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NATURIST SOCIETY FOUNDER
LEE BAXANDALL DIES AT 73
November 27, 2008 - The man credited with starting the modern Free
Beach Movement in America and founding its national conscience, The
Naturist Society, has died after a long illness.
Lee Baxandall succumbed Thanksgiving Day after fighting Parkinson’s
disease for the past decade.
Baxandall began his work as a naturist activist more than 30 years ago.
With a background in writing and publishing, Lee's naturist passion led
him in 1976 to form the Free Beaches Documentation Center, which he
located in his hometown of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Baxandall organized the Naturist Society at Elysium Fields in 1980 after numerous attempts failed to form
a “beach committee” inside AANR (landed club owners feared a “free beach” alternative would hurt their
membership numbers). To this day, some animosity still exists between old time AANR members and
TNS for daring to split the “creditable voice of reason” about nudism into two national organizations.
Yet in reality both groups have complimented each other in both focus and expertise, with TNS providing
expert legal assistance to persons and clubs trying to establish or maintain the clothing optional status of
beaches, rivers, lakes, and other public lands while AANR focused on supporting the 270 private resorts
and nudist parks scattered across the country. The Naturist Action Committee, founded in 1990 as a nonprofit
adjunct to TNS, has been invaluable at defeating anti-nudity legislation at both the state level and in
countless local communities. Finally admitting to Baxandall’s lifetime of contributions to the nudist
movement, AANR elected him to their Nudist Hall of Fame in 2005.
- Lee R. Baxandall (1935-2008)
Starting in the late 1980’s, Baxandall published the first comprehensive guide to nude beaches and hot
springs across America. The “Nude Guide” has been updated many times since and remains the most
popular nudist publication sold in the world. TNS’s quarterly publication Nude & Natural, started by
Baxandall in 1986. Commonly referred to as “N,” it is considered the most comprehensive periodical about
the naturist movement in America.
The famed “nudist bridge” over Indian Trail Boulevard in Palm Springs, connecting the two halves of
Desert Sun Resort, is named after Baxandall, who spent his winters there for many years to escape the
bitter winters of Wisconsin.
In 2002, recognizing the inevitable effect of his declining health, Baxandall transferred ownership of The
Naturist Society to three longtime associates. Current owners Nicky Hoffman Lee and Margaret Thornton
have remained remarkably faithful to the vision of Lee Baxandall.
SCNA joins the ownership and staff of The Naturist Society in marking, with respect and appreciation, the
passing of an exceptional individual.
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