[MR] Pennsic Classic Swimming

[Michael Houghton]

Howdy!

On Tue, Aug 19, 2003 at 01:00:38AM -0400, Telara at aol.com wrote:
> Good gentles,
> 
> I have recently returned from my first Pennsic War. I loved it and plan to 
> attend next year. There is only one thing which I questioned and I'm hoping 
> someone can assist me in understanding. 
> 
> As we have a "family" swim area, why is the Classic swimming area not 
> reserved for those 18 and older? 

There used to be just one swimming hole -- the one now known as classic --
where clothing has always been optional. The "family" hole is a relatively
recent notion.

> I ask this due to a couple of things that occurred while I was at the Classic 
> - there were a lot of little kids in the water, in swimsuits, but with no 
> obvious parental supervision. The parent was usually up on the bank somewhere.  
> In my opinion, this is wrong as it puts the responsibility of seeing to the 
> child's safety into the hands of "stranger" adults. In addition, many of the 
> people I met at the Classic were there to just have fun and unwind and didn't 
> appreciate jumpy kids who had a tendency to not watch out where their feet were 
> flying. One gentleman got hit in a sensitive area by an unsupervised child. 

So long as a responsible adult is present, there ought be no problem. Are you
suggesting that the responsible adult needs to be in the water with the child?

> I also saw at least two adolescent girls that were just beginning to develop, 
> and they were nude at the Classic. I found this disturbing. 
> 
> In my opinion, the Classic is not a traditional "nudist colony" family area. 
> The Classic is a swimming location where people can be nude if they so choose. 
> I believe children should be at the "family" swimming area where people would 
> expect to see children and collectively supervise them. 

Children have long been a part of the landscape at the classic swimming hole.
The fact that this is your first Pennsic means that you don't have the direct
experience with the history of the swimming hole, and that can readily 
account for your discomfort. My experience suggests that the classic hole
does qualify (in a manner) as a "nudist colony" type of place with a family
atmosphere. I'll concede that my experience is not as up to date as it could
be, since I've not been down there for a couple of years.
> 
> I would like the Classic swim area to remain a tradition at Pennsic since I 
> had a great time there, but I believe we could restrict the age category, and 
> probably should. Can someone please educate me on this particular Pennsic 
> tradition? 
> 
I hope I've shed some light on the matter.

yours,
Herveus
-- 
Michael and MJ Houghton   | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
herveus at radix.net         | White Wolf and the Phoenix
Bowie, MD, USA            | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
                          | http://www.radix.net/~herveus/