By mid-summer, 1975, few vestiges of a rustic nudist camp remained at Park Forestia. Members and visitors eagerly dived into a clean, modern pool which satisfied the demands of the guardians of public health and safety.
But, in the process of modernizing our swimming pool, we had lost a facility which had served the needs of an important element of our membership the kids. The shallow portion of the previous pool, which had provided a great opportunity for wading, splashing, and floating, was gone. But this would soon change. We had anticipated the need for a wading pool and this had been a major factor in deciding where the pool should be located. The beginnings of a foundation for a wading pool already existed, having been excavated many years earlier when the original pool was built.
Constructing a wading pool such as we had envisioned would be a far simpler task than constructing the main swimming pool. Most of the work could be done by our own members. The expertise of a contractor would be needed only for the final finishing and placement of tiles.
The original plan for the wading pool included a fountain located near the curved end of the pool (i.e., the end farthest from the main pool). Plumbing was installed for this purpose. The wading pool was completed and ready for use in the summer of 1976. The fountain was never built. But even without a fountain, we now had an up-to-code facility for all the “kids”, young and old. (Please note that nowhere have we said “kiddies’ pool”. The pool was, and still is, for anyone of any age who wants to simply wade or float.)
Almost every nudist park in the country had a hot tub by the late 1970’s. Our members felt that we needed one too. After all, some people didn’t want to swim, wade, nor float. They just wanted to soak. As with every major project, a committee was formed. Two issues were considered and discussed. (1) Where should the hot tub be located? (2) What kind of hot tub do we want? It was quickly decided that the hot tub should be located near the corner of the pool enclosure. Three hot tub concepts were considered and evaluated: (1) a wooden tub, resembling a huge barrel, (2) a concrete tub, possibly one lined with ceramic tile, and (3) a fiberglass tub. From the standpoints of cost, maintenance, and health concerns, the fiberglass tub appeared to be the best choice.
Our original hot tub (or perhaps more appropriately called a spa) was installed in the late 1970’s. (We don’t remember the exact year but, to the best of our recollection, it was 1978. ) Back in those days, when one bought a fiberglass hot tub, it was just that, an empty tub. Completely assembled spas weren’t available. Installation would require cement work, carpentry, plumbing, wiring, and one other particularly tedious task providing an acceptable support. First, a hole was excavated, somewhat larger than the tub. Then the tub was temporarily supported inside of, but not touching the edges of the hole. Then, using jets of water, fine sand was carefully washed into the space between the tub and the edges of the hole. By the time we were finished, every member of the work party was dripping wet. (And the sun was not shining! Brrr!) The hot tub would provide us with a nice, hot, soaky, bubbly body massage until the turn of the century when the new hot tubs were installed.
About the same time that the pool and hot tub projects were underway, the construction of another major facility was in progress. No modern day nudist park is complete without a sauna. And it’s gotta be the real thing! Build a wood fire, heat up some rocks, splash water on the rocks, and feel the steam rising! We don’t want an electric heater!
Members and visitors cooked their bodies in the sauna for about twenty years. Then, one day a particularly enthusiastic member built a roaring fire. A red glowing chimney and smoke rising from the walls of the building seemed to say “help!” Someone, who knew what to do, yelled, “Don’t open the door!” Without a fresh blast of oxygen, the fire held off long enough for a long spray of water to bring down the temperature. The building was saved, but blackened walls and the smell of charred cedar signaled the beginning of the end of the authentic Scandinavian sauna. Much to the disappointment of the purists, the old wood burner would soon be replaced by an electric unit.