Naked but for black socks, bowling shoes and a Florida hue sans tan line, Frank Jager politely excused himself.
The former factory worker raced toward lane five, picked up a blue-marbled bowling ball and promptly rolled a strike to the yelps of a half-dozen much paler bowlers.
Jager, 51, of Melrose Park is not a figment of some childhood dream where you arrive naked for geometry class, nor does he star in some seedy, low-budget skin flick.
He is president of the Chicago Sun Club.
Headquartered in Chicago Heights (the home of one of the founding members), the 250-member group is the largest non-resort-affiliated nude recreation club in the country. Club activities attract participants from Bolingbrook and Mundelein, from Matteson, Palos Hills and Palos Heights. Some even come from Champaign, Bloomington, Ill., and Fond du Lac, Wis.
Along with bowling (in a locked alley that’s closed to the general public) every fourth week during the chillier months, members rent out a health club once a month where they enjoy hot tubs, swim, play walleyball (volleyball played on a racquetball court), lift weights, do aerobics and play racquetball, all in the nude. The Sun Club also throws annual clothing-optional Halloween, New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day bashes.
“We’re just like the Kiwanis,” said Sun Club founder Buddy (who preferred his last name not be used) of the south suburbs. “We don’t own a building, but we have a board of directors, club bylaws, a monthly newsletter and an extremely active membership.”
Sun Clubbers and Kiwanians have more in common than newsletters and bylaws.
“We’re Ph.D.’s, business owners, librarians, cops, bankers and teachers,” said George Morrison, a 65-year-old retired safety engineer from St. Charles. “Nudists come from all walks of life and in all ages, shapes and sizes, from small children to grandparents.”
To enjoy nude recreation in Chicago’s non-flesh-friendly months of September through May, Buddy and four fellow Chicago area nudists formed the Sun Club in 1978. During the summer, most area nudists flock to one of the four clothing-optional resorts within 150 miles of Chicago.
Nationwide, almost 1.5 million Americans live clothing-optional lifestyles, according to Bill Williamson of Arlington Heights, president of the Midwest Sunbathers Association and a Chicago Sun Club member. Most belong to resorts or frequent one of the more than 50 nude beaches in the United States.
A 1992 Forbes magazine articles reported that Americans each year spend about $120 million on nude recreation, which includes cruises, resorts and merchandise.
Although the practice is popular, many nudists like Buddy, a south suburban high school teacher, remain quiet about their lifestyle for fear of ramifications from the clothed world, or, as they call them, textiles.
“I’d be razzed till the day I died if the guys I work with found out,” said Bob (not his real name), a 33-year-old Cook County sheriff’s deputy and first-time nude bowler. “But I don’t care. You’ve got to experience this. I think I even bowl better naked.”
Although club members feel natural with their nudity, many outsiders don’t, Buddy said.
“People laugh and poke fun at things they don’t understand or don’t feel comfortable with,” said Williamson. “But the reality is many people are fearful of what we do. They want nude beaches and groups banned.”
Buddy, whose grandmother was skinny-dipping back in the 1930s, believes there are many misconceptions about nudism.
“We’re not swingers. We’re not perverts. We’re not weirdos,” said the 53-year-old, who is originally from Florida. “There won’t be any grabbing, groping or wild orgies going on tonight. The Chicago Sun Club and nudists in general are family-focused. We respect your right to wear clothes, just as long as you respect our right not to.”
(The group, in fact, is completely clothing-optional. Some members bowl topless, others wear T-shirts but no pants. Some neighbors, friends and children of members bowl fully clothed.)
“Getting naked for us isn’t about sex,” said Morrison, publicity chairman for the Midwest Sunbathers Association. “A lot of people only take off their clothes to shower, make love or maybe sleep. Nudists have achieved a deeper acceptance of the human body in a non-sexual way. Our philosophy is simple: a healthy mind in a healthy body.”
The owner of the west suburban bowling alley where a recent Sun Club outing was held admitted questioning the healthiness of catering to nudists.
“I was skeptical at first,” said the owner of the alley (kept anonymous because of previous problems in the wake of Sun Club publicity). “But once I discovered they were on the up and up, everything has run smoothly.
“To be honest, I’d rather have a bowling alley full of nudists than a bachelor party with some stripper any day. There’s never any trouble. They pay their bills on time, and you couldn’t find a nicer bunch of people. I’d never (take my clothes off and bowl), but what the heck, to each his own.”
The Sun Club’s clothing-optional bowling league, which is sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress, is the nation’s first nude bowling league, according to Williamson. But it’s more than just that. It’s competitive.
Bowlers battle for team and individual honors. The club awards plaques and trophies at a year-end banquet. First-timers and non-bowlers are always welcome, but regulars get pretty cutthroat.
“I don’t care what they’re wearing or not wearing, I just care about how they bowl,” Roosevelt Weaver, one of the clothed bowlers, said slightly tongue in cheek.
Weaver got involved in the league in 1988. Williamson, Weaver’s longtime neighbor, invited Weaver to his wedding.
“Bill said the wedding was going to be out at his club,” the 57-year-old from Elk Grove Village recalled. “When I pulled into the place, I used a few words you probably can’t print.”
Weaver stayed for the ceremony and before the weekend was over bought a club membership and trailer.
“I don’t consider myself a nudist. I’ve tried it and all, but the one thing that amazed me was how accepting all of the people were and how beautiful the grounds were kept. I knew right then, that was a place I could get used to going to,” he said.
Leah Spiewak, another regular who opts for clothing in the clothing-optional league, first ran into the Sun Clubbers six years ago when she was tending bar at a bowling alley.
“I’ll never forget that first night. I thought my boss was joking,” the 30-year-old from Chicago said about the nude bowling. “All these people came in, and they looked normal enough. Then all of sudden, bam, they start taking all their clothes off.”
Spiewak’s face turned as red as her crimson work shirt.
“My face hurt by the end of the night from blushing,” Spiewak recalled. “I didn’t know how to talk to them. I was embarrassed. You’d try to look them in the eye, but you just couldn’t help but stare. Think about it, 100 or so people buck naked in a bowling alley and you have to make them drinks. They still razz me about that first night.”
After a few months, Spiewak said you really don’t even notice they’re naked. When the league left the lanes where she worked, a few of the regulars asked her to join their team. She has bowled with the group ever since.
“Once you get past the shock, you realize how nice these people really are. They become George and Frankie, not just two naked guys. They’re funny, and they give me a lot of grief, but now the difference is I razz them right back.”
For Spiewak, the nude bowlers offer a couple of neat insights into life.
“It’s kind of weird, but when people are naked they don’t judge you for what you’ve got on or what kind of figure you have or for the type of jewelry you’re wearing that night,” Spiewak observed. “When you’re naked, all you’ve got to offer is yourself. That’s why I think these folks are some of the most genuine people I know. It’s all they’ve got to give.”
Spiewak is confident she has something she can give back to her nudist friends.
“How about some of my laundry?” she joked. “Doing a nudist’s laundry has got to be a snap.”
SO, HOW COME . . .
Whoever first said that “there’s no such thing as a silly question” never interviewed a bowling alley full of nudists. Here are the more blush-intense inquiries.
– Do you actually sit on those bowling alley chairs naked?
“We bring towels to sit on,” said Chicago Sun Club secretary George Morrison of St. Charles. “An experienced nudist is never without a towel. It’s a hygiene thing, and we’re into personal hygiene like everyone else. We usually also carry a second towel to dry off after swimming or working out.”
– Speaking of exercise, don’t you, well, bounce?
“No, you wear what you need. If a woman needs a sports bra, she wears it,” Morrison said. “If a guy needs an athletic supporter, he wears it.
“During that cold spell in January, the bowling alley was so cold you could see your breath,” Morrison continued. “We all wore jeans, sweatshirts and coats. When you’re a nudist in Illinois, you wear what the weather dictates.”
– There are kids here tonight. Don’t you worry about them?
“Not at all. Being nude is not a sexual thing to us. We do keep a close eye on all newcomers. Anyone acting out of line is immediately tossed,” said club founder Buddy. “Children are natural nudists, and most nudist groups are like extended families. We watch out for our own. We don’t force our lifestyle on anyone, especially children. Most kids just see other kids in a pool without suits on and they instinctually just jump right in.”
– How do adults become nudists in the first place? Do you take off your clothes one day and bowl?
“Heavens, no,” Morrison chuckled. “Most people hot tub or skinny-dip first. They like it and find the courage to come out and join in a club activity. The first time has got to be non-threatening or people get turned off fast.”
– As a man, don’t you worry about getting, you know, aroused?
“No, being nude is not a sexual thing for us,” said Bill Williamson of Arlington Heights. “We don’t go out to check each other out. When a male nudist sees a great-looking woman, he might fantasize she’s wearing a tight sweater.”
– The big question, why?
“For many, it’s simply an acceptance of one’s self and body. For others, nudity gives an unexplainable sense of freedom. You can’t really understand it till you experience it.”
“I always answer why with why not?” Morrison jumped in. “It boils down to we like to do most things everyone else does, but we enjoy them nude. We swim. We shoot hoops. We even celebrate Halloween and New Year’s Eve.”
– How do you wear a Halloween costume without clothes?
“Some folks wear body paints or just a hat or a mask,” Morrison continued. “Last year, one woman devil wore only horns and a tail strapped to a belt. One of last year’s best costumes was a flasher. You know what a nudist flasher wears under his trench?” George asked.
No, what?
“Well, clothes, of course,” he said.
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To contact the Chicago Sun Club, write to P.O. Box 853, Chicago Heights, Ill. 60411, or check its home page on the Internet at http://www.cybernude.com/CSC/. To contact the American Association for Nude Recreation, call 1-800-TRYNUDE.
