing To Hide They Socialize, They Swim, They Run, They Play Bingo, All In Costume - Their Birthday Costume - For They Are Nudists

They lock the doors and cover the windows.

Once a month during the winter, dozens of people come to the YWCA with just a towel in hand: men in cowboy hats, elderly couples, families with children.

They walk casually into the women’s locker room.

Then they undress and jump in the pool.

For nearly half a century, more than 100 Spokane-area residents have been involved in nude recreation.

Their activities are no different from most social clubs or senior citizen groups: They have potlucks and play bingo. They swim, hike, even jog in an annual fun run.

But they do it all in the nude.

“There’s a feeling of belonging here,” said Joe Offerdahl, who drives all the way from Chewelah to participate in the monthly swims. “You become a member of the family.”

Like Offerdahl, most nudists in the area belong to one of two local organizations: Kaniksu, a club that meets regularly at a Loon Lake resort; and the Naturals Club of Spokane, a group that practices social nudity at various locations.

Although the clubs are separate, many of their events are open to all nudists affiliated with the American Association for Nude Recreation, a national organization with 50,000 members nationwide.

Started in 1941, Kaniksu was named after the national forest area in the Idaho Panhandle. During summer, about 150 to 175 members come to the Kaniksu Ranch to sunbathe and participate in other outdoor activities. The Naturals, founded in 1985 by nudists at Spokane’s People’s Park, has about 35 members.

“We’re not the pot-smoking hippies that people think we are,” said Bruce, a Naturals Club member who asked to be identified only by his middle name. “We’re normal, everyday people.”

They are accountants, business owners, retirees - people from all walks of life. Although members range in age from 6 months to 91 years, most are in their 40s and 50s.

“Nudism is a costume,” said Offerdahl, a heavy-set man with curly gray hair and a matching mustache. “It’s not like a topless bar or peep show.”

Offerdahl, 53, can’t remember a time when he wasn’t a nudist.

He was 5 when his parents joined Kaniksu Ranch in 1949. His father, who was raised in a Norwegian settlement in eastern Montana, wanted the entire family to go.

“I thought he was crazy,” said 84-year-old Rachel Offerdahl, who lives with her son in Chewelah. “But we got used to it.”

Now, mother and son have a scrapbook of old photos and newspaper articles - mementos detailing their lives as nudists.

“That’s Joe when he was little,” Rachel said, pointing to an old AANR newspaper photo. “He was just skin and bones.”

Another clip - a picture of Rachel and her late husband on their 50th wedding anniversary - shows the naked couple behind a frosted, three-tiered cake.

Neighbors were shocked at first when they found out, said Rachel, a frail-looking woman who fixes her white hair in braids. Even her own mother disowned her for a while.

But nudism immediately became second nature to the Offerdahls.

“It’s the fellowship,” said Rachel Offerdahl. “We meet the nicest people from all over the world.”

Every summer they still go to the Kaniksu Ranch near Deer Lake. Joe Offerdahl, an Air Force computer operator for 21 years, travels all over Canada and the United States to visit other nudist clubs.

Although city but not county law prohibits public nudity, local nudists are allowed to congregate in areas where they aren’t seen by non-nudists.

At the YWCA, where nudists have been swimming for the past 10 years, green plastic covers the lobby windows to the pool. On Saturday evenings during the “warm-water winter” swim, no one is allowed to enter after 7:30 p.m.

For an entire hour at last month’s gathering, most people stood in the pool and talked. Some splashed around with their children. Others swam laps or used the diving board.

No one stared.

“They are so comfortable with it that it makes you comfortable, too,” said a YWCA lifeguard, who requested anonymity.

Not everyone is in favor of nudity, of course.

Nudists have been accused of being perverts or exhibitionists, local nudists complained.

To sift out voyeurs, both clubs have started doing background and criminal checks on all potential members.

Their goal, they say, is to create a natural atmosphere for people to be naked.

“You see people as human beings, not as sex objects,” said Bruce of the Naturals Club.

Nudism, members say, isn’t inherently sexual. At nudist resorts and get-togethers, people sunbathe, walk, play volleyball. Nobody has sex.

People run around nude for a variety of reasons, said Bruce, a 34-year-old who joined the Naturals two years ago.

While most cite the relaxed atmosphere as the main reason, others do it for self-esteem.

The human body is made in many shapes and sizes, one female nudist said. Being able to see the variety helps people feel more comfortable with their own bodies.

Nudists also say their lifestyle helps them appreciate the environment. Being naked allows them “to be one with nature.”

“Your whole body feels the breeze or the warmth of sunshine,” Bruce said. “There’s so much freedom. Now it feels strange to have clothes on.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: For more information about the Naturals Club of Spokane, call 927-3860. Annual membership fees are $45 per person or $70 per couple. To contact a Kaniksu member, write to Kaniksu Ranch, 4295 N. Deer Lake Road No. 5, Loon Lake, WA 99148-9650. Membership is $100 per person.