1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 2: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,319 Speaker 2: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 2: I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're celebrating a rather unusual anniversary, 5 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 2: the time when residents of the Paradise Lakes Nudist Resort 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 2: won the right to have their mail delivered regardless of 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 2: what they were wearing or not wearing. The day was 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 2: August third, nineteen eighty five. After more than a year 9 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 2: without service, residents of the Paradise Lakes Nudist Resort started 10 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 2: receiving mail again. It was the first time in sixteen 11 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 2: months that Postmaster Henry Thompson of Low, Florida had allowed 12 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 2: any of his carriers to step foot on the clothing 13 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 2: optional property. However, the lengthy ban hadn't been spurred by 14 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 2: formal complaints or by any bad behavior on the part 15 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 2: of the residence. Instead, Thompson simply didn't approve of the 16 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 2: lifestyle and felt that his employees shouldn't be exposed to it, 17 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 2: either whether they were personally bothered by it or not. 18 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 2: Male carriers have to contend with nasty weather and hostile 19 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 2: dogs Thompson told reporters, but by golly, they don't have 20 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 2: to be subjected to the site of naked bodies. Organized 21 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 2: nudism or naturism has existed for centuries in Europe and 22 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 2: other parts of the world, but in the United States 23 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 2: the movement only dates back to about the nineteen thirties. 24 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 2: It was largely popularized by German immigrants who had brought 25 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 2: the custom of social nudity with them from their native country. 26 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 2: The state of Florida quickly became a natural gathering place 27 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 2: for the clothes free crowd, thanks to its year round 28 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 2: sunshine and copious beaches. In nineteen thirty one, a not 29 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 2: for profit group was formed there called the American Association 30 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 2: for Nude Recreation or the AANR. The group's mission statement 31 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 2: was quote feel the freedom and for going on one 32 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 2: hundred years now, it's been helping American nudists find safe 33 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 2: spaces to relax on natural One of the earliest nude 34 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 2: retreats was the Lake Como Family Nudist Resort in Lutz, Florida. 35 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 2: It got its unofficial start in the late nineteen thirties 36 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 2: when Tampa tax lawyer or A brew Baker started taking 37 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 2: his friend's skinny dipping in nearby Lake Como. Then, in 38 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:49,399 Speaker 2: nineteen forty one, Brewbaker and some like minded business partners 39 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 2: purchased several hundred acres of the surrounding grounds and chartered 40 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: it as the Florida Athletic and Health Association. It was 41 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 2: Pasco County's first nudist resort and the oldest in Florida 42 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 2: to continuously occupy the same grounds. In the decades that followed, 43 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 2: the region's citrus groves and cattle ranches were gradually replaced 44 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 2: by clothing optional resorts, roughly a dozen by the nineteen eighties. 45 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 2: Paradise Lakes was the latest in the line, having been 46 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 2: founded in nineteen eighty by a minister and stockbroker named 47 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 2: Fred Beeschoff. He had lived happily at the Lake Como 48 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: resort for several years, but eventually decided to start a 49 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 2: place of his own. The sight he chose was a 50 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 2: seventy two acre plot with its own beach, right across 51 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 2: the way from Lake Como. A grand opening ceremony for 52 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 2: Paradise Lakes was held on August sixteenth of that year 53 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 2: and featured a water ski show, nude skydivers, and an 54 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 2: open bar for adults. The community thrived in its first 55 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 2: few years. All of its two hundred and thirty nine 56 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 2: condos were leased, and a host of amenities were added, 57 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 2: including seveneveral pools, three tennis courts, and a four thousand 58 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 2: square foot clubhouse. However, there was one thing the resort 59 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 2: lacked for much of its first five years of existence, 60 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 2: mail service. It took some time to set up the 61 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 2: cluster of mailboxes and to file the paperwork, but once 62 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 2: deliveries started, everything went smoothly enough. That is until nineteen 63 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 2: eighty four, when postmaster Henry Thompson paid a visit to 64 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 2: the resort and didn't like what he saw. Members came 65 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 2: up to me in their clothes optional method. He told 66 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 2: the press, I saw naked people washing their cars and 67 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 2: mowing the lawns. I told the manager, we got a problem. 68 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 2: The problem, according to Thompson, was that his mail carriers 69 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 2: might also be offended by the site of naked bodies. 70 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 2: My employees are entitled to work under reasonable conditions, he said, 71 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 2: and I think that their feelings must be considered. Working 72 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 2: conditions and personal comfort were certainly valid can concerns, but 73 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,359 Speaker 2: as Thompson himself admitted, he never actually asked his carriers 74 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 2: for their opinion. Instead, he just assumed that everyone else 75 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 2: was as grossed out as he was. Not long after, 76 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 2: Postmaster Thompson gave the residence an ultimatum either cover up 77 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 2: when the mail carrier arrives or stop receiving mail altogether. 78 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 2: As you might imagine, the idea of wearing clothes didn't 79 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 2: go over so well at the nudist colony, and as 80 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 2: a result, mail service to Paradise Lakes was officially suspended 81 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 2: in the spring of nineteen eighty four. It was a 82 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 2: major inconvenience, to be sure, as residents were forced to 83 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,679 Speaker 2: rent boxes at the local post office and then drive 84 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 2: nine miles round trip to pick up their mail. It 85 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 2: was also a bit self defeating since they had to 86 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 2: wear clothes when leaving the property, but to the residence 87 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 2: that was the whole point. Wearing clothes outside of a 88 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 2: nudist resort was expected, but insisting they do so on 89 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 2: their own home turf was a step too. Many residents 90 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 2: were quick to label the halt in service as a 91 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 2: violation of their constitutional rights, though in reality, neither the 92 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,119 Speaker 2: right to be naked nor the right to receive mail 93 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 2: is guaranteed by the Constitution. Others claim the Postal Service 94 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 2: was violating its own famous motto neither snow, nor rain, 95 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 2: nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from 96 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 2: the swift completion of their appointed rounds. However, that too 97 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 2: was a baseless argument, as the so called postman's creed 98 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 2: has never been official. In fact, the phrase isn't even 99 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 2: original to the US Postal Service. It's actually a description 100 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 2: of the male couriers of the ancient Persian Empire and 101 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 2: was written by Greek historian Herodotus way back in the 102 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 2: fifth century BC. And besides, even if the motto was 103 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 2: an actual rule, it doesn't say anything about being stopped 104 00:06:55,800 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 2: by nudists. With neither side willing to compromise, the dispute 105 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 2: dragged on for well over a year. During that time, 106 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 2: residents of Paradise Lakes pled their case to the Postmaster 107 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 2: General in Washington, as well as to reporters as far 108 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 2: away as New York. Finally, in the face of mounting protest, 109 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 2: the Postal Service relented. It was Tampa Postmaster Robert Davis 110 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 2: who struck down Thompson's earlier ban, announcing that mail service 111 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 2: to Paradise Lakes would resume on August third, nineteen eighty five. 112 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 2: The reinstatement of mail delivery was a hard fought victory 113 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 2: for the nudists of Florida, but it did come with 114 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 2: some fairly steep concessions. For starters, a tall hedge would 115 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 2: be planted around the communal mailboxes to obstruct the carrier's 116 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 2: view of the complex. And second, all residents would either 117 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 2: wear clothes when going to check their mail or else 118 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 2: stay out of sight until the carrier had completed their rounds. 119 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 2: And if you're wondering how the residence would know when 120 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 2: the mail carrier was finished, well, the post office thought 121 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 2: of that. Each day, the carrier would spend about an 122 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 2: hour loading mail into two banks of communal mailboxes inside 123 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 2: the community's gates. Then once they were done, they would 124 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 2: hoist a triangular pennant to the top of a nearby flagpole, 125 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 2: signaling to residents that it was safe to come out 126 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 2: and collect their mail in the buff. The daily flag 127 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 2: raising managed to keep the peace for the next fifteen 128 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 2: years or so, with a few minor hiccups along the way. 129 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 2: By the year two thousand, there had been several regime 130 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 2: changes at the post office and carriers can now simply 131 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 2: request a different route if they have any misgivings about 132 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 2: clothes free living elsewhere. However, the controversy over nudity and 133 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 2: mail is still alive and well. In twenty eighteen, for example, 134 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 2: the residents of a nude RV camp in Florida complained 135 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 2: that their letter carrier refused to bring their mail inside 136 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 2: the front gate. These kinds of mail disputes aren't an 137 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 2: issue that's like to affect everyone, but it is something 138 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 2: to keep in mind when planning your own nacation. I'm 139 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 2: Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know a little more 140 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 2: about history today than you did yesterday. If you have 141 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 2: a second and you're so inclined, consider keeping up with 142 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 2: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can find us 143 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 2: a TDI HC show. You can also rate and review 144 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 2: the show on Apple Podcasts, or you can get in 145 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 2: touch directly by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 146 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 2: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank 147 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,839 Speaker 2: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 148 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 2: for another day in History class.