The Frolicking Ladies of Pomona

The Frolicking Ladies of Pomona 

Dana Koogler
Thursday June 18, 2020

Above is a self portrait of the artist-- John Wood Dodge.

Pomona Begins

     The year is 1849 and John Wood Dodge is an artist who paints portraits and miniature portraits of people.    He made  his living as an artist doing advertisements, but his talents were great and he catered to the more affluent folk who were able to pay someone to paint their picture.   He later visited the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee.  He was in poor health when he arrived. He found the area much to his liking for its wild character, natural beauty and climate.   He liked it so much he purchased several thousand acres of land outside Crossville along what is now Highway 70.
He built a log home and planted an apple orchard.  He had long been interested in husbandry and had a real knack for it.  It must have been another creative outlet for him.  He excelled at it.  He stopped Summering in the plateau and made it his residence.  He was so successful at growing apples that his crops won prizes in shows and at the Tennessee State Fair.  He grew a wide variety of apples and they were prized for their size and delicious flavor. 
 
   He named his new place Pomona Fruit Ranch.   It was named for the Roman goddess Pomona.  She was the goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards.
I always liked mythology, but I could not recall ever hearing of Pomona and her legend.   The mythos of Pomona is of her and her counter part, Vertumnus.
Vertumnus is the Roman god of the changing seasons, changing plant growth, gardens and orchards.   The  abbreviated version of the legend goes that Pomona spurned all advances by the gods who tried to court her.  She was so wrapped up in her favorite task of caring for orchards and gardening, that she had no time for romance.   Vertumnus was different.  He stood back and watched the way she dismissed other suitors.
He had the ability to change form so he changed into the form of an old woman and came to visit with Pomona.   She talked with this old lady and felt at ease.
The old woman warned her about the dangers of spurning the affections of a suitor.   Vertumnus then revealed his true form to Pomona, and she was smitten with him.  He was handsome and clever.  He had wisely found a way to get her to drop her guard.     They married and tended the orchard together.

      Below: a painting of Vertumnus pursuing Pomona. You can see apples on the ground.

Below Vertumnus appears to Pomona as an old woman!



   I could hear Jimmie Rogers in my head singing this song while I wrote this blog.  I am including it for your listening pleasure should you chose to do so.
It sets the wonderfully old fashioned tone that starts this story off.  The words go:

 When its peach pickin' time in Georgia, apple pickin time in Tennessee, Cotton pickin time in Mississippi, everybody picks on me... When its round up time in Texas, the cowboys make whoopee, Then down in Alabama, its gal pickin' time to me. 

Something about it seems very fitting.

    J.W. Dodge was a unionist. He held with the United states when the south seceded the union in January 1861.     He decided because of the political climate and the threat of war looming on the horizon that it would be best if he moved back up North.     I read that he and his family packed up and headed north to Ohio where they were able to sell their wagon and horses and use the proceeds to get them safely back to New York.    The Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 until April 9, 1865.    Mr. Dodge and family remained up north until 1889 when at last they returned to their home on the plateau at Pomona.  He was not a rich man, so he continued to paint portraits and work to pay off his home and orchards.  He died in 1893 from pneumonia.  He and many of his family are buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery near their home.  No buildings or fruit trees survive from the place, but much of his artwork survives.    You can see some of it at Cheekwood or The Hermitage in Tennessee.

Below is a piece of his work.. a portrait of Henry Clay, a statesman from Kentucky.

    Back in the late 1800s.. unbelievably.. a nudist movement existed.
After the death of Mr. Dodge his family sold the place eventually.  A group from Indiana bought it and decided to grow apples.  One of the women in that group was a nudist.  She convinced some of her women friends they should dance naked in the orchard.   She was sure it would be good for their health, and might make the apples grow better.    The women danced naked out in the apple orchard sure enough.  Word got around and don't you know the men folk were keen to see naked women dancing.   It is said that men took the train from Monterey to the area to be peeping toms and try to see the ladies frolicking nude in the apple groves!  They had Peep show type intentions to sexualize the ladies  behavior.  I'm sure for that time it was quite risque. 

    While the nudism themed activities thrived, the orchard fared less well. It was a failure.   They lacked J.W. Dodge's gift as an orchardist.   Apparently the naked dancing was not all that helpful to the trees.  Worship of the goddess Pomona involves relaxing, naked dancing, and sports, recreational activities.  All well and good, but not very productive for apple growing.

Above is an image I found online that illustrates the frolicking ladies of Pomona.

Pomona Becomes Timberline Lodge & Resort

   The passing of time saw the property change hands again. Sometime in the early 1960s Timberline Lodge was started on the former orchard site as a nudist colony.      While Timberline Resort was a nudist camp, the atmosphere was family friendly.  It had nothing to do with swingers and sexual activity though accusations of such things were leveled at the outfit right from the beginning.
I suppose it was to be expected when you start a camp for free spirits in the Bible Belt.    It is ironic that nowdays, the place has undergone more change and is called Pandora's Forest.   It is an adults only establishment and really IS a swinger's lifestyle club.

 

     The Timberline Resort was popular among many educated, well respected professionals of the time.   Oak Ridge scientists and their families were often visitors here for recreation get aways.   Area residents took great exception to nudism back then.   The nudist colony went through legal challenges.
The 1965 Public Acts law made nudist colonies illegal!  Many of these same professionals quit coming round out of concern for their reputations and  loss of jobs. Participation really took a nose dive because no one wanted to get jailed for their recreational activities.

       The nudists took the case up with the supreme court and prevailed!
The judges sided with the nudists and struck down the Public Acts law.
It was poorly written and vague. Had it been interpreted literally ALL nudity, even in the privacy of home, would have been illegal!  The nudists said the law infringed upon their first amendment, (freedom of expression & peaceful assembly) fourth amendment (secure in their person and effects, unreasonable search) ninth amendment( rights not enumerated by bill of rights and constitution still belong to the people .. not the government) and 14th amendment rights.( due process under the law, equal protection under the law).

Timberline got the law changed, and in doing so helped restore constitutionally guaranteed rights from being infringed upon.

   Though some area residents were uncomfortable with the nudist colony, they did not mind the tourism dollars it brought in.   The Mennonite community in the area had a surprisingly good relationship with the nudists!  They found the Timberline folk to be good customers.  They sometimes catered food to the luncheons held at Timberline Lodge!  Again, the atmosphere at the time was family friendly and wholesome.  Dances, volleyball, music festivals, badminton, horse shoes, canoeing, shuffleboard, fishing, and camping were some of the healthy recreational opportunities at the camp.   They still endured religious attacks now and then.  The resort had a far more positive relationship with the community than negative effect.   I read that one of the TWRA officers held a conference there and taught a seminar to his fellow TWRA co workers, wardens, how to deal with the nudist in the outdoor experience.  It was to make sure the park rangers knew how to treat them fairly. 


   Below is a video from one of my favorite movies.. A Shot in the Dark, the Pink Panther, Inspector Closeau movie.  I love the scene where he goes to question people in a nudist colony.  The movie while fiction sets the tone of the type activities that went on for real at Timberline back then aside from the murder mystery!

Timberline Becomes Pandora's Forest 

  Timberline then changed hands yet again, becoming   Pandora's Forest and the theme went from family friendly nudism to adult only/ swingers type lifestyle club.  I did some checking on when the change took place. I spoke with a very polite, helpful employee when I was unable to locate any info on the opening date.  He seemed to think the change took place between twelve and fifteen years ago.   I later found an advertisement with a write up by Diane Keys, one of the owners.    She mentions the grand opening being held on Memorial Day that year.    So May 2013 would be the correct month and year.  It has been open in this incarnation for seven years plus.   
Pandora's Forest/Timberline Lodge building
 
   The current climate at the resort is focused on not only nudism, but sensuality and sexuality.  Adults 21 and over.    It has some similar features to Timberline in the form of swimming, dancing, good food, but they have added two night club type settings and "play rooms".  I am not sure what the play rooms are, but I have an idea.    A swingers lifestyle encourages sexual freedom outside the typical constraints of marriage.  Partner swapping was a thing back when I was a little girl in the 1970s, but I did not know about it til I was an adult.  I was very sheltered.    One of the things they host is a formal dance where the men wear nothing but cuffs and bow ties while the women were wrist corsages!  Very schmaltzy event!   I wonder if the resort comes under fire by the religious community or area residents who disagree with the lifestyle?  I would not be surprised to learn they are attacked for believing something different.

Below is a video of Chrisley Knows Best.. I don't watch the show or particularly like it, but it is representative of Pandora's Forest in this episode.  I don't know if it was really filmed on the property or if it is a Hollywood set.  The family lives in Nashville not but a couple hours away.   It reflects a little of the difference between Timberline Lodge and Pandora's Forest.  It gets me tickled listening to this because these people have no filter.

Current Day Attitudes

    Today we have the Corona virus pandemic going on, race riots, police brutality, citizen brutality against police,  people with widely differing political and religious views.  Tolerance is in short supply.  Government overreach by both Federal and State powers is abundant!  Peoples rights are infringed upon with regularity.   People are still discriminated against for being black and some for being white!  Infringement upon the rights of people groups by others abounds. 

    Today is a good time to remember that just because you don't share the views of a person or group doesn't make you right and them wrong.  Tolerance of differing views is important, but uncommon.  I can't help feeling like the entire United States of America should attend one giant AA meeting.   Twelve steps and Twelve traditions should be required courses for everyone.  The twelfth step asks us to apply the principles of AA in all our affairs.  The twelfth tradition of AA speaks of the concept of principles before personalities. It asks that we apply those principles to our relations with everyone.
In other words, the need for an alcoholic or addict to recover is so vitally important that it takes priority over our individual personalities and opinions.
AA encourages humility, honesty, compassion, tolerance, and patience.
We may not like all the people we encounter in AA meetings, but we may find that despite our differences and dislikes, those persons can help us heal and grow as people. 


     I don't know anything about swingers or their doings.  I don't know much of anything about nudists.   I know I am very boring by comparison and still sheltered.   I know enough to say that reading about the topic has helped me learn a little.  It reminds me that differences are ok. It reminds me about tolerance. I know that despite the fact I've seen many shapes and sizes of bodies of men and women in my nursing career.. I'd do what I do when I'm nervous if I were in a nudist resort.  Come down with a case of inappropriate laughter.   The more nervous I get, the worse I am.  It is a struggle.

   
  Other area nudist colonies Rock Haven Lodge in Murfreesboro.
Family friendly atmosphere similar to the old Timberline Resort.


Below are a couple images that are meant to be humorous regarding nudism.